Jordan, Ashley, and Hailey Birthday Bash

The birthday bash was moved to Saturday January 27th, 2007. Last week we had a couple of inches of ice on the ground. The 27th started out with rain. Mid morning we had snow and by the afternoon the sun came out for a few minutes. Jordan and Ashley had previously opened presents on their actual birthday and also helped Hailey open her present. They now think every day is their birthday and want to know where the presents are.

In Loving Memory

Rosie Duncan
2004-2007

We Have A Wiener!

It was a hard fought battle between well equipped opponents. But at long last there is a victor in the First Annual Duncan Family College Bowl Blowout! We all picked our favorites, through long thought out processes, weighing the pros and cons of each team. Which quarterback had the accuracy and quick-wittedness to rise above the rest? Which defensive line was an unstoppable wall of grit and muscle? Which mascot was the cutest?

Then the games began. In the beginning it looked like the girls had the upper hand. Melissa and Julie started out strong, picking the first 15 or so match-ups with almost unerring accuracy. Even Jordan held her own with the best of them in the beginning. Would these girls proof to know more about this manliest of sports than the boys? Hunter and I particularly languished in the bottom ranks. But we vowed to make a comeback as the bowl games stacked up.

And sure enough after all was said and done, when the dust had cleared, our final winners of the highly coveted Duncan Family No-Prize for picking the most winners in the 2006-2007 Duncan Family College Bowl Blowout are Mike D. and Eric H. with 21 correct picks! Congratulations boys! You'll be receiving what's coming to you soon!

We won't mention who came in dead last... sniff sniff.

And Still More . . .

The third one is a picture of our live nativity outside our church. I'm Mary and Cassie is an angel . . .talk about typecasting!

Yet more Christmas Pics

More Pics

Christmas Pics

Here are some pics from Christmas! All from the new camera!!!

Bowl Picks Are In!

Final Bowl Count

NO PRIZE Co-Champs - Mike Duncan, Eric Houck (21)
3rd Place - Julie Duncan, Hunter Houck, Cassie Duncan, Babs O. (17)
7th Place - Melissa Duncan, Ashley Duncan, Jordan Duncan (15)
10th Place - Greg Duncan (13)
11th Place - Tim Duncan (9)

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Tis the season to be jolly, for warm and fuzzy feelings, family get-togethers and good will toward men - and for hard hitting grid iron action! And so we've requested everyone's picks for all the BCS Bowl games starting this evening with the Poinsettia Bowl featuring Northern Illinois & TCU. We've even got an Olson chiming in - so shame on you Duncans that didn't get your votes in on time! Maybe we'll give you some leeway if you can still make it before 6:00 this evening when the game starts!

Here are the choices. We'll give a tally of how everyone's scoring periodically throughout the course of the Bowl Season! The person with the most correct picks at the end receives a fabulous Duncan Family No-Prize! Good luck to everyone!

(-> denotes winner)
__________

Poinsettia Bowl
Northern Illinois - Cassie, Ashley, Jordan, Hunter, Tim
-> TCU - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Eric, Babs O., Mike

Las Vegas Bowl
-> BYU - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Ashley, Jordan, Tim
Oregon - Cassie, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Mike

New Orleans Bowl
-> Troy - Melissa, Cassie, Hunter
Rice - Greg, Julie, Ashley, Jordan, Eric, Babs O., Tim, Mike

PapaJohns.com Bowl
East Carolina - Melissa, Tim
-> South Florida - Cassie, Eric, Hunter, Greg, Julie, Ashley, Jordan, Babs O., Mike

New Mexico Bowl
-> San José State - Melissa, Jordan, Julie, Ashley, Tim
New Mexico - Hunter, Eric, Greg, Cassie, Babs O., Mike

Armed Forces Bowl
-> Utah -
Tulsa - Eric, Hunter, Melissa, Cassie, Jordan, Ashley, Greg, Julie, Babs O., Tim, Mike

Hawaii Bowl
-> Hawaii - Melissa, Cassie, Ashley, Julie, Jordan, Eric, Hunter, Babs O., Tim, Mike
Arizona State - Greg

Motor City Bowl
-> Central Michigan - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Eric, Babs O., Tim, Mike
Middle Tennessee - Cassie, Jordan, Ashley, Hunter

Emerald Bowl
UCLA - Melissa, Greg, Ashley, Jordan, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Tim, Mike
-> Florida State - Cassie, Julie

