101 in 1001

Here it is - my 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days list! This was actually an easy list to make. I thought it would take forever, but it really didn't. Here is the main page for other peoples' lists as well. 101 in 1001

My start date is 7-15-2007 at 1:07:00 AM.
My goal date is 4-11-2010 at 1:07:00 AM.



1> Watch American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies. (17/100)
2> Read the entire Bible.
3> Read Shakespeare's complete works.
4> Light a candle every day for 100 days. (1/100)
5> Put together scrapbooks of our wedding, the kitties, and my family.
6> Work up to 100 pushups.
7> Work up to 100 situps.
8> Reach my goal weight of 140.
9> Have our own house.
10> Have children.
11> Run a mile.
12> Color an entire coloring book.
13> Recite the Greek alphabet from memory.
14> Learn elementary Latin.
15> Learn elementary Gaelic.
16> Take a photography class.
17> Learn a new instrument.
18> Take my older niece out for girlie time once every 3 months.
19> Send a care package to a soldier.
20> Get a passport.
21> Contribute to a savings account every paycheck... indefinitely.
22> Submit an entry to PostSecret.
23> Go to RenFaire.
23> Go to Medieval Times.
24> See another Broadway show.
25> Do something nice for a stranger.
26> Volunteer in Habitat for Humanity.
27> Help someone in need.
28> Grow a plant that actually blooms more than once.
29> Watch a sunrise and a sunset.
30> Learn 25 new meals and cook them all at least once for hubby.
31> Eat 20 new healthy things I have never tried before. Stick with five of them.
32> Work up to 40 minutes a day on my elliptical trainer.
33> Learn a new word every week and use it three times in everyday language.
34> Host a real get-together for my friends (not just a candle party).
35> Learn how to use Photoshop.
36> Take a photo of myself every day of the 1001 days.
37> Write a haiku.
38> Go to sleep on time or earlier for 1 month; track results.
39> Give up a junk food.
40> Entertain in a retirement home.
41> Stop swearing.
42> Read 10 banned books.
43> Finish my Sudoku book and the Sudokus in my Nintendo DS.
44> Backup my important files on my computer.
45> Find time to go camping with hubby. Go camping.
46> Create a property will and a living will.
47> Buy our burial plots.
48> Attend a poetry reading.
49> Pay off my car and finally own something.
50> Really clean out my closet and donate everything I clean out to local battered women's shelter.
51> Give 20 undiscovered bands a listening chance.
52> Grow a small herb garden; keep alive until I have harvested something I can use in the kitchen.
53> Have one of those western pics taken with hubby.
54> Take a picture of something different every day for a month, twice. Review.
55> Volunteer at an Animal Shelter with hubby.
56> Dress up as something horribly scary for Halloween.
57> Spend 10 minutes in silence each day for a month.
58> Read all books we currently own.
59> Foster a rescued animal.
60> Have a picnic 5 times with hubby.
61> Say yes to something I would normally reject.
62> Go to an IMAX theater and not get sick.
63> Drink only water for 3 months.
64> Have flowers delivered to my Mom for no reason.
65> Dig for fossils.
66> Drop money where only a child can get it.
67> Have my teeth whitened.
68> Put together my Disney puzzle.
69> Read/reread all 7 Harry Potter books.
70> Do something crafty that requires mosaic stone.
71> Make a blanket from my old marching band/college t-shirts.
72> Get certified in Adult & child CPR.
73> Buy a lottery ticket.
74> Watch 10 movies I don't want to watch.
75> Choose an affirmation and say it each day for a month, changing every month for 6 months. Continue if it makes me happy.
76> Stop twirling my hair with my right hand.
77> Read the 100 Best Novels.
78> Beat hubby at chess 5 times in a row.
79> See all of the IMDB's Top 250 movies I haven’t seen yet (53/250).
80> Send 25 e-cards.
81> Send snail mail birthday cards to all of my family members.
82> Donate platelets 15 times.
83> Have BBQ at 10 new places (list to follow!)
84> See 'Shakespeare in the Park' in Cleveland Park.
85> Attend Main Street Jazz next year.
86> Learn how to play Flight of the Bumblebee on my piccolo.
87> Have professional photos taken with hubby.
88> Get my name fixed on my SS card.
89> Attend a first time home buyer's class.
90> Pay off NordicTrack.
91> Increase 401k contributions by 2% every time I get a raise (constant).
92> Go to a play with hubby.
93> Complete Christmas shopping early every year. (0/3)
94> Watch all the DVDs we own.
95> Visit Crissa's grave once every few months and on Memorial Days.
96> Attend Greenville Symphony performance.
97> Go without fast food for a month.
98> Clean out storage room.
99> Learn to recognize 10 constellations. (1/10)
100> Do my Mindleaders course at work for 30 minutes every week (starting in two weeks when it's available again).
101> Make a new list!

