Hallie, who joined a new decade yesterday, does a bit on Wednesdays called "Is it just me...." where we post what we are really thinking. You know how you wonder if there is anyone else in the world who thinks like you? This is your chance to find out. Make sure you pop over and see what thoughts Hallie and everyone else are wondering about this week.

Is it just me or is the crock pot (slow cooker) an amazing gizmo that is really under-appreciated? Seriously, I do about 5 minutes of prep, throw it in my crock pot and come home to a great smelling house and a dinner ready to serve. Recent items in my crock pot have been Black Bean Chili, Pulled Chicken, Beef Stew, meat loaf with cheesy potatoes and "roast" chicken. Chicken today means chicken noodle soup later in the week! Yummy. Note to self - do not feed dog the leftover Black Bean Chili next time. She loved it but got her revenge for days by stinking up the house. (Wrinkles nose).

Is it just me or does everyone put together a "Vacation Notebook"? I put in everything we need for the vacation. It has a zippered pencil case for important papers like the passports (so I don't make the mistake of taking the title to the motorcycle instead of my son's birth certificate again), edocuments (cruise tickets or hotel reservations, etc.), maps, print outs of attractions we might want to do (with addresses, phone numbers, hours, etc.) and maps. I am 99% done with the notebook for the next vacation. Just hope I don't forget it somewhere. Did that one time. Whoops. Luckily, we figured it out pretty soon and drove back and picked it up. Phew.

Is it just me or are you all SICK, SICK, SICK of reading or hearing anything about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I don't care if they are together or apart or dating monkeys in Africa. I simply do not give a darn. It is to the point where I would hesitate to even watch either of them in a movie. Enough already.

Is it just me or does it drive you nuts when they make a book into a movie and change it pretty significantly? I remember when I was a young teen being obsessed with "The Other Side of the Mountain" book about an Olympic quality skier who was paralyzed in a skiing accident. I could barely wait for the movie to come out. I was so disappointed because so much had changed from the book. It seemed like the only thing that was the same was that the main character was Jill Kinmont and she got hurt. To this day, I usually hate the movies when I have read the book first. A few weeks ago, I went to see "The Blind Side" which is based on the true life story of Michael Oher and I really enjoyed it. I decided to read the book to get the "rest of the story". I am stunned, to say the least, that the movie was extremely accurate. A few things were done in a different order and they made it seem like he was clueless about football but a high percentage was accurate. Even the scenes that I thought "yeah, this was just for the movie because it is so funny" were accurate. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. The book is good also. It does include information on the evolution of the NFL which was much more interesting than I expected.

Is it just me or are you looking for book recommendations for your up-coming vacation? Oh, that is just me? Once again, I am looking to load up the Kindle before I head out to sea. Last August, y'all did such a good job and I can't wait to hear about what good books you have been reading!

Here's to Hallie - who certainly doesn't look 40!