Independence Bowl
Alabama - Hunter, Tim
-> Oklahoma State - Melissa, Cassie, Eric, Greg, Julie, Jordan, Ashley, Babs O., Mike

Holiday Bowl
-> California - Cassie, Eric, Mike
Texas A&M - Melissa, Hunter, Jordan, Ashley, Greg, Julie, Babs O., Tim

Texas Bowl
Kansas State - Cassie, Ashley, Jordan, Babs O.
-> Rutgers - Melissa, Hunter, Eric, Greg, Julie, Tim, Mike

Music City Bowl
Clemson - Melissa, Cassie, Greg, Jordan, Julie, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Mike
-> Kentucky - Ashley, Tim

Sun Bowl
-> Oregon State - Melissa, Julie, Ashley, Hunter, Mike
Missouri - Greg, Jordan, Cassie, Eric, Babs O., Tim

Liberty Bowl
Houston - Cassie, Greg, Julie, Babs O.
-> South Carolina - Melissa, Jordan, Ashley, Eric, Hunter, Tim, Mike

Insight Bowl
-> Texas Tech - Melissa, Greg, Jordan, Julie, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Mike
Minnesota - Cassie, Ashley, Tim

Champs Sports Bowl
-> Maryland - Greg, Hunter
Purdue - Melissa, Cassie, Eric, Jordan, Julie, Ashley, Babs O., Tim, Mike

Meineke Car Care Bowl
-> Boston College - Cassie, Greg, Eric, Hunter, Babs O., Tim, Mike
Navy - Melissa, Julie, Jordan, Ashley

Alamo Bowl
-> Texas - Cassie, Julie, Greg, Jordan, Eric, Hunter, Babs O., Mike
Iowa - Melissa, Ashley, Tim

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Virginia Tech - Melissa, Cassie, Greg, Julie
-> Georgia - Eric, Hunter, Ashley, Jordan, Babs O., Tim, Mike

MPC Computers Bowl
Nevada - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Tim
-> Miami (FL) - Eric, Hunter, Ashley, Jordan, Cassie, Babs O., Mike

Outback Bowl
-> Penn State - Cassie, Julie
Tennessee - Melissa, Greg, Jordan, Ashley, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Tim, Mike

Cotton Bowl
Nebraska - Melissa, Cassie, Greg, Julie, Babs O., Tim
-> Auburn - Hunter, Eric, Jordan, Ashley, Mike

Gator Bowl
Georgia Tech - Cassie, Jordan, Ashley, Hunter, Tim
-> West Virginia - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Eric, Babs O., Mike

Capital One Bowl
-> Wisconsin - Cassie, Melissa, Eric, Babs O.
Arkansas - Greg, Julie, Ashley, Jordan, Hunter, Tim, Mike

Rose Bowl
-> Southern California - Cassie, Jordan, Ashley, Babs O., Mike
Michigan - Melissa, Greg, Julie, Hunter, Eric, Tim

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma - Eric, Hunter, Greg, Julie, Ashley, Jordan, Babs O., Tim, Mike
-> Boise State - Melissa (I take no pleasure in getting this right), Cassie

Orange Bowl
Wake Forest - Melissa, Tim
-> Louisville - Greg, Julie, Jordan, Ashley, Eric, Hunter, Cassie, Babs O., Mike

Sugar Bowl
Notre Dame - Melissa, Julie, Jordan, Ashley, Tim
-> LSU - Eric, Hunter, Greg, Cassie, Babs O., Mike

International Bowl
-> Cincinnati - Jordan, Julie, Ashley, Hunter, Eric, Babs O., Mike
Western Michigan - Melissa, Cassie, Greg, Tim

GMAC Bowl
-> Southern Mississippi - Cassie, Julie, Eric, Hunter, Babs O., Mike
Ohio - Melissa, Greg, Jordan, Ashley, Tim

BCS National Championship Game
Ohio State - Greg, Julie, Hunter, Babs O., Tim, Mike
-> Florida - Melissa, Cassie, Eric, Jordan, Ashley

Our annual trip to see the Chickasha Christmas lights and who should we run into but... And when we met some say, his heart grew three sizes that day.

KFC = Klerks Forget Courtesy

I am spitting mad. I mean actually spitting. I'll have to clean that up later. And it all has to do with KFC, ya know the place that decided that if they cut their name back and went with only initials that we, the public, are stupid enough to forget that the word FRIED is in their name. "KFC . . . Look kids, they's a health food joint now, Yeehaw!!!" Back to the spitting mad part.