At the end of my 101 things, I will donate $2 to an animal rescue charity for every completed task, $1 for each failed task, and start my new list of 101 things in 1,001 days! This will be re-posted with updates once a month.

Latest Dentist Trip

Y'all, I have to tell you about my latest trip to the dentist on 7-9.

As one who consistently reads my blog, you'll know that I have had a helluva time with fixing a dental issue that another dentist created. Therefore, you've read a lot about my dental history. This is just another tick-mark in that plane of my existence.

So, I go for a regular six month appointment, which I had to cancel once before since I didn't have any time off left at work. I'm finally in the chair, relaxing with the chair massager. I love this dentist. He makes it so comfortable for his patients. His philosophy is basically that I'm not paying him to make me uncomfortable.

Based on that theory and the fact that I have really temperature-sensitive teeth, I am able to use happy gas (nitrous oxide, if I remember correctly) during cleanings since the water is cold and I have to keep my mouth open so long. This time, though, I seriously hallucinated. I swear I thought I was somewhere else. All drug-high descriptives aside, let's just say I was happy on the happy gas. Then I felt sick. I don't know what was so different about that time than any other, but I came out of it and that was it for the gas. I was queasy for the rest of the day. At least I didn't have to go back to work; I was off for the day.

101 in 1001 update: I have finished my list, and will be starting it as soon as I post it and find a good countdown ticker. I really think it's doable. Yay - I'm excited!

CRON

I just stumbled upon this. CRON, or Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition.

I've always thought that calorie intake, obviously, is the key to better health and a better body. I think I might give it a shot the way it's described here. I'm not stupid. Proper nutrition means a healthy life. I'd never let myself get to the point where my body is eating muscle to live.

Other links:
Easy CRON
CR Calculator
One person's experience with CRON
Civilization's Exploding Killer Disease
Calorie Restriction
CR Diet
CR Society
Wikipedia Info
4 Corners of Optimal Nutrition
Pure Reflection

Smart 6 year old

Anyone who knows me knows I am very serious about education and the sad lack thereof in some cases. Here is a bright spot in the education universe. Plus, she's such a cutie!

In another video, I watched her recite part of Martin Luther King's famous speech at age three. This girl has a fabulous memory. It's obvious that she not only has a wonderful raw talent, but her parents have really cultivated her mind to its highest potential.

Harry Potter V

I have come to the realization that I like Firefox SO much better than Internet Explorer. Every time I update my page in FF (which is the norm), I have to redo it for IE. Grr... grumble... piss/moan...

We saw Harry Potter five last night - I loved it! A lot was left out, of course, as is the norm. Nothing was skipped that would have meant the demise of the movie for the book readers, but I wish certain things had stayed in. For one, I wish they'd kept in how hard it was for them to get into the Department of Mysteries' prophecy room. All they did was walk in and it looked it it was just right there with an open door, inviting all to join. I mean, if it'd been that easy, why wouldn't Voldemort have just walked right in and gotten his own dang prophecy? I loved the twin's exit scene. Very well done. Plus, the soundtrack was, as always, spectacular.

The movie was 138 minutes long, but it felt shorter than that. I guess that's a testament as to how easily it flowed into the storyline. Apparently, it's breaking some records for yesterday's opening day... making something like $44.8 million just yesterday. $12 million alone came from the midnight showing. Good Lord, JK Rowling's richer. $27 richer from my wallet alone as demonstrated below.

Parents, y'all need to know this!

Here are some online acronyms parents really need to learn. this is how kids get away with talking about things they know you don't like. Examples are PAW, or parents are watching; LMIRL, or let's meet in real life; and ADR/addy, or address.

Go to: http://www.netlingo.com/top20teens.cfm to get the whole list.

And here I thought LMFAO was risque'. I guess that was an EBKAC on my part.

Living Tips

Like everyone else, I get these random forwards at work and home. Most of them are crap, as in misleading, fake, etc. This one, I liked.

• Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
• Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
• Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
• When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
• When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
• Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
• Believe in love at first sight.
• Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
• Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
• In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
• Don't judge people by their relatives.
• Talk slowly but think quickly.
• When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
• Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
• Say 'God bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
• When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
• Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
• Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
• When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
• Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
• Spend some time alone.

