Not having been born in Arkansas - but claiming it (when appropriate and convenient) as home as I have graduated both high school and college here and lived here almost 17 years - I have almost as much pride in this state as those crazy people in Texas. But that's a losing battle.

Seriously though, Arkansas is constantly overlooked on the national scene. We are written-off as hillbillies with no teeth and our former governor is ridiculed for living in a triple-wide trailer on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion while renovations were taking place inside the house. Come on. When that kind of story makes it to Jay Leno - you're done for.

But Mike Huckabee has persevered. Not a trailblazer, of course, as there has somehow already been a US President from this lowly state -- but a brave soul nonetheless. He may not win the nomination and he may or may not run as VP, but I'm proud of him for the progress he's made.

Without revealing my personal political views or voicing my endorsement -- I have this to say from one Arkansan to another: Well Done, Mike Huckabee.

 Laura is always insanely jealous when it snows here - which should only get worse when she moves to Africa.... and I have pictures!

We ventured out for our annual Family Picture in the Snow - and had to take several before we got it right. Apparently, I'm not a good leaner. I tried to crop the pictures so my lack-of-leaning-skills are not as obvious...

Josh came over last night after supper and we were looking through some photos. He got upset that "we hang out all the time and there are NO pictures of it!" So we all got dressed and ventured BACK into the snow for a photo shoot with Josh.

So there ya go. Pictures of Josh. And the boys put me in the middle so I wouldn't have to lean...

 I promised to regale you with tales of my weekend in Dallas for Devon's birthday - and I shall not disappoint. I drove to Little Rock to meet up with Devon and Niki and continued on to Dallas to stay with Andrew. Andrew lives in the cutest little apartment near downtown - and we all piled in with he and his dog Toby for a few days.

We got to Dallas around lunch time on Saturday and headed to the aquarium/zoo/terrarium.  It brought back memories of our NWA adventures at the Gentry Safari. 

One of our favorite moments was when we encountered this sloth.

Devon was trying her best to look "sloth-like" while posing with the sloth. Until the sloth's handler (nametag reading "Sloth Whisperer") came to rescue the sloth and take him away for a break... from being a sloth...

Andrew posing with the flamingos.

In the Shark Tunnel:

That night we met up with Devon's cousin and his wife at the Bavarian Grill - which I highly recommend to anyone traveling to/thru Dallas. I ate something called Rahm Schnitzel for dinner and we had a sampler of various "wursts". It was awesome.

There was a little man serenading us with an accordion.

And since it was Devon's birthday weekend - our waitress played "Happy Birthday" with different-toned bells. It was quite the experience.

The night of the Rahm Schnitzel, we went out to The Round Up for a drink and wouldn't you know it - I ran into someone I know from Fayetteville. Oddly enough, this was only the second time I'd been to The Round Up and BOTH times I've run into people I know... And even MORE ironic, is that the person I saw this weekend was WITH ME when I was last in Dallas at that bar. Weird...

On my way home - I managed to snap a photo of this sign on the side of the road just outside Conway.

Seriously.

In other news - today was my 2 year anniversary at Saatchi & Saatchi X. Yah!

If I could write a letter to me
And send it back in time to myself at 17
First I'd prove it's me by saying look under your bed
There's a Skoal can and a Playboy no one else would know you hid
And then I'd say I know it's tough
When you break up after seven months
And yeah I know you really liked her and it just don't seem fair
All I can say is pain like that is fast and it's rare

And oh you got so much going for you going right
But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night
She wasn't right for you
And still you feel like there's a knife sticking out of your back
And you're wondering if you'll survive
You'll make it through this and you'll see
You're still around to write this letter to me

At the stop sign at Tomlinson and Eighth
Always stop completely don't just tap your breaks
And when you get a date with Bridgett make sure the tank is full
On second thought forget it that one turns out kinda cool
Each and every time you have a fight
Just assume you're wrong and dad is right
And you should really thank Mrs. Brinkman
She spent so much extra time
It's like she sees the diamond underneath
And she's polishin' you 'til you shine

