Mr. Jackson

Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Thursday, December 13, 2007

She's Growing Up Too Fast!

I have to agree with Heather and LT, being an aunt is the best gig there is. MP is three today! I just spoke with her to wish her a happy birthday and see how her day was going. This is the first year she really knows that it's her birthday. Here is a little bit of our conversation:

Me: Happy Birthday, MP. Are you having a good birthday?
MP: No...
Me: chuckle, chuckle, why not?
MP: I didn't get any cake...only muffins.

cracks me up! Don't worry, the Princess Party is scheduled for Saturday, and I am sure she will get her fill of cake. She is just like her aunt. It's not a celebration without dessert!

Here are her Christmas pics from this year and the past two. She looks so grown up!





Monday, December 10, 2007

MP Is Turning THREE!


This is the invitation I got in the mail Friday. I can't believe my little "Boogly-kattz" is turning THREE. That is her nickname. My sister is the creator of weird nicknames. Me - Walliekattz, Mary Peyton - Boogly-kattz...anyway, Happy Birthday, Mary Peyton! Aunt Wa-wa LOVES YOU! Since she can't read full sentences yet, I will tell you (without giving away the surprise) that she is getting a Paula Dean DVD for her birthday. The kid LOVES the Food Network. She can name every host and his/her corresponding show. I wonder if she will cook her own cake?

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Glasgow = Awesome

As most of you know our good friends Josh & Emily Blades are living in Glasgow, Scotland this year. At first I had no idea why in the world you would pick Glasgow, but after first finding out about John Smeaton, the only man that Chuck Norris fears, and now finding this I am beginning to figure out that Glasgow is the greatest place in the world...at least maybe for blog material. Here is a video of the Glasgow Diamonds from the 80's. Evidently this video was so popular it was shown during the 1987 Super Bowl... go figure. Josh I hope you have your season tickets!

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS: Unfortunately YouTube will not allow me to Embed the video so i had to go to another source. If you would like to view this great video on Youtube click here.

Friday, November 16, 2007

I Know...

It isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I just needed a change. Plus the people in my neighborhood already have up their lights.

Forever a Disciple of the Maroon and White!


Wow, life has been crazy, but this is an occasion for posting. One, Travis and I watched the Bulldogs play "round ball" (as my dad calls it) last night and argued over what font they used to paint the court. I know, we are dorks. They didn't come out with a win, but who cares because I'm just so excited for Coach Croom. I read this article and shed a few tears. I love winning, but I love hearing people brag on a great guy. As I told my 3rd grade math class today during a rousing game of multiplication bingo, "cheaters never win, and winners never cheat." I love winning the right way. So here's the article that made me misty...the "son" quote will get you if your a crier like I am. ENJOY!

The post game prayer was almost over, the deep voice distinctly heard above the still-screaming, cowbell-clanging mob outside the dressing room doors celebrating Mississippi State's 17-12 victory over Alabama on Nov. 10.

"Thank you God for sending me these young men," Mississippi State fourth-year coach Sylvester Croom said with a mix of relief and conviction.

From the bowed heads of the players around came the instinctive response, "Thank you God for our coach."


Sylvester Croom has the Bulldogs bowl eligible for the first time since 2000.
It was an emotional, telling moment for Croom. He is such a personable, honest, straight-shooting figure that even media have been reluctant to skewer him for having just four SEC wins prior to this season.

When the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide to improve to 6-4 (3-3 in the SEC's Western Division) to gain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2000, a lot of people shared Croom's happiness.

Unless you've walked in Croom's shoes in a couple of different ways, first as a coach who took over a program on NCAA probation and the second as a coach at a place regarded as outside the winning tradition and budget of the SEC's power programs, you can't appreciate what mere bowl eligibility means for the Bulldogs.

Winning six, seven or eight games at Mississippi State -- and at Ole Miss -- is equal to winning 10, 11, 12 games at places like Florida, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

"He's done an awesome job, he gets my vote for SEC Coach of the Year," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said of Croom. "He's a guy who's done it the right way."

Tuberville just didn't feel compelled to say that because Croom's Bulldogs beat Tuberville's Tigers, 19-14, on Sept. 15. In 1995, Tuberville took control of an Ole Miss program short on scholarships because of an NCAA probation and located in a state where there wasn't an abundance of major college caliber prospects who were academically qualified.

"I had a couple of talks with Sylvester when he took the job," Tuberville said. "I coached in that state, getting a program back on track coming off a probation, and he just asked how we did things.

"But he's done it his way. He's done it the right way. He put discipline back in the program that you need. From Day 1, he hasn't cut any corners, and sometimes it takes a little longer to get a program back that way."

It was Croom's stern but fair hand that convinced former MSU head coach Rockey Felker to do something that you rarely see.

Felker went back to work as an assistant coach at the school that fired him.

Felker is still the most beloved football player in Mississippi State history, a quarterback from 1970-74 who was the SEC's player of the year in '74 when he led the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record and a win in the Sun Bowl. He was the nation's youngest head coach when he took over the State program from 1986-90 before being fired.

After serving as an offensive coordinator assistant coach for a nine-year period at Tulsa and Arkansas, Felker came home to Starkville in 2002 as coordinator of football operations for previous coach Jackie Sherrill.

Felker thought he might get back on the field again. But when the running backs coach spot opened after last season, he was approached by Croom.

Felker's love for his school had him leaning toward saying "yes." But his respect for the way Croom ran the program made it a no-brainer.

"He had a plan and he stuck through it, in terms of discipline, being hard nosed and recruiting a certain type of young man," Felker said. "He could have won a few more games earlier if he had not stuck to the plan.

"But he was willing to sacrifice some wins for building the program the right way. What you see in Sylvester Croom is what you get. If he tells you something, you can believe it."


Senior Titus Brown and the Bulldogs are enjoying the 2007 ride.

Believe this -- Croom should have his best recruiting class to date this winter, and that's because of this year's success and the fact his players believe in him. The best recruiters any coach can ask for are his own players, like senior Titus Brown.