For some reason, I like these things

Yeah - I stole a personality quiz again... this time from It ain't safe NOWHERE!. Being fellow "The Color Purple" fans (this will also slowly start to give away my future girl chillun's name if you catch my hint), I appreciate this woman's humor.

1. How tall are you barefoot? 5'4 1/4" (have to count the 1/4, you know)

2. Have you ever flown first-class? No

3. Your favorite books when you were a child? Charlotte's Web, The Giving Tree, Where the Wild Things Are, Where the Sidewalk Ends

4. Good restaurants in your city? Fatz Cafe', California Dreaming, Outback, Zaxby's (yeah, well, that one is semi-fast food, but it's only in the south)

5. What is your favorite small appliance? toaster oven, there isn't much I can't bake in there. Oh, and my ice shaver, of course!!

6. One person that never fails to make you laugh? My husband

7. What’s your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

8. What was the first music that you ever bought? Madonna cassette tape

9. Do you do push-ups? No - ow.

10. What were some of your favorite board games as a child? CandyLand, Connect Four, Monopoly, Checkers

11.What is the one thing that you cook that always receives compliments? My "cocaine brownies" as my co-workers put it, and my lemon pie

12. When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be an astronaut. Then I turned 13 and wanted to be a band director.

13. Your favorite Soup of the Day? Loaded Baked Potato from California Dreaming

14. What in your life are you most grateful for? My health, my husband, my entire family, my kitties

15. Have you ever met someone famous? Drake Hogestyn from Days of our Lives, entire Atlanta Falcons team a few years ago (they had football camp at the college nearby and they all came bowling at one time. I was around Michael Vick most of the time. They have some serious appetites!!)

16. Date Of Birth? 10-23-1976

17. Top 3 thoughts at this exact moment: 1) I hope we get a house soon. 2)I love my DVR. 3)I love my hubby.

Why is there no 18?

19. Name five drinks you regularly drink: Water, Sprite, Slushies, Strawberry Smoothie from Liquid Highway, Countrytime Lemonade

20. From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news? wyff4.com, fowxnews.com, courttv.com

21. Current hair? same as I've always had - auburn, almost shoulder-length

22. Current worry? getting a house, losing weight, going to the dermatologist to have two moles looked at (dang red-head non-tanning curse, we just burn, freckle, and get scary skin tests)

23. Current hate? I know it sounds cliche, but I really don't hate anything. Things get on my nerves and I feel like I could ring some necks (especially at work lately LOL), but I'm overall content.

24. Favorite place to be? geographically, I guess it would be Virginia Beach

25. Least favorite place to be? in traffic, or on any busy road (Woodruff, Pelham, Pleasantburg right in front of Pecknel Music), I REALLY need to control my anger on the road. I'm not a rager, and I would never cause problems, but dang, do I ever internalize it.

26. Do you consider yourself well organized? organized chaos LOL, although I am working on the chaos part!

27. Do you believe in a afterlife? yes

28. Where do you think you will be in 10 Yrs? watching my nieces continue with school, playing with my own future children, enjoying a 13th year of marriage

29. Do you burn or tan? burn, big time.

No 30 either?

31. Are you more optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Optimistic

32. Last time you had an alcoholic drink? a month or so ago. can't remember exactly when. i make the best frozen midori sours. :)

33. What songs do you sing in the shower? yakkity yak

34. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a kid? whatever was in the closet, cows

35. What’s in your pockets right now? nothing at all

36. Last thing that made you laugh? my hubby

37. Best bed sheets you had as a child? My little pony

38. Worst injury you’ve ever had? an ankle sprain or two, never broken a bone in my life!

39. Favorite song? SO many. I'll make a separate list for this later!

40. How many TVs do you own? 2

41. In the last calendar year, how many people have you told that you love them? Not sure - I have a BIG family!

42. Last thing that made you blush? When I overheard my PaPa tell my MomMom that I have a natural beauty.

43. Best Compliment received? when my hubby told me I made him want to be a better person.

44. What song is in your head? Theme song from Charmed; that's what I'm watching right now.

45. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter series right now.

46. Last meal you cooked for the opposite sex? can't remember, we've gone out a lot recently!

47. What songs do you want played at your wedding? Been there! Just wanted classical music. We didn't have a DJ, so I made a compilation of all of my favorite appropriate songs to play at the reception.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Not sure. Haven't really given that much thought. Is that mandatory?

49. What were you doing at 12 midnight last night? surfing the internet (I love firefox)

50. What would you like to accomplish with the remaining years of your life? Actually, this requires another list as well. See a future post called 101 in 1001 for details.