And oh you got so much going for you going right
But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night
Tonight's the bonfire rally
But you're staying home instead because if you fail Algebra
Mom and dad will kill you dead
Trust me you'll squeak by and get a C
And you're still around to write this letter to me

You've got so much up ahead
You'll make new friends
You should see your kids and wife
And I'd end by saying have no fear
These are nowhere near the best years of your life

I guess I'll see you in the mirror
When you're a grown man
P.S. go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can

And oh you got so much going for you going right
But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night
I wish you'd study Spanish
I wish you'd take a typing class
I wish you wouldn't worry, let it be
I'd say have a little faith and you'll see

If I could write a letter to me
To me

Oh my gosh! I completely neglected to recount my weekend for you! And it's not because it wasn't a blast -- when, in fact, it was so much fun.

Mom and Laura drove up from SA and met us (Becky, Jeff, Sarah) in LR on Friday night. Laura couldn't see - due to Lasek surgery that morning - which we all garnished a little too much entertainment from over the course of the weekend. Saturday we knocked around town doing some shopping and we met up with Devon and family for lunch at The Purple Cow. After that we got some rest before we made our way to Alltel Arena to see King George!

Mom and Dad got tickets for the rest of us for Christmas - and though Jeff and Mom had both seen him before - I hadn't! I've come to grips with the fact that I'm probably among a very few people who wanted to hear "Baby Blue" that night -- but he did sing "Amarillo By Morning", "The Chair", "The Cowboy Rides Away", and "Ocean Front Property" and gave an amazing concert. None of us really cared for his opening acts -- Sarah Johns and Little Big Town, but I appreciate him giving the little people a chance.

Sunday morning we all trekked to Fayetteville to gear up for the Hog game that afternoon. After we moved 11 times to that we were still near enough the court to see, yet far away from anyone standing up in front of Mom... we got to watch a fairly exciting game. The Hogs managed to win it in overtime - which seems to rarely happen in basketball - and considering Laura was half-blind - everyone had a good time.

Sadly, no pictures from this weekend. I have a few of George, but they did not turn out that well - so I'll just let you feast your eyes on the one above.

Ross has been passive-aggressively heckling me from her blog about my sporadic posting, so I'll try to step it up. I will be gone again this weekend with Devon and Andrew in Dallas so maybe I'll have some fun stories/pics to share when I get back. Happy Wednesday!

I heard something of interest on the radio this morning on my way to work. A listener wrote a letter to the DJs of this particular station about his daughter and her being in trouble at school. I'll paraphrase - but you'll get the idea.

"Dear DJ: I was born and raised above the Mason-Dixon line, but still consider myself to have very good manners. Since I have moved to Arkansas, I notice that most young people and children address adults and people of authority by "maam" or "sir". I have not taught my young daughter to do this as this is not something that is as common where I am from and I don't consider it necessary in order to have good manners. People I have encountered here in Arkansas, and in particular her grade school teachers, disagree with me. She has been reprimanded on several occasions while at school when she answers simply "yes" instead of "yes maam" or "yes sir". And there have also been several occasions in which adults have corrected her - in my presence. My daughter is otherwise very polite and I not only disagree that the addition of "maam" and "sir" to her vocabulary makes or breaks her manners, but I also think it is far less polite for an adult to correct a child while in the presence of the child's parents - no matter what the crime. What do you think?"

I, obviously, have an opinion. As do I believe that there is more than one issue here. I would love your thoughts.

I have been on an unacceptably long xanga-hiatus. And I am sorry. I have several updates for you and will try to make this entry entertaining and informative enough to keep your attention yet concise enough not to lose it. We'll see.

The week before Christmas I made my first of what would be THREE trips to Texas in eight days. I went to Dallas with my team from work -- and entered more individual Wal-Marts in 2 days than most people enter in a lifetime. Did store-checks all the way to Dallas (approx 8 hours) and back (approx 9 hours). Long few days, but I learned a lot about my new business (Iams) and got to stay at a Gaylord Hotel where I watched Monday Night Football on a TV measuring 57 by 15 feet. Seriously.