"One of the things that sold me on coach is what he said when he came to my house and he recruited me," Brown said. "He sat in my living room, he looked my mom and dad in their eyes and said, 'This is your son. When he signs with Mississippi State, he becomes my son.' That's what really sold me. I wanted a coach who really cared about me on and off the field."

On Saturday, when Brown closed out the Alabama victory with a game-ending sack of Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson, he was stunned when Croom ran to the pile, bear-hugged the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Brown and ran 30 yards down field with him.

"The man is crazy," said Brown with a laugh.

The man is also focused, and he's hoping that his team will be viewed differently from now on.

"We beat Auburn at Auburn, we beat Kentucky at Kentucky and we beat Alabama," Croom said. "What happens in all those games is it [the reaction] is not like we played well, it's like the other team had a bad day.

"It bothered me that we weren't the favored team here at home [prior to the Alabama game] over basically the same team that we beat the year before on the road in Tuscaloosa."

Croom said that during the pregame warm-ups before Saturday's game, he exchanged pleasantries with Alabama coach Nick Saban.

"He said after the [last] two years he had been out of conference [when Saban was head coach of the NFL's Miami Dolphins], he was amazed how much difference there was in our football team. That was a class thing for him to say."

Croom said the only way his team would keep gaining more respect was to keep winning. He hopes the days are over of media members writing or saying that an opposing team that lost to Mississippi State had been "Croomed."

Going into this season, Croom was 4-20 in SEC play and two of those wins resulted in the firing of coaches Ron Zook of Florida in 2004 and Mike Shula of Alabama last season.


Anthony Dixon and the Bulldogs ran past Alabama on Saturday.

"That's not one of my favorite deals," Croom said of the word 'Croomed.' "I thought Ron did a good job at Florida and he left a lot of outstanding players. [Florida coach] Urban [Meyer] has been the beneficiary of that.

"I sort of took it as a little bit of insult to our program just because they [Florida] lost to Mississippi State there was this attitude that if Mississippi State beat you, then there must be something totally wrong with your program.

"They are not going to fire everybody we beat, because sooner or later they are going to run out of coaches."

Ironically, Croom is playing against a coach on Saturday, Arkansas' Houston Nutt, who will likely be fired or quit. Croom is 0-3 against Arkansas, and Mississippi State has never won a game in the state of Arkansas. The Bulldogs are 0-4 in Fayetteville and 0-4-1 in Little Rock.

There's also this motivation for the Bulldogs: While they are bowl eligible, a seventh win would assure them of a bowl bid, because NCAA rules now state bowls must fill spots with seven-win teams before six-win teams.

"I don't want to put it in somebody else's hands," Croom said. "It's up to us. If we want to assure ourselves of getting in a bowl, we need to get another win."

If the Bulldogs win out, beating both Arkansas and then Ole Miss on Nov. 23 to finish 8-4, there's a good chance the Bulldogs could end up in the Cotton Bowl if the SEC gets a second team in a BCS bowl.

A 7-5 Mississippi State team could land in either the AutoZone Liberty Bowl or the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl.

Croom said before the Kentucky game he told his team it was a four-game season.

"Right now, we're 2-0," Croom said.

Players like running back Anthony Dixon bought into Croom's stretch-run tunnel vision.

"It's like coach Croom told us, that we could win any of these games or lose all of them," Dixon said. "We just take one game at a time. A lot of people don't want to believe that."

But his players do. And that's all that really matters.


Ron Higgins covers the Southeastern Conference for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.

-Yeah, I posted a comment on the ESPN site. Don't be embarrassed to call me a friend. I couldn't help myself!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Livin La Vida Loca...update

As you can tell by the lack of posting it has been pretty busy around the Wolfe house. Laurette is in Math for her education classes and loves it just like any great communication major would...yeah right. She has her practicum this week and she goes into school at 7:00am leaves at 8:15am and heads to work by 9:00am. She is also studying for her second Praxis test, kinda like an ACT for teachers. She takes that later this month. We have also stepped up and taken over the Sunday Night Youth Fellowship at our church. Last night we had the kids sample various baby foods without them knowing what it was. It was a fun time to watch their faces when they would eat stuff like chicken with gravy and bacon baby food. If anyone has any fun game ideas, please share, looks like we will be doing this for the long haul, and we are always up for ideas.

Late in September I blogged about receiving a ton of $5 off coupons from Qdoba Mexican Grill. Sadly this offer expired on Saturday, but that is not to say I didn’t take advantage of a sweet .75 cent burrito. I have the count somewhere around 23 chicken burritos in total I consumed in October. That is a savings of around $115! I also do not want to see a burrito for at least another month.

I went to a great concert on Friday night by The John Butler Trio (Click the link to see the band and fellow aussie Keith Urban performing). I have to say it was the best indoor concert I have ever been to. I think I will blog about that sometime, but I am thinking about doing my own music blog, so we will see what happens. That way I don’t bug anyone on here with all my music stuff. We went to a friends wedding in Jackson, TN on Saturday night and Laurette looked stunning. She won over all my high school buddies… and their mothers. That is a little bit on us. Hope everyone is doing well.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Hey Bo Diddley

My father-in-law Mr. Clark had a great post regarding Bo Diddley (read it here). After reading his I felt the need to post a few videos just so people can see how amazing he really is. Diddley first came on the scene around 1955 and basically made it ok for white teenagers to listen to the Blues. Diddley paved the way for Chuck Berry, Elvis and really anyone playing rock music today. He also opened the door for many to discover great blues musicians like John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf and RL Burnside. The first video is a classic TV performance from way back. Watch how the girls are all screaming and going crazy, but not one of them ever stands up. They are glued to their seats as if society would disown them if they even thought about dancing. You can tell how badly they want to just go crazy. The second video is of Diddley in his prime with no restraints, by the early 70's it was ok to dance and you can tell just how much he was holding himself back in the first video, both in guitar playing and dancing. Listen and you can hear the keyboard player barely able to keep up, Diddley is playing so fast. I hope you enjoy.