Last week, Cassie and I decided we wanted a nice chicken dinner after Choir practice (I was having a pretty bad day and hey their chicken isn't fried anymore, so why not?) So I drove up to the drive through in my run down, ramshackle Ford which rattles, hums and spits. If that weren't enough, my car windows no longer roll down so I have to open my door to order and that of course sets off the dinger which "Dings" incessantly reminding me that I left my keys in the car and my lights are on!! So I was speaking a little louder than normal because I was talking over the car, but I was not yelling. Before I got two words out of my mouth the teen on the other end interrupts and says quite rudely:

"Maam, your shouting my ear off so STOP IT" Basically she told me to Shut Up. Me. A customer. So I said back to her. "I'll just go some place else." Granted that's not a really good come back, but I was shocked!! Who taught her how to speak to customers like that. By the time I got home and got really good and mad I called the store and complained to the manager, but I'm sure that did a whole lot of good. So then I called the 800 number to complain to the Colonel himself. After being told that he had passed (God rest his Kentucky Fried Soul) I talked to the next person in charge and was told the complaint would be passed on. Hmph. Probably to the same person I had just talked to earlier at the store. So basically not a whole lot got done. That's when I decided that complaining to them was not the answer. Complaining to everyone else was! Maybe when other people got wind of it, they would think twice about eating at this particular store. They would tell two friends, and they would tell two friends, and so on. . . So I'm telling my two friends and you guys.

The KFC on Lindsey stinks. They are rude, obnoxious and obviously care nothing for their customers. Oh, and by the way, they still fry their chicken . . . I've seen them. Some say a single nut job can't change the world but they have yet to see what this particular Nut Job is capable of . . . Today KFC, tomorrow . . . someplace else that is rude to me. Ah, the power!!!!

How Not to Maintain a Blog

Okay. I admit it. I am not the best organizer in the world. Thank goodness I have a head for numbers that way I do remember birthday's, dentists appointments, weddings, funerals, etc. And usually I can remember the myriad user names and passwords to my various accounts. Call it a gift . . .or a curse (demented musical stinger goes here). The curse is that since I can remember so many things, I neglect to write most things down. LIke my user name and password to this very site. Obviously, I know it now, but I had to jump through a whole bunch of hoops and a circus performer I ain't!!

So I have returned to the Duncan blog. That's means be prepared to experience my weird, goofy and sometimes sadistic brand of blog. Next Blog Subject: Satan Lives in Haileyville . . . Stay tuned.

Ashley with Camera

Ashley has taken up photography. She is using her own technique at this point.
A picture of Jordan and Daddy. The shopper cart and floor. Mommy and Hailey with Ashley's finger in the picture. Maybe she could submit some pictures to her Uncle Mike's web site?

Snow Day

It does snow in Oklahoma!
I remember growing up and the snow was eight to ten inches deep. On Thursday November 30th we received four to five inches in southwest Oklahoma. Snow drifts were in the 9 to 12 inch range. This snow was very powdery. Jordan the first time she saw it said, "Let's go play out in the sand". Pictures Left to Right: Jordan running in the snow, the blizzard in our back yard, Daddy with Ashley.

First Time Bowling

Ashley and Jordan bowled for the first time last Saturday November 18, 2006. In the picture you can see Ashley or was it Jordan (it was a team sport) watching the ball go down the lane. Hailey was also interested in why we were throwing the ball. Several times the girls would both lay belly down at the foul line and watch as the ball slowly made its approach on the pins.

The Village

On my recent trip to Wilburton I returned with the village. I remember Tim and I visiting the village often in the 1970's. The old town is showing its age. Businesses have shut down moving to the big city or overseas. I remember a Holiday Inn most likely torn down. Banners and signs on buildings no longer exist. There are not as many people as I recall living there. Citizens moving on or just getting lost through the years of change. The years of neglect and not enough residences have caused the city to show its age.

Jordan, Ashley and Hailey Duncan have revitalized the town. It is all new to them. They love visiting the village. Since Hailey started crawling she is right in the middle of her sisters.

The village is alive again!

Book Review: The Gunslinger

Just wrapped up one of my few excursions into the world of Stephen King. Melissa is a huge fan and has read just about everything he's ever written (and that's a lot of stuff!) except the Dark Tower series. I don't know why it never appealed to her. Maybe because it was a series of books and not a one-shot like his usual fare. Whatever it was, I decided to get her the first set in the series (there are seven installments now!) for Christmas last year. Tis the season, after all.