The weekend before Christmas Becky and I traveled to San Antonio to see #3 graduate from college.

It was such a fun day -- and Laura was honored by her class and the faculty with an award for her service and leadership outside of her studies over the past few years. Congratulations! She was playing the ever-popular role of an unemployed college graduate for a few days, but now has a job at a SA hospital for the next few months before she leaves for the Peace Corps in April. Keep up with her HERE. (Mom - I purposely excluded my account of the Alamo Blue Star vigil. Maybe next year I'll have something better to report.)

The next day I flew back to Arkansas to spend a few days with the Hoods for Christmas. No one let me break out Scene It? this year (they learn quickly!), but we did play plenty of Taboo, Catchphrase, and other such fun. This was also the beginning of the week of food... Sadly, no pictures. I need to work on that.

Christmas day Jeff and I drove BACK to San Antonio for Martin family Christmas.  It was a hard day without everyone that should have been there, but we had a nice day.

I wish I could say I had a picture of everyone in a funny hat... Becky and Laura are the lucky ones.

Wednesday morning Laura insisted that we go "hiking" to "test out" her new boots -- reference above photo. I agreed to go "hiking" with the guarantee that I wouldn't so much be "hiking" rather more like "walking".  

It was a little windy.

And that night we went to a Spurs game courtesy of Tom and Erika -- and had a good time watching "the boys" win. 

Afterwards we got to hang out with some real live locals - a.k.a. friends of Becky and Laura.

And Thursday night Mom and Dad took everyone to Fiesta Texas where Laura made her musical debut as "the bell" in Silver Bells.

A few more pics from the day at Six Flags...

Those last few are of an arcade that distracted us on our way from one Christmas music show to the next at Fiesta Texas. Becky and Jeff were cheating playing a basketball game, then Jeff challenged (and beat) me in Skeeball.

All so that we could accumulate enough tickets to win this for Laura. Rafiki became part of our entourage for the remainder of the evening. He thoroughly enjoyed the mariachis.

A good few days were had by all. Santa Claus was good to us. And we got home in time to see the basketball Hogs play ULM and the football Hogs play in the Cotton Bowl.  

I realize this has been nothing but a play-by-play of my last few weeks-- but I know all you really want is photos anyway... I'll see what I can do to conjure up a riveting post by the end of the week. No promises.

Today is two weeks until what would have been the first Christmas in three years for all six Martins to be together. It has been an especially hard few months considering the holidays, but everyone finds comfort in different ways and mine has been in stories. I have looked through pictures and read pieces of Tom's blog nearly every day the past two months and at first it was nearly unbearable. Every day there are more smiles and fewer tears - though both are good for the soul.

One thing that I did not expect is how it would feel to talk to people. So many (most, in fact) people where I live don't know Tom, but there are a few - and it makes for a very different conversation. When I get to see and hug people who knew him, it's just as hard on them as it is on me and it makes for a tough moment.

Something that makes my day and makes me cry - all at the same time - is receiving notes and letters from people about how they are remembering Tom. Prayer services and memorials, and tending to his grave. And I hear almost daily from my sisters a story or two that we know Tom would love to laugh at with us.

I received a note yesterday from a dear family friend in Cabot - and I want to share it with you. Those of you who knew Tom's connections to Cabot High School, and to the band, and particularly to the teachers mentioned -- will be especially touched.

So during the "news" on the radio this morning, I heard that TV Guide has developed a list of the top 50 WORST Television shows of all time - and that The Jerry Springer Show is #1. Now. I'm not defending anyone here, and I'm not suggesting that Jerry Springer is not the worst TV show of all time, but seriously? Upon hearing this, my first thought was "What's the criteria for this?" I don't know exactly how long it's been on - but I'm pretty sure it might be most of my lifetime. Surely the worst TV show of all time would have been canceled after a few episodes, maybe a few seasons. Surely longevity and popularity counts for something.  

Other popular/long-running TV shows to make the list include The Howard Stern Show, Barney and Friends, and Baywatch. To be fair, they are sprinkled amongst gems like The Brady Bunch Hour, Homeboys in Outer Space, and The Chevy Chase Show. So at least the list is thorough. AND it lists the network and longevity of the show. I counted several that literally only aired one episode...

