HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIZA!

This Cinderella missed the stroke of midight (and a year-end tax deduction) by ten minutes, but Ventura County's New Year Baby of 1976 was well worth the wait! Eliza Florence Reed Clement, we salute you!

In the spirit of Emily's birthday tribute to Eric, I give you five facts about Liza:

1. She worked tirelessly to organize an appreciation week for the teachers at San Jacinto Elementary School where she is the only parent on the advisory board, working with the principal to raise test scores and standards.

2. She campaigned for Mitt Romney in the Panhandle, spending hours on the phone soliciting donations. She received a personal invitation to Romney's recent speech on faith, given at the George Herbert Walker Bush Presidential Library in College Station, TX.

3. She received high school graduation congratulations from Wendy, the Snapple lady and on-air from the cast of Mystery Science Theater 2000.

4. She swam across the Missouri River. Since she was swimming against a strong current, she ended up doing it more lengthwise than crosswise.

5. She holds the international record for the number of times she has gotten lost at Disneyland. (and we won't even get into the whole "lost pants" thing.)

A wonderful wife...

mother...

daughter

Amazing Race Episode #8

Kynt and Vixen's "witch powers" were insufficient to save them from elimination last night. The aforesaid "witch powers" were not claimed by the goth duo but were bestowed upon them by Jennifer, who (in my humble opinion) is a complete idiot. I know that the footage is edited for maximum impact, but it was funny last night when, about five minutes after saying that they realized they had embarrassed themselves on national television with their immature behavior, Jennifer told Nate that "the tone of your voice makes me sick!"

Other less-than-brilliant behavior last night had to include Ron who started pasting his six-panel "Bollywood" ad just above where he could comfortably reach. When he wasn't tall enough to fix a misalignment, Chris had to take it away from him and start the process over from scratch. I felt her pain when she kept hissing at her father that it wasn't smart to "piss off the judge!"

Again, the old "READ THE CLUE" problem reared its pesky head when both Jennifer and Kynt had to go back for the receipts from delivering propane tanks.

Nicholas and Don lost first place (I believe) when T.K. carried three propane tanks up the stairs while Nicholas carried them one at a time. No wonder Nicholas became nauseous and dehydrated--all that stair climbing! In spite of that, it was a happy ending. I'm happy for T.K. and Rachael and I'm impressed with Nicholas and Don's performance. Who would have thought that a 70 year old guy could make it to the final four?

I'm sorry to see Team Pink go. They were clever racers and, for the most part, were appreciative and affable. I always root for the teams who enjoy new experiences and treat the local people (and each other) with courtesy.

I believe there are two more non-elimination rounds and four teams left in the race, so I think we can plan on next week being a non-elimination. What do you think? Who are you rooting for? And, finally, is it just me or does India look better this time around?

Amazing Race Episode #7

I think it is absolutely insane that the Fast Forward involved tattoos! When Phil met Nick and Don on the mat I really expected that it would turn out to be a joke--washable ink , or something! Yet further evidence that it was probably a good thing that Clare and Chris backed out when they did.

But the upside of Nick and Don's nutty devotion to the game was that Nate and Jennifer were once again "cheated" out of a first place win! I am making it my personal mission to pray that they never get a first place just because Jennifer is so obsessed with it.

My new favorites, T.K. and Rachael survived against crazy bad luck this week. I couldn't believe that it took T.K. four times as long as anyone else to find the word "Vinci" from the air. I was really feeling their pain. But then the Goths got seriously lost AND had car trouble! T.K. and Rachael were able to put together the Leonardo da Vinci crane ahead of Kynt and Vixen learning the flag routine and I thought, "YES! All is right in Amazing Race land!" THEN, a flat tire! T.K. must be very good at changing flats because I thought they were sunk. A very exciting race to the mat, with the Goths coming in last.

Luckily for team pink and black it was a non-elimination round, which kind of proves the point I was suggesting in my last AR blog. But if Phil says it's random, I believe him. I am looking forward to their actual elimination, though, because I'm quite sure that Kynt will choose that moment to reveal that he is really a girl.

A final word about Christina and Ron. No mention of his hernia this week, but he's back to being very critical and demanding. And it looks like it continues next week. If he keeps this up, America will be rooting for a medical mishap.

Peas in a Pod

Check out Emily's new blog about baby look-a-likes. Some AMAZING similarities! I would like to submit my own "peas in a pod" nominination...Spencer and Alvie.

What do you think?

A Different Kind of Amazing Race

As you know, there was not a new episode of the Race last night due to the season finale of Survivor. So I will take this opportunity to blog about a different, though still amazing, race. On Saturday, Bill and I will celebrate thirty-five years of marriage. We are living proof that two people, from very different backgrounds, can indeed live "happily ever after." Permit me to compare and contrast...

In the Gappmayer house, Mom (Grandma) reigned supreme. She ran a tough ship from atop her pedestal. If we wanted to be happy, we knew we had to keep Mom happy.

