The Titanic will set sail again since an Australian billionaire is funding a replica of the luxury ship that sank in 1912. The Titanic II will be equipped with more lifeboats and modern navigation equipment, but no internet connection and will depart from Dubai sometime in 2022, for a two-week maiden voyage to Southampton, England, before tracing the original ship’s journey to New York. There will be a similar number of passengers and crew. People are offering more than $1 million for a ticket.
“A friend of mine has two tickets for the 2019 Super Bowl, both box seats. He paid $2,500 each but he didn’t realize last year when he bought them, it was going to be on the same day as his wedding. If you are interested, he is looking for someone to take his place…It’s at Holy Cross Church, on Lake Avenue at 3pm. The bride’s name is Nicole, she’s 5’4″, about 115 lbs., and a good cook. She’ll be the one in the white dress.” (Found on Facebook. Thanks, Barbara.)
New Year’s Resolution: We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness. Put down your phones and enjoy the world around you in this new year.
Last Thursday, the Parking Way merchants brought Santa back for our 5th Annual “Santa at the Gazebo” evening. We had Santa, goodie bags, two bouncy houses, toy pony rides, popcorn, Christmas movies on a giant screen, crafts, prizes, apple cider, cookies and games, lots of games. Plus, everyone got to load up on the LJ trolley to ‘aww& ooooo’ at the downtown Christmas lights. A lot of work and money goes in to making this event a true family holiday tradition, so try to come next year. It’s all free and you will be glad that you came. It’s all about traditions and memories.
Ted Cruz’s chief strategist, Jeff Roe, who engineered the defeat of Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018, says that he believes that “Beto O’Rourke has a hot hand and should strike while he has it.” He is convinced that the El Paso congressman should run for president in 2020.
The full entertainment lineup for the 2019 Rodeo Houston will be announced Thursday, January 3, 2019. For sure, George Strait with Robert Earl Keen&Lyle Lovett will be March 17th.
Jim Allison, the Houston scientist who identified and discovered how to unleash a brake on the immune system, was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine by King Carl XVI of Sweden in Stockholm, Sweden. This is the ultimate recognition of research that has revolutionized cancer therapy. As far as I am concerned, he is a rock star and superhero all rolled into one.
Apologizing: does not always mean you are wrong, and the other person is right. It just means you value your relationship more than your ego.
Ohio State University students had a ‘bacon’ vending machine that was installed on campus that offered bacon strips and bacon bits for $1. The Ohio Pork Council sponsored the machine and it received bacon donations from Smithfield, Hormel and Sugardale. Proceeds from the machine were donated to Ohio State’s meat science program. Hmmm. Wait, maybe that should say Yummm.
Country singer Gary Morris is 70. The Wind Beneath My Wings. Former Tonight Show announcer Edd Hall is 60. He replaced Ed McMahon after Johnny Carson’s retirement. Pop-funk musician Walter ‘Clyde’ Orange is 72. The Commodores. Actor John York is 60. Mac Scorpio on General Hospital. Actress Raven-Symone is 33. Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show, That’s So Raven.
Actor Clu Gulager is 90. Emmett Ryker in The Virginian. He was the good looking one. Actress Marg Helgenberger is 60. CSI. Former pro tennis player Zina Garrison is 55. Singer Britney Spears is 37.
Popeye’s Emotional Support Chicken: For a limited time, it’s a three-piece chicken tender combo meal in a cute, chicken-shaped to-go disposable tote, that passengers can bring with them on their flights at the Philadelphia International Airport. It explains on the side of the box about comforting effects that fried chicken hason travelers. Well, PETA doesn’t like it. They say that Popeye’s is responsible for the slaughter of millions of chickens each year. Giggle. True.
Life is a one-time offer. Use it well.
In Florida, a 23-year-old man was arrested at McDonalds after he placed his order at the drive-thru window around 2am and then tried to trade a baggie of marijuana as payment for the food. The worker refused, and the car drove off. A short time later the young man came back to the drive-thru where police were able to make contact with him. Through the heavy odor of marijuana, the guy explained that he was just joking earlier. He was arrested. Hmmm. Resourceful, creative and original.