After further reflection, I'm glad that a TV show being "good" or "bad" doesn't rely solely on popularity -- if for no other reason than I am grateful that movies are not judged on this same criteria. Can you imagine if we gave "Best Picture" oscars to movies like American Pie and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End? Or, God forbid, "Shrek 12" or "Spiderman 7?"

In other news, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings last night for supper -- which we've done almost every Thursday for several months now that we discovered they have 50¢ boneless wings on Thursdays. BWW has countless issues with service, which - first of all - is a whole other rant, and second - is really easy to overlook on 50¢ boneless wing night. Anyway, if you're a long-time reader/follower/fan of the blog you may remember an entry a while back about a rather embarassing incident involving me insulting a coworker of mine (at Outback) while out to lunch with my friend Leah. What was embarassing about it was that after we spent several minutes talking about this girl we both know - we got up to leave and noticed the booth behind us was filled with people I worked with at Outback... Open mouth. Insert foot.

So -- I went several months (years?) without seeing this girl after she quit at Outback and I quit at Outback. But our paths have crossed again. She works at Buffalo Wild Wings. Life is so unfair. She has waited on us a few times and regardless of who waits on us - we see her nearly every time we're in there. To punish me for being hateful, she has decided that she will pretend not to know who I am. She flat-out ignores my existence. I have smiled and waved at her countless times. She stares blankly. Not that I blame her....

A coworker sent this to a bunch of us this morning - and I thought I'd share as a follow-up to yesterday's post. Enjoy.

……..In case you still have holiday shopping…below are discount codes:

ONLINE DISCOUNTS:
Alloy Coupon Code: ALYGIFT (20% off entire order til Dec. 3, 2007 )
American Eagle Outfitters Coupon Code: 64152219 (15% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 11, 2007 )
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Banana Republic Coupon Code: BRHOLIDAY (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007 )
Bare Escentuals Coupon Code: BEFAMILY (20% off from Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
Barnes & Noble Coupon Code: T4N3B6W (25% off Single Item on Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2007 )
Bath and Bodyworks Coupon Code: VELVET10 ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
Bed Bath Store Coupon Code: holiday07 ($15 off $75 from Nov. 28 - Dec. 10, 2007 )
BeBe Sport Coupon Code: FAMILY25 (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet Coupon Code: CC10040 (extra 30% off your most expensive item - ends midnight Thursday, 11/29/07 )
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Golf Smith Coupon Code: FFD07 (UP TO 30% off from Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2007 ) Exclusions, here's the original post
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Nike Coupon Code: 2PCTH7A (20% off $125 from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007 )
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PRINTABLE INSTORE COUPON
Barnes & Noble (10% off on Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007 )
Bath and Bodyworks ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007 )
BeBe Sport (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
BestBuy ($20 off $175 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007 )
Borders or Waldenbooks (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 6, 2007 )
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Foot Locker (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
Champs (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
FootAction (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
Gordmans (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007 )
Guess Factory Stores (30% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007 )
H&M (25% off from Dec. 7 - Dec. 9, 2007 )
J. Jill (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007 )
JC Penny (20% off on Dec. 9, 2007 )
Kirklands (25% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007 )
The Limited ($30 off $100 from Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2007 )
Limited Too (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007 )
Linen & Things (20% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 31, 2007 )
Loehmanns (15% off Reduced Item & 20% off Clearance Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007 )
Lord & Taylor (15% off from Nov. 9 - Dec. 24, 2007 )
Macy's (pdf)(20% off from Nov 28 – Dec 03, 2007 )
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oshKosh ($10 off $50 from Nov 26 – Dec 11, 2007)
Sharper Image ($10 off $100 from Nov 27 – Jan 31, 2008 )
Staples (12% off from Dec. 2 - Dec. 8, 2007 )
Yankee Candle ($10 off $25 from Nov 27 - Dec. 22, 2007 )

These were all live links in my email - but I don't think that translates when you copy/paste...