In the Reed house, boys were king. As with many southern families, Mom lived to serve the male members of her household, to make sure they were adequately fed and hydrated at all times and to make sure they were completely dependant on the women in their lives.

In the Gappmayer house, Mad magazine, the Three Stooges and the "Our Gang" comedies were considered low class and it was generally believed that they gave children bad ideas.

In the Reed house, the children not only got bad ideas from the above sources, they acted on them. Setting fires, playing in dirty alleys and generally running wild from dawn until dusk.

Food in the Gappmayer house consisted almost entirely of casseroles and jello salads. There was usually some kind of creamed soup involved in the preparation.

The Reeds actually ate vegetables--things like okra, greens and grits. Bacon fat was saved and used to flavor nearly everything.

The Gappmayers listened to Tabernacle Choir recordings.

The Reeds made their own music with guitars and banjos.

I could go on and on with the differences in culture, background and traditions, but the really important thing was that both families loved the Lord and taught their children to walk in truth and righteousness. With that foundation, differences become much less important.

It has been a truly amazing thirty-five year race. We have gone through times of poverty when we did our Christmas shopping at Pic 'N Save and our school clothes shopping at the thrift store. I remember one year when the transmission went out on our car and I ended up in the bathroom, throwing up and crying, when we got the $1,500.00 bill. We have gone through times of heartbreak, when our children were unhappy or at risk. We have lost people that we love. But for every moment of struggle or sorrow there have been a thousand moments of joy. With a shared faith and an abiding friendship we have found moments of comfort and joy even in the midst of distress.

The key to a happy marriage is not creating out of your chosen partner someone they are not. It is looking for the wonderful uniqueness in them and learning to either enjoy it or ignore it. And just like on the Amazing Race, the key to success is having a really, really good partner.

Thank you, Bill, for being my eternal partner. Let's go for another thirty-five!

I LOVE YOU, BILL REED!!!

AR Episode #6

Well, last night would have been the time to pull out the "non-elimination round" card if the use of it was rigged, like I have sometimes thought. It seems that in past races the n.e. round was mighty convenient, keeping controversial or popular racers in the game. But it didn't work last night for the popular brother-sister duo of Azaria and Hendekea. And just when I was finally starting to remember their names...

My random thoughts on last night's episode:

1. Lithuania and Croatia are lovely places. It's too bad the blonds didn't survive to this leg of the race. I don't think they could have found anything to criticize.

2. READ YOUR CLUES CAREFULLY!!! Two teams got sloppy and it cost them--especially Azaria and Hendekea. But even if Nate and Jennifer hadn't designated some guy's private car a taxi they wouldn't have been in first place--AGAIN--IT'S SO UNFAIR!!! (Insert the sound of Jennifer crying bitter tears.)

3. Speaking of Nate and Jennifer...Dr. Phil needs to fly in to their next location and meet them at the pit stop to do an intervention. I don't think this match was made in heaven.

4. Rowing seems like the last thing someone with a peek-a-boo hernia should be trying. But it worked out okay for Ron and Chris. (The most patient daughter on earth.)

5. Kudos to the goths and hippies. They are consistently polite and supportive of each other. It looks like that all changes next week, though...

6. I am convinced that Nick and Don couldn't find their way out of a paper bag. Every episode seems to feature Nick wandering in circles. And Don needs to have a fire lit under him if they are going to survive. He's giving old people a bad name with all of his "slo-mo" action.

Well, we don't know where next week will take us, but it's about time for someplace really nasty. Tijuana? India? What's your guess?

Amazing Race

While we were out of town we missed (but recorded) episodes 4 and 5 of AR. Since they are old news to my faithful readers (all two of you) I won't rehash them except to say that people say (and do) the darndest things! I will share the comments of Pablo, the fellow AR fan who cuts my hair. As near as I recall, this is a direct quote:

"Those blonde ****es seriously need to have their roots touched up! Don't tell me they can't get it done in Africa! And that little short one needs to moisturize!"

I will comment on this coming Sunday's episode and invite you to join he discussion.

Thank you, Nancy

We are home from our whirlwind two-week tour of the Southwest. We enjoyed Thanksgiving in St. George, then drove to San Antonio via Roswell, NM. After a wonderful visit in San Antonio (see Emily's blog) we returned to St. George via Albuquerque, spent a night in St. George, then back to Bakersfield. It was a real eye-opener. We trusted our GPS ("Nancy") to get us there and back and she didn't let us down. We saw some interesting sights and beautiful scenery. The drive through Texas was mainly on two-lane roads through interesting little towns, and the drive through northern Arizona, through the Hopi and Navajo reservations was gorgeous.


Best of all, we got to spend time with some of the people we love and miss; Mom and Dad Gappmayer, the Taylors (Sarah and the boys took the road trip with us to Texas), all of Sean's extended family, Aunt Laura (who joined up with us in Roswell), the Whites (including Eric's Mom, Ann), Liza and little Morgan, Uncle John and Susan.


We have a lot of fine memories and photos. Here are a few: (Feel free to post comments with your own captions.)