Dog's Prayer

I found this on Everything Eli and thought it was appropriate for my past few posts.

A Dog's Prayer

When I am gone, release me, let me go-
I have so many things to see and do.
You must not tie yourself to me with tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.
I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you have each shown.
But now it is time I traveled alone.
So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust,
It is only for a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart,
I will not be far away, for life goes on,
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can not see or touch me, I will be near.
And if you listen with your heart, you will hear
All my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I will greet you with a smile and "Welcome Home".

quiz 11

100%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

quiz 10

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Doggies/Family get-together

New update on the doggie situation: We went with D to have the big boy put to sleep. I'll tell you, I've never done anything like that before. If you haven't witnessed euthanasia, know that I am not kidding about the 'going to sleep' part. He really just laid his head down and fell asleep. Soon after, you could tell he was gone. We all just cried. Even the vet was misty-eyed. he was the one who saved his life over a year ago as a stray. Eventually, I noticed he wasn't breathing anymore. Honestly, I hope I go like that... so very peaceful.

When the veterinarian was putting in his IV, I began to wonder if it was really the right thing... ending a life before God takes it. I couldn't have done it (the doctor's part, I mean. I don't want to think of any of my pets in that situation right now). I knew right there that I could never have become a vet or a vet tech. D was very brave; she kissed him goodbye (we all did, actually), and told him 'bye, baby.'

He was going to be buried in her backyard, but at the last minute, one of the other girls decided to pay for the cremation. Another girl and I are going in 1/3 as well.

We had a family 4th of July pool party at my brother's house yesterday. It's the first time I've been in a pool in over a year - I'm so pale! I've decided that even if I am overweight, I am getting in the apartment pool so I can get a little bit of a tan. At least enough so that I won't glow on my own.

I got to hold my 11 month old niece in the pool. She's so cute! I love her tiny pot belly!

time off

I have been sick for the entire past weekend. I stayed out of work yesterday, and to tell the truth, I felt like doing so again today. Luckily, I was already getting off at 3 today, so I stuck with that. Plus, my work was WAY behind when I got in today.

Today I am getting off early to help my friend with her dog. She is putting him to sleep today. He's such an old man; he can't get up by himself, has arthritis, and is in constant pain. As of now, she's agreed that she is only keeping him alive for her, not for him, and has made the decision to put him down. I didn't want her to be by herself, so I am going with her. Josh and his BF are coming over later to dig a place in her backyard, his favorite spot, under the azaleas. He's such a sweet doggie, and he will be missed. I took some really good pics of him and her last night; I'll post them after I crop them and send to her.

Tomorrow, we have a pool party at my brother's house. The WHOLE family is invited, from grandparents down to 2nd cousins. This is going to be our normal holiday crowd, though, just somewhere different. Their poor black lab, Ben, isn't going to know what to do with so many people there! Hopefully, fireworks and much carefree abandon will ensue.

Ducks!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of rubber duckies, so when this story came out, I was thrilled to hear about it. I love that there are thousands of ducks floating in the currents around the world!

Long-Lost Rubber Duckies Head for British Beaches (found at http://www.foxnews.com /story/0,2933,287759,00.html)
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
By Simon de Bruxelles

A flotilla of rubber duckies, washed overboard from a container ship in the North Pacific in 1992, is about to invade Britain, according to an American oceanographer.

For the past 15 years Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been tracking nearly 30,000 Chinese-made plastic bath toys — yellow ducks, green frogs, blue turtles and red beavers — that were released into the Pacific Ocean when a container was washed off a cargo ship during a storm.

Some of the bath toys, marketed in the U.S. as "Friendly Floatees," are expected to reach Britain after a journey of nearly 17,000 miles, having crossed the Arctic Ocean frozen into pack ice, bobbed the length of Greenland and been carried down the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Ebbesmeyer, who is based in Seattle, said yesterday that those that had not been trapped in circulating currents in the North Pacific, crushed by icebergs or blown ashore in Japan were bobbing across the Atlantic on the Gulf Stream.

Any beachcomber who finds one of the ducks or their kin will be able to claim a $100 reward from the toys' American distributor, The First Years Inc.

The ducks began life in a Chinese factory and were being shipped to the U.S. from Hong Kong when three 40-foot containers fell into the Pacific during a storm on Jan. 29, 1992.

Two-thirds of them floated south through the tropics, landing months later on the shores of Indonesia, Australia and South America.

But 10,000 headed north and by the end of the year were off Alaska and heading back westwards.

It took three years for the Friendly Floatees to circle counterclockwise