She has yet to read a single one yet.

Now I know why.

She started reading it one evening in the Spring. She had a perplexed look on her face. She tried again the next night. She then proceeded to explain how great Stephen King can craft a riveting tale... usually.

The Gunslinger, the first installment of the series, follows the path of the titular character, a man named Roland who incessantly chases after "the man in black". He crosses deserts, mountains and pitch dark tunnels in his pursuit. Sounds riveting, doesn't it? But I can't tell you for the life of me why he did it. Or why he didn't shoot the guy when he caught up with him (oh, yeah, hate to spoil it for you but he catches up in the end for whatever good it does him). I mean he was The Gunslinger after all!

But instead they spend there entire time talking at each other. Which isn't inherently bad. It would help to give the reader a clue about what they were talking about, though. I still don't know why Roland chased down this guy, who this guy was, or what exactly happened to this guy in the end. It was all just a very long waste of time, in my humble opinion.

There are hordes of King junkies out there who compare The Dark Tower series of books to The Lord of the Rings.

Well, I know The Lord of the Rings and you, sir, are no Tolkien!

NFL Picks

This NFL season Greg, Julie, Jordan and Ashley are picking our NFL teams week to week. Hailey decided to sit out this season. So far it is a close race. After week ten our correct pick percentage is: Greg 60%, Julie 50%, Jordan 55% and Ashley at 62%. In week ten Greg picked 12 out of 16, Julie 12/16, Jordan 8/14, and Ashley with an off week of 7/14. In week five Ashley had 12 out of 14. She picked Green Bay over St.Louis in a close one that went to the Cardinals (23 to 20). Her other lost that week was picking Tennessee over Indianapolis. The Colts came back in the 4th to win that one 14 to 13. Ashley picked 12/16 in week two. Weeks seven thru nine she was 10 out of 14 each week. Dallas is an automatic pick (grandpa's team). Although I've noticed the girls are not picking Dallas each week. How are your teams doing?

Yeah, it's been awhile...

Sorry I haven't posted in such a long while. I guess we've all been very busy in our own little worlds lately. Let me see if I can sum up the last couple of months.

We moved. Oh, yeah. You already knew that.

Well what you might not know is that moving can be a traumatic life event. It can rip the very fabric of one's social life apart. Friends get left behind, some never to be seen again. It's all very depressing.

But, seeing as Melissa and I have no social life or friends, we've been getting along famously! Cassie's made lots of new Friends at school and really likes her new teacher Mr. Tally. She's also been cheering for the Norman Optomist Club Football League - though she's had some issues with her coach.

Melissa's been keeping busy with working at the Omniplex on weekends every now and then, helping out with the youth program at our new church, Goodrich United Methodist, and coaching a group of cheerleaders for the Norman Optomist Club Football League.

And I've been working.

So now you're all caught up! Now... what have YOU been doing?

Plumbing Anyone?

After a week with no facilities, it looks like we're back "online" so to speak. Dad replaced the sewer line in the backyard a while ago, but he only made it as far as halfway through the lawn. It seems the rest of the line finally decided to quit on us. We had to have the rest of it replaced this week. We still have a huge trench in our backyard but the plumbers are supposed to fill that in tomorrow after the cuty inspector comes to lay his hands on it and bless it or whatever city inspectors do to sewer lines. Likely give it a cursory glance and sign something in triplicate.

Unfortunately it's one more thing to sap the bank account this summer! Besides moving expenses at the beginning of the summer and all the usual expenses involved with a 10-year-old girl who likes cheerleading, we've had two pets ill, and a car with a bum starter to fix in the past two months! Needless to say, we're glad the summer's almost over! Hopefully everything will be settling down soon.

And with less excitement - maybe there will be more time to update the blog! And I encourage everyone else to do the same!

Dashboard Cookies

We baked cookies on our dashboard today. I don't know if anyone heard the news story, but here's a link if you didn't:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14174161/

I just used the premade cookies in the refrigerated aisle so I didn't put out too much effort if they didn't work. Today it got up to 104 degrees so I thought it was a good day to test it. Greg had the car at lunch and got back late so I didn't get the cookies out until 1:50 pm. They were pretty good at 5:00, but Greg and I both thought if I set them out at 12:30 they would have been a little better. They were a little too soft in the center. The outside and top was baked completely though. The package I bought had 12 and we made six today. Maybe we'll try the other six some other day.