Monday, October 8, 2007

EUROPE PICTURES...finally


Just click on the link to view a few snapshots from the week 'o fun with the Blades and the Joneses (Europe Pics). The above is a picture of us in Hofgarten in Munich, Germany. Too much fun. We were on our 5 mile bike ride through the city. We were about to encounter naked soccer players, but luckily I didn't have my glasses on...I could only see flesh...no details! thank the Good LORD! I don't think I could have handled that!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

God Bless America and Marty Stuart

Laurette was in class all day today and I needed to get away from the slumber party going on at our house (Laurette will fill you all in on that), so I decided to head downtown. I had planned on making the trek downtown earlier this week because I had heard that Ron Paul would be speaking at a rally. Ron Paul is a presidential candidate and although I agree with him on some issues, I can't say I agree on them all, but I will keep my politics out of this blog. Nonetheless, I was very interested in going to a political rally for event production notes and also I just wanted a chance to see a presidential candidate in action. The following is a photo log of my day, I hope you enjoy.


On my way to the rally I passed the State Museum and I remembered that Marty Stuart is currently showing select items from his Country Music memorabilia collection. Marty has over 20,000 historic items that he has collected through the years. Since it was free and I had some time I decided to stop in. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of country music. It was unbelievable! The photo above is Earl Scruggs' banjo and Lester Flatt's guitar, in the middle is one of Marty's first performance shirts when he was touring with the group as a kid. Needless to say I bit off more then I could chew and there was no way I could make it through the exhibit in 30 minutes, so I told myself I would come back after the rally.


The crowd was pretty bare inside 30 minutes before the start and I was beginning to worry about ole Ron, so I decided to venture outside for a while and see what was happening. I had no idea what I was in for. Of course like any great thing in Tennessee, it isn't a party till someone pulls out the guitar and banjo.


Ain't no party like a Tennessee party cause a Tennessee party don't stop...Not even if you are a crazy mountain man with signs.


After seeing this guy I was a little ticked off that I had left my revolutionary war outfit at home on account of the warm weather.



A hippy in her natural habitat. I had to get a picture of her shirt, if you can't read the bottom, click on the photo for a closer view it's worth it.


The man of the hour, Ron Paul. He was received with a loud crowd screaming his name. What the photo does not show was he was outfitted in a nice black suit and some lovely velcro laced tennis shoes. I guess the guy walks a lot, I will let him pass on that one, at least the shoes were black as well.

After we all headed into the venue we were treated to the candidates bumper music. I always find this funny in campaigns, all the candidates have special songs that are supposed to stand for their campaign, blah, blah, blah. Ron's were pretty typical until Motley Crue came over the loudspeakers. At first I was shocked that someone would pick Motley Crue, and then it got worse. I realized the song was "Dr. Feelgood" are you kidding me? that was both creepy and weird. You see Ron Paul is an OB GYN and has delivered over 4,000 babies. I don't really think the campaign staff have ever truly listened to the lyrics of that song, nor do I believe they have ever put 2 and 2 together...well I did. YIKES!


After that some artist performed and we all sang "God Bless America". I got major chills, just because it is so cool that we live in a country where we do have the freedom to assemble. We live in a country where a guy can where velcro shoes if he would like, and play completely awkward songs during political rallies. Ron then got on stage and presented a 45 minute speech. It was a little long winded but you got the feel that this guy had so many things he wants to share and just not enough time. He was very very smart and he isn't a cheerleader type of politician. I enjoyed his speech and respect his commitment to upholding the constitution. In closing, it was very neat to be able to see our political process in action and Paul was a well versed speaker that did a very good job at presenting his message. It was a reminder to me of what a great country we live in. Below are some additional photos from my trip back to the Marty Stuart Collection. If anyone needs me I will be writing the next Toby Keith hit. America Rocks!!!!


Johnny Cash Stage Outfit, he also has several original lyric sheets from Cash, I was awestruck.


A stage outfit from Hank Williams, to me the coolest thing in the exhibit, they also had his 3 grade report card. Hank was not a very smart student, but later on in life he apparently loved the double-breasted suit, don't we all... Also according to this replica, Hank Williams had a 3 foot head judging by how high they placed the cowboy hat on top.


A stage outfit from one of my favorites, "the Singing Fisherman" Johnny Horton. This outfit just goes back to the flashy days of country music. Buck Owens, Porter Wagner, Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, I could go on and on, I love every bit of it.

On a side note, both Hank Williams and Johnny Horton were married to the same woman at the time of their deaths. Horton was struck by a drunk driver in 1960 and killed in his car just like Hank. In addition Hank and Johnny both died in Cadillacs, both played their last shows at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas, and years before in 1953 Johnny was returning from a gig, when he heard over the radio about the death of Hank Williams. He was on Highway 79 going through the town of Milano, Texas - the same town where Johnny would lose his life 7 years later. Crazy stuff huh?



One of Johnny Cash's favorite guitars. This was at the end of the exhibit and when I saw this I got a few more chills. Just like Mother Maybelle's Guitar, the heart of country music lives inside that guitar and I am thankful to Marty for his passion to preserve all this wonderful history. Well if you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I guess it goes without saying, but today was a good day.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Livin La Vida Loca


It has been way too long since our last blog and way too much to catch up on, but I wanted to send a quick thank you to the folks at Qdoba Mexican Grill. Due to their extremely inaccurate count of the number of employees in my office I have far too many $5 off coupons. So far this week I have dined on 6 Chicken Burritos for the lovely price of .75 cents each. Thank you Qdoba for being a vessel for my frugal nature!

Monday, September 17, 2007

Home again, home again...jiggidy jig

Well, we made it home from our European excursion with the Blades and the Joneses in one piece. It was an awesome trip, and I definitely wish I were still there! Pics and stories to come later. Auf Wiedersehen

Friday, September 7, 2007

We Made it

More news to come!!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Happy Belated Birthday PUNKY-SUE-RELLA!

How could I forget to blog about such an important day? Where is my head?

Yesterday was the birthday of one of the greatest Americans in history…yes, this day 29 years ago, Mary Amanda Clark – now Marble - was born to John and Melinda Clark in Amory, MS.

I'm sorry I'm a day late posting, Amanda - AKA PunkySueRella - one of the many strange nicknames growing on our family tree. I hope your day was fabulous! I wish I had been there to celebrate with you, but here is to hoping that God will put us in the same city one of these days. I hope you know how much I miss you.

If you don't know my sister, then you are missing out - BIG TIME! She is one of the kindest people I know. I never heard her say a mean thing about anyone growing up. She was such a good example, and the best playmate I could have asked for. That brings a story to mind. When I was little...I used to get "tired" of my friends. They didn't let me have my way like my big sister did, so sometimes I was ready for them to leave on Friday night...not good for spend-the-night company! So, my wonderful sister would play with them all night and all the next day while I did my thing. Yeah, I was a little spoiled. She has always been my biggest fan. It all started when they brought me home from the hospital. Mom and Dad said Amanda wouldn't even eat supper; she just wanted to look at me. She gave me an unrealistic perspective from the get-go. I came to expect adoration and rarely receive it. She did a great job paving the way for me all through school. I had it made in the shade because I was "Amanda's little sister," and it just didn't get better than that. All her teachers just loved her because she was very smart and never said a word. That brings to mind another story. When I was in 1st grade and Amanda was in the 6th grade we had a bully problem. One of us was being bullied on the bus, and you guessed it...it wasn't me! I had to tell this seventh grader to leave my sister alone! Sorry for the embarrasment, Manny, but I guess it worked. Neither of us was beaten up I am happy to report.

I really can't think of many people that I love and respect more than you. You are always there to listen and to encourage me. I absolutely CHEERISH our friendship. I'm glad mom never let us fight. Not that we really would have except when you always made me late for school with your 3 hour getting ready ritual. I've never seen someone with so little body mass take so long to shower, but old Rob cured you of that...now didn't he. You kinda sped up your game when you became a Marble. I think I am most thankful for the example you have set for me as a mother. You are FANTASTIC at what you do. Mary Peyton is the most wonderful thing ever, and so much of that has to do with her amazing mommy! I think I am just going to send my kids to you, and you can return them when they are 10!

Thank you for being my bestest friend. You are such an amazing person, and I owe so much of who I am to you and your example. I love you so, so much, and I am so blessed to have been given you as a big sister....well, little-big sister. I only wish I had a copy of your 9th grade band picture to post...until next year America. I hope your 29th year is the best yet!

Bye the way....that is my beautiful and wonderful grandmother, Mamer, in the picture with Amanda and Mary Peyton and the cake. She celebrated her 81st birthday on the 26th. I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know I have a blog, so I don't think she will mind my posting her age. Let's just say she's not exactly computer savy, but she is AMAZING. I believe that is where Amanda gets several of her wonderful qualities. I was named after Mamer, Vera Laurette Walters, but I think Amanda got most of her pleasant traits. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I inherited Mert's demeanor. Sorry, Travis. Mamer, is one of the most joyful people I have ever known, and I think she knows the first and second pronunciation of every word in the dictionary. She also laughs out loud at the funny papers everyday. I just LOVE her...can you tell?














this is Mamer, Mert and Mary Peyton...just for clarification. Aren't they precious?

Monday, August 27, 2007

Why worry about Vick

I watched the pre-season Monday Night Football game last night between the Bengals and the Falcons and I am so happy they didn't mention anything about Michael Vick...

As if that would really happen, it was so overwhelming it took away from a great 1st half of pre-season ball that featured a wonderful game from MSU alum Jerious Norwood.

My personal take on Vick is yes he did a bad thing and will be punished, but I wish that this much media attention would be placed on athletes every time one is reported beating his wife or when one is busted for not paying child support on some of his 9 kids, but does have the ability to buy a $100,000 car (Travis Henry I am talking to you). It seems the more elaborate and crazy the story the more the media go after it. I think beating your wife and not taking care of your kids is much worse then killing a dog, but that doesn't sell papers. Again, that is only my opinion.

On a funny note, as halftime started they of course began reporting on Michael Vick. Well Chris Mortensen began this lengthy talk about all the legal blah, blah, blah. Well, behind him in the background of the shot I happened to notice a Pop Warner football team playing a group of mascots. It was funny to see, especially behind someone who was trying so hard to be all professional. Well I was able to capture this gem in the background. It is a short clip but watch the big inflatable Falcon in the center of the picture.



That is who we should be worried about my friends, not Michael Vick, he is attacking our children out there. I hope you enjoy. By the way, if this becomes the big blog story of tomorrow, which I doubt it will, take a look at when I posted, so you know I am not copying anyone.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Wolfe Update

Sorry it has been a while since we posted it's a crazy week around the Wolfe household. Well I don’t want to keep our 2 readers in suspense so I will just go ahead and let you all know that I finished dead last in the apple pie contest. Laurette has some pictures and I hope she will post them soon. I think I handled the defeat gracefully, although if I ever find a few of these ladies I will have to take out there knees for next year’s contest. To make matters worse there were only 4 pies entered so all I had to do was beat 1 in order to place. Well, ole Travis here came in 4th out of 4. To add insult to injury I didn’t even get to take my pie home. You will never guess what they did with it. The pies that actually placed are displayed in a refrigerator for the length of the fair, shown off as the pride of Wilson County fine baking. Mine on the other hand was tossed in the trash! Yes, you heard it right; they just went and threw it away like yesterday's news. I have been humbled by this whole thing and you better believe I am getting my game face on for next year.

A brief little highlight of some things that have been going on in our world.

1. Breaking a gas line - yeah...you know how they say call before you dig...well you should really go ahead and do that. Luckily no one was hurt and nothing was damaged except my wallet and pride.

2. Our lovely Maggie pretending to be David Copperfield and somehow figuring out a way to escape her fence after I spent a month trying to dog proof it. Thankfully the only thing injured here was my pride again.