Toy Story 4 has revealed that there will be some new characters when the new sequel is released in June 2019. There are the wisecracking carnival prizes, ‘Ducky’ & ‘Bunny’ and the homemade ‘Forky’ who will join Buzz Lightyear and Co. I for one, can’t wait. I love these movies.
Malcolm Forbes – “A mature person is one who agrees with you.”
Singer Kid Rock says he followed the lead of actor Tyler Perry by paying off the lay-a-way of hundreds of Walmart customers in Nashville to the tune of $81,000. Pay it forward.
Buc-ee’s is going to install Tooshlights inside the restrooms of two of their largest travel centers in Katy (40 stalls) and Temple (39 stalls.) Tooshlights are simple. When the light is green, the stall is empty. When the light is red, it’s occupied. No wasting time looking under the door, which means you will have lots more time to shop. Nice thinking. I sure wish that there had been all these fabulous locations when my kids were little.
US Fish and Wildlife Service says the Laysan albatross named Wisdom appeared at her nest site at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge last month and biologists confirm she laid one egg. Biologists believe Wisdom is at least 68 years old and was first banded in 1956. She has returned to Midway with her mate almost every year since 2002 to raise one chick.
When the Paradise fire in California began to spread, Andrea Gaylord was not able to get back to her home to rescue her two Anatolian shepherds, Madison and Miguel. All she could do was pray for their safety. When the evacuation order was lifted, she found Madison still protecting what was left of her home. A wonderful volunteer had put out fresh food and water for the dog. Miguel was found in a different city. Great story.
Oxford Dictionaries has chosen the word Toxic as its international word of the year. The word Toxic was judged to have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance this year. There was a 45% increase in the number of times that ‘toxic’ was looked up on OxfordDictionaries.com in 2018. Hmmm.
New Year’s party tips.1.Eat veggies before going out. No matter if you’re at a party or fast food.2. Wear fitted clothes. If you have no room to eat more, you won’t. 3. Decide before you leave the house for the party…alcohol or dessert? Not both. 4.Pass on the casseroles. (see below – ha-ha)5. If you are having a party be sure to put out a pitcher of water with slices of orange and lemon in it. People always feel more comfortable at a party with something in their hand and a water is perfect to stay hydrated. 6.Eat breakfast then you won’t overindulge later.
My favorite party foods from the holiday get-togethers that I attended so far are: 1. Mary’s Pignoli Cookies at our neighborhood party, made from almond paste, egg whites, pine nuts and are heavenly. 2. Friend’s party – John made a dish with butternut squash, deer sausage that was eitherplaced in cannelloni or wrapped with a flat pasta like lasagna, then he covered it with a cream sauce that had a tiny taste of nutmeg. Wonderful.3.Office parties are always good at The Source Weekly because we have a slew of great cooks working here. At our luncheon this week, I brought a 13-pound ham that was baked with sugar-spice glaze. I didn’t realize that I could have fed most of Clute with a ham this size.Everyone else in the office brought sides. Well, casseroles. We had cheese potatoes, green bean casserole with cheese, macaroni & cheese, corn pudding with cheese and creamy rosemary potatoes with cheese.4. Dinner Party – Mark and Shirley took asparagus, rolled them in Panko crumbs, then baked them. It’s a winner. I pulled up a recipe that says dip them in flour, eggs, Panko and parmesan.
My daughter had a pretty tough time in her first semester at University of Houston. The School of Architecture is hard and being away from home was harder. I am here to announce with great joy that she made a 4.0 her first semester. Way to go, Anne-Elisabeth. My sweet girl, I love you to the deep, dark depths of outer space and back. I couldn’t be prouder. You earned it.
Happy New Year, folks. They say that 80% of resolutions fail by the second week of February so quit setting yourself up for failure. Focus more on what you CAN control. Be more present this year both in social situations and with your family. Make an effort to apologize when you should. Maintain a budget. Read a book instead of TV. Stop procrastinating. Build ‘alone time’ into your schedule. If you tend to overextend yourself, then learn to say ‘no.’ If you do nothing, then for sure, say ‘yes’ and volunteer – it releases good endorphins that help you live longer. Put down the phone. Please. It’s a great big beautiful world and it needs both your hands. Lisa