3. The Wolfe's have a ping pong table now in the garage. I stalked craigslist for the better half of 4 months looking for the perfect one to show up. It finally did last week. I have to say Laurette isn’t half bad. Anyone that is up for a road trip can come on by and get a game in.

That is a little bit of our world. More details to come.

Monday, August 20, 2007

My Sister's Art

Go to WALLIEKATTZ to see what awesome stuff my sister has done! You'll love it! She is way more talented than I, and on that note, thanks for all your encouraging posts!

Friday, August 17, 2007

And the WINNER is...

Well, we don't know yet. We will find out tonight; however, we know that Travis was not the Grand Champion. They would have called us last night after nine. We waited up until 12, but no call. I'm just kidding. We didn't wait up. Wouldn't that be pitiful? I don't have the pictures up yet of the pie and its delivery to the fair, but alas...they are coming soon. Let me just say that I was sooooo nervous delivering this thing. I almost buckled it in my car. I could just see myself getting into a car accident and missing the 6pm deadline, and there are NO ACCEPTIONS to the deadline. The website stated that in bold print, and after meeting one of the members of the Board of Directors, I know that ain't no lie! She greeted me in the East/West building where the culinary competition was to be held. The name says it all.... the East/West building...yeah, I couldn't find it on my own. I had to go to the fair office, and they seemed a little stressed! I tried to sound as southern as I possibly could. Being from the Deep South myself, I know how territorial these folks can be. Who does that thing think she is entering our contest? I could hear their thoughts and my palms were sweating in response or maybe it was the 105-degree temperature. Pretty sure it was a mix of nerves and heat. So I finally made it to the East/West building and the fore mentioned member of the board greets me. They are high tech at the fair. You have to have bar codes on all your entries, which I did not. After this not so friendly liaison of the fair printed my bar codes, I headed to the next table to class V – the pie section. Only 3 other people had entered the apple pie contest as of 5:20 pm. 40 minutes and counting. NO ACCEPTIONS at 6pm. Surely we will at least get honorable mention, but you know how political these things can be. They have our address, so they may pull up our voting records, who knows! I told them that the entry, which I had a little trouble removing from the Tupperware Fort Knox that I had created, was my husbands…. do you know what she said? “I could tell.” Hold up, wait a minute. I know she didn’t just say that. I helped and crafted a lovely capital W out of dough, which was cooked to a golden brown sitting atop our apple creation. If my palms hadn’t been so sweaty already, I might have balled them into a fist and given her the business. But, I knew it was neither the time nor the place, and I was out numbered with no one in my corner. I might talk slow, but I’m not stupid! So I went along on my merry way. We’ll be back next year, though…win or lose. Watch out the Wolfes will be back! So, off to the fair we go tonight to find out our fait in the culinary competition. I’m not even sure that the Barefoot Contessa would have a chance out there. On a side note, we’ve already discussed that we will not try to win another goldfish this year. Last year Travis won a goldfish for me that lasted all of 4 days. I went over to ask my 11 year old neighbor to feed it while we were gone for the weekend, and when I stepped back into the house, Pickle Wolfe - the goldfish was swimming upside down and he wasn’t doing the back stroke. Jess, my neighbor, didn’t believe me when I traipsed back over to tell her I wouldn’t be needing her services. Would I really lie about a dead goldfish? To explain the name choice, Pickle, in case you were wondering…. we decided to name it after the Carney who was working the booth.


Travis: “what’s your name? We want to name our fish after you.”

Carney: “Pickle’s what they call me.”

Travis: “Well, Pickle, meet Pickle the fish. Have a good night.”

Carney: “Don’t let him die.”

Famous last words…Carney fish are notoriously weak species. We will be on the hunt for Pickle tonight….the Carney, not the fish.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

And so the battle begins...

OK so I know it is a little weird that I would be baking a pie for the Wilson County Fair Baking Contest. I have received plenty of hazing from my father, brother, and anyone under the sun. Either way I am really doing this for 3 reasons.

1. One night Laurette and I had Marty and Kurt Cooper over and I found some apples at Walmart with a pie recipe on them...so I said why not. It turned out to be one of the best pies I have ever eaten. I have yet to be able to replicate that pie.

2. The Wilson County Fair is the greatest fair in the country. It is just like the fair in Charlotte's Web. Everywhere you look you see prize winning pigs, chickens, pies, whatever. Last year when we went around looking at everything I had a little urge to participate in something.

3. The simple humor involved in the whole event. Naturally I do not take myself to seriously most of the time, but I am willing to bet several old ladies have their game faces on tonight and are cooking like there is no tomorrow. I hope to capture a few funny memories from the whole process.

So here we go, let the cooking begin. Laurette and I have to turn the pie in tomorrow between 3-6pm so with work, I have been forced to cook tonight. I do have a few secret ingredients. The main two are; Fuji Apples and Capt. Morgans Rum. The Fuji apples are a sweeter type of apple, and I think they taste a lot better. The rum is just for the fun of it. Because everything taste a little better when you have some rum on it. I will report back tomorrow night on the results.

Monday, August 13, 2007

walliekattz.blogspot.com


Well, I've been wanting to do this for a while, so here I go. I've been inspired by Mary Katherine, so I hope she is flattered and not offended. I'm just gonna throw this out there and see what happens. Here are some paintings I have done, and I would LOVE to do a custom painting for you. Take a look. I hope you like what you see. Go to WALLIEKATTZ to see what I've been up to. thanks!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Leaving on a jet plane...confirmed


Well, you will not hear me say this many times, especially when it involves a government office, but I have to give major kudos to the US passport office for their quick turn around of our passports. We opened our mailbox last night amazed to find 2 lovely passports, both of which have hands down the worst pictures Laurette and I have ever taken in them. Today is exactly 2 weeks since we went to the post office and filled out the paperwork. So it is now confirmed, Laurette and I will be taking our Eastern European Adventure the first of September!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Make It Rain...


As I was watching Barry Bonds attempt to break the home run record last night it occurred to me just how bad professional athletes have gotten. Take Bonds, he has been a jerk to everyone in the media then complains when they write bad things about him. He is also about to rob a man of his crowning achievement. Hank Aaron faced unimaginable racial pressure when he broke this record before. He was an amazing player and now Bonds is about to rob not only him but baseball from any integrity it had left.

Then you have one of my hometown boys, Mr. Adam "Pacman" Jones. I will have to thank Pacman for at least giving Laurette's crush, Frank Wycheck and all of talk radio in Nashville something to talk about. Now Pac has decided he wants to take a chance at professional wrestling, Jim Rome had an email today from someone that summed it up best.

Pac,
You really want to get into wrestling now? That has to be the dumbest choice ever.
Sincerely, The Second Doughnut

To top it all off the man that Pacman's posse gunned down at the strip club in Vegas actually at one point in life worked for the WWF and had dreams of being a major professional wrestler. Tommy Urbanski now lives everyday in a wheelchair and is learning how to put toothpaste on a toothbrush and worries about his kidneys shutting down. So Pacman is using his fame and suspension time to waltz into a media frenzied wrestling career that was once the biggest dream of a man now forced to live in a wheelchair because good ol' Pac decided to "Make it Rain". Pacman you are a real winner!

Here is my thing, when I was younger these athletes were doing all kinds of terrible things, but heck at least they were smart enough to kept them under wraps and if they were exposed they apologized for their actions. Sure Darryl Strawberry and the '86 Mets were all hooked on Coke, but they kept that stuff relatively quite. At least Strawberry admitted he had a problem and tried to get help, and tried again, and tried again...you get my point. Bonds will NEVER admit to steroids. Sure Michael Jordan was and is a womanizer and addicted to gambling but he kept his affairs on the DL. Nowadays Kobe has this smugness about him that seems to say "why do these people not like me", um... maybe because you possibly rapped a girl. Thank goodness his wife may finally be leaving him, and leaving him $100 million dollars richer I might add. And then we have Ron Mexico, or I mean Michael Vick. How stupid do you have to be to house an illegal dog fighting company in one of your backyards. I mean at least Michael Irvin was caught in a hotel with strippers and cocaine...not his own backyard!

With so many terrible athletes out there now, I am glad to know that my school, Mississippi State, molds young athletes into responsible upstanding men. Men like Captain Fred Smoot and Dontae Walker....errr..Maybe I should just quit while I'm ahead.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines


As promised, here is the post about the Brickyard 400. That's Travis's mom, Mrs. Kris, and yours truly. Boy did we have fun! I do love my Yankee in-laws. They have taken me to 2 races, and I think I want to be a racecar driver now. They don't really have an obsession with racing or keep up with it at all, but there is something about being in Indianapolis on race day. I'm trying to talk my father-in-law into buying me a racecar and being my sponsor. I haven't gotten anywhere with that endeavor. I don't think my mom would be for that one either. I think I would want my sponsor to be Dr. Pepper or maybe Purell...two of my favorite products.

Being from Mississippi, I suppose I should be a NASCAR fan, but honestly I've never seen the point in it. After having experienced a NASCAR and an Indy Car race, I can promise you that you will never find me watching a race on TV...but if you buy me a ticket, I will go and enjoy my most favorite passtime: people watching. And let me tell you, there are some sights to be seen!
The first wonderful part of the day was that Mike Delphino (sp?) James Denton from Desperate House wives was the flag waver for the day. Our seats were in perfect position to capture these shots.

We had really neat seats because I could see everything that was going on. I tried to take one picture of a pit crew and by the time I got my camera ready they were finished! It took them 12 seconds to change all 4 tires on one car! Why don't I get that kind of service?

Tony Stewart, #20 - the Home Depot car, won the race. It got exciting there in the last 10 laps. The 250 laps before that kind of drug on. I did get to see a fire, so that was cool. No one was hurt of course. Back to Tony, the guy has quite a following....like the lady sitting behind me who began praying and weeping when Tony took over the lead on the 252 lap. Seriously, she was crying!!! Many of you may know that I have a staring problem. I think sometimes it takes my brain time to process things, so while I'm in the process of processing...I just stare. Well, believe me, she got the stare and I think I laughed in her face. here is her picture. That's Tony crossing the finish line, lucky shot, and that is his #1 fan with the blond hair.

We did have a great time at the race. Thanks for the fun day, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kris. Here is one last example of my photography skills.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

And we thought we were crazy over sports

As I was plugging along today in the blog world I came across an interesting article. The headline read Manchester United Signs Nine Year Old to Contract. For those who don’t know Manchester United is a soccer team in Europe. I was blown away that they would actually sign a kid who hasn't even met the height requirements for the tilt-a-whirl. Imagine my surprise when I continued reading and found out that Man U signs about 40 kids around this age a year!!! WHAT! This is unbelievable. To think that a professional team is out there scouting 9 year olds.

I am also thinking about how awful of a job it must be to go scout 9 year old soccer games. I just have to be honest here, but when my kids begin playing sports it will probably be the most boring afternoons ever. I will of course be proud of my kids, but come on. I have seen enough t-ball games to know that this has to be painful to sit through. Special props to my father who had to sit through all my terrible games, especially through that 4th – 6th grade baseball stint, I know I was horrible, but he was a trooper. Maybe it is a right of passage for fathers, but I certainly would not want the job of trying to find the next Pele’ somewhere between the sno-cone stand and the soccer field. Below is some footage on the kid. It’s true; he is very good, but seriously 9 year olds getting scholarships! Unbelievable



I think Sly needs to be give a call to this next youngster.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Dusting off the Cobwebs

Well, hello blog readers...any of you who are still here and haven't given up on us. The Wolfepack has been going full throttle. Speaking of, we went to the Brickyard 400 this past weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I know all you NASCAR fans are jealous, but more to come about that later. Travis' mom has all the pictures that I took...so just hold your breath for that awesomeness that is to come!

On to more recent news. Travis and I stood in line last Friday at the passport office in a balmy Nashville postoffice for almost 2 hours. Let's just say that I think some folks were getting passports to go back home if you catch my drift. Was that too politically incorrect? You may be asking yourself why two kids like us need passports. Well, come September 6, 2007, Travis and I will hop on the big bird with the flaming tail, as my dad likes to call it, and head to Budapest, Hungary. You again may be asking yourself why in the world are they going to Budapest? Well, if you know my thrifty husband, you will have deduced by now that it was the most cost efficient ticket. No, we aren't just headed to some random country. We will spend the night in Budapest and then hop on the train, ride through the Austrian countryside (I'm hoping they will have chocolate frogs on the train just like in Harry Potter) and end up in Prague, Czech Republic, where we will meet up with Josh and Emily Blades and Hunter and Emily Jones. I will be the only female on the trip whose name is not Emily. From there I'm not exactly sure where we are going, but about 5 days later we will end up in Munich, Germany. Yes, Travis is already beside himself with excitement that he will be going to his homeland. I just hope I can get him to leave. Will post more about the National Lampoon's European Vacation later,
but if you have any suggestions on where to stay and what to see in Munich let us know. We are in charge of that leg of the journey.

Now on to tonight's events. While I have been updating our dusty blog, my wonderful husband has been baking an apple pie. Not just any apple pie, this is his prototype for his entry for the Wilson County Fair apple pie contest. Yes, that's right, Travis is entering a pie contest. Why is he entering, well...why not? I'm mighty proud of him. It has always been a dream of mine to marry a man that can cook. As some of you may know, my Little Daddy is an amazing cook, and my husband is turning out to be as well. He doesn't cook much because he says I'm a kitchen snob, but when he does it's usually pretty good....that is if he doesn't put too much Tony's or Texas Pete's on it. Luckily, apple pie calls for neither. Thankfully, that is the only contest he is entering, but who knows what this may lead to. We might come home with bee hives for next years honey competition. I'm pretty sure our neighborhood has rules about that sort of thing. And I know they definitely don't allow swine in the neighborhood...so no Wilburs either. Will let you know how the competition goes. I really wish this blog could be scratch and sniff because there is a fantastic smell coming from our oven!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Say My Name...Say My Name

Just a quick funny story. So as we were winding down for the evening my lovely wife says to me, "Come on angel, lets go to bed." I am just guessing here, but I don't think many other husbands like to be called ANGEL!!! I gave Laurette a pretty tough time about it and as punishment I made her refer to me as Columbo for the rest of the evening (i.e. Did you deposit that check today Columbo?). Not sure why I picked Columbo, but I figured that sounded kinda manly and it made up a little for being
called Angel!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

the Wolfepack Hits the Great Outdoors

Well, Travis has been a faithful patron to this blog in my posting absence. Thanks for your dedication, Travioli. So, here's a very late post about our 4th of July celebration. We headed to Paris Landing in Dover, TN on Tuesday night. Travis' parents, Maggie's grandparents, keep their ski boat there. They always stay in the state lodge when there, but Travis was convinced that we should take Maggie...so a camping we did go. We didn't think that she could stay in the lodge and although they don't allow dogs, we saw several. But, we camped nonetheless. A cute little old retired army man runs the campgrounds, so I felt a tiny bit safer. I was really convinced that we were going to be murdered in the middle of the night. Let's face it...the world is not what it once was. I haven't done much camping to speak of in my days. When we were little my sister, my cousin Web and I used to camp out in our front yard. My mom would make us wear bandannas on our heads to keep the chiggers away. She tried to convince me before we camped last week that chiggers were afraid of red bandannas so I should wear one. Have I mentioned that my mother enjoys lying. I can only wait to hear the lies she tells our children. Anyway, I camped at Kamp, but that wasn't scary plus I had to be the brave one then because most of my kampers were afraid of bugs. I camped once in NC with my youth group when I was in Jr. High, but I think I was too stupid then to worry about being murdered...that or my mother hadn't completely warped me yet. Darkness fell, and it was time to sleep. I slept ok until about 2am, then my bladder woke me up. Maggie had a little trouble going to sleep as well. She is quite the guard dog. Everything she heard merited a terrifying growl. Well, I wasn't going to walk all the way to the bathroom, so I popped a squat. Mert, my grandfather, always tells me never to use the bathroom down hill...that and never take a wooden nickle. Well, in my groggy, bug repellent induced state, I seemed to have forgotten that pearl of wisdom. Yes, the PJ pants got a little wet. So, I had to take those off immediately making it a very itchy rest of the night. I think I finally went back to sleep around 4am when I found my earplugs in my purse after I growled at Travis for making me go stupid camping. You should always keep earplugs in your purse; you never know when they may come in handy! Maggs had trouble going back to sleep too. Some "bubbas" as Travis called them kept walking around. These bubbas were large too. Excuse my insensitivity, but what are fat people doing walking/exercising at 3am? Anyway, I managed to get some sleep and awoke to a fun-filled 4th of July. We packed up our site and left it cleaner than we found it...Girl Scout moto...shout out to troop 234, you know who you are. I must say, I was quite impressed with my hubby's camping skills. He whipped that tent up and brought it down just as quickly. I might start referring to him as Sir Edmund. Oh, here is his new obsession which I wouldn't mind myself. I could get used to camping if I didn't have to actually camp.
here is the link http://www.tab-rv.com/tour/index.php
Can't you see us cruising the country in the "fireball"? Dad, could you paint WolfeWagon on the side?

We spent the rest of the day on the lake with Mrs. Kris and Mr. Mike, Travis wonderful and super fun parents. Travis and Mrs. Kris skied, they are both very good, and Maggs swam for the first time. She even got on the knee board. I however stayed in the boat most of the time. I'm not a very successful skier, and I wasn't in the mood to break anything. I wore my 50spf sun screen and Travis did not. He got a mean little sunburn, and that my friends is a blog for another time. Ask him about the vinegar. Here are some pics of Maggs the amazing water dog.


Love hath no boundaries

In honor of the lovely Hopper-Butts marriage I bring you a few other classic hyphenated gatherings.





I have to site my reference , sorry not a Travis original.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

He Speaks...


Ok, so it is pretty fair to say I have developed a small obsession with this story, but it is just way to good to pass over. Ladies and gentlemen! The Man, The Myth, The Legend...John Smeaton has given his first interview. I suggest everyone read this, it truly is a classic....The John Smeaton Interview.

If anyone is curious as to what I am referring to, check out the last post before this.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Never cross a Scot...

Last year at a Mississippi State Football game I sat next to a Brit in the upper decks. We were discussing the World Cup and then we got on the subject of David Beckham and why he left Manchester United, a soccer club in Great Britain. My new friend had a simple answer that has stuck with me and always will, “Never cross a Scot”. Evidently Beckham was making a lot of noise about the team management, similar to what Kobe Bryant is doing over here now. Well the owner of the team was Scottish and just said to heck with him, his talent, his money, his good looks, and his Spice Girl wife. Beckham had to run off to Spain to finish out his European career with his tail between his legs because he had forgotten the motto….Never cross a Scot.

Well it seems some other folks forgot about this life lesson and a new internet hero has sprung up. No I am not talking about "Dramatic Prairie Dog”. I am talking about John Smeaton. John is now popping up everywhere on the internet as the UK version of Chuck Norris and, you guessed it, he’s Scottish. It seems our enemies in Al-Qaeda never heard the saying “never cross a Scot.” You see, John works as a baggage handler at the Glasgow Airport. When these crazy terrorist drove there gasoline drenched Land Rover into the airport they had no idea that they were moving into John’s territory. Well what was John’s response? A Scottish ass whoopin worthy of praise even from the great William Wallace. Get this; the police had to restrain John and a few others from beating these guys senseless. My only explanation for the Scottish police not allowing John to finish what he started is they probably figured it more useful if they could question the men. Do you remember how reporters talked about a guy jumping out of the car in flames…yeah, John beat his tail as well. Didn’t matter if he was on fire, still got a boot to him. John is rapidly becoming a legend in his country and they have even set up a website for people to buy their hero a pint in thanks for his bravery. They will celebrate soon at the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn Lobby Bar, John’s favorite watering hole, where they will line up 1,000 pints and let the man have his day of celebration. John doesn’t consider himself a hero however, he simply says, “Glasgow does not accept this. We will set aboot ye.” Which is basically a cool Scottish way of saying we’ll give you a beat down. So cheers to our new hero, may he enjoy his new found fame and his 1,000 pints. And readers always remember…Never cross a Scot!

Monday, July 2, 2007

Happy Birthday MOM!


Happiest birthday to my sweet Momma. Yesterday was my mom’s birthday, so I’m a day late. However, I was with her all weekend, so I’m sure she will forgive my tardiness on the post….considering she has never been on time or early for anything in her life, I think she will understand.

What can I say about my mom to accurately describe what an amazing mom and person she is? Yes, she did make me OCD about germs at 4 years old, but, I’ve made it through that for the most part. See previous post from April, "GERMS..." But overall, I could never have asked for a more wonderful mother. We celebrated this weekend by eating sushi, going to see OKLAHOMA at the Desoto Family Theater and eating the awesome cake my dad made. I am so blessed to have a mother that I truly enjoy spending time with, and she is really more than a parent, she is one of my best friends as well. I have always been able to talk to my mom about anything, and I am so thankful for that relationship. Her faith and love have inspired me always.

My mom has just completed her 34th year of teaching, and if she has been half the teacher that she has been mother, then I know that she has greatly impacted many lives. Growing up in Aberdeen, we couldn’t go anywhere without seeing one of my mom’s former students. And even at a young age I could tell by the way they looked at her that she had played a very important part in their lives. I hope to be that kind of teacher one day. My mom also taught me to respect everyone and treat all people with kindness. She always spoke to everyone from the cashier at Wal-Mart to the sushi chef at Kyoto's (thanks to mom, we now know his life story). She makes everyone feel like they are important, and that is truly a gift.


She has always made me feel as if I could accomplish anything. She is one of my biggest fans. I don’t know how she did all that she did. She always came to my games to watch me cheer and my basketball games to watch me sit on the bench, and my tennis matches to watch me choke…she practiced softball with me in the front yard (I was pretty terrible at that too), she even went to dance camp with us and youth retreats too…she was great and always fun to be around and she kept everything VERY clean! I hope she knows that every hour she spent on the road to a game or sitting in the stands ment the world to me. I could never thank her enough for her devotion. One quick story: my mom used to make me call her every morning when I got to school to make sure I got there safely. If I forgot the loud speaker would come on in my classroom and the school secretary would say, "Mrs. ____, is Laurette there?" This drove me insane, but I flipped my car 3 times in 10th grade...so I can understand where she was coming from. One day, I forgot to call....and you know the story. I made some comment to my class to try and regain some shred of "coolness" when this boy in my class said, "I wish my mom loved me that much." I never complained again, and that day I realized that God had truly blessed me when He chose my mother.

The older I get and the more life I experience, I realize more and more what amazing parents I have. My mom has sacrificed so much for me and has given so much of herself to me. I hope I can be the mom that she has been to me…not anytime soon, but one day for sure. I love her so much…Travis can attest to that. My parents picked Travis and me up from the Memphis airport when we returned from our honeymoon. I cried the whole way to Nashville because I already missed my mom so much. I kept say, “it’s not you I promise, but you just can’t erase 22 years of love.” Amanda B. Cantrell can attest too…she got a tearful phone call that afternoon. She assured me that I would in fact see my mother again.

Well, mom, I could go on for days. Thank you for the unconditional love that you have given me. It has given me the confidence to try anything because I knew if I failed you and daddy would always be there to catch me. You are very weird and a bit paranoid (for example: the al qaeda cell that my mom is convinced that she has seen at the Kroger in Southave, MS) but, I still love you more than all the Bulldog Deli potato salad in the world! Happiest birthday, Momma! being "Mimi" her favorite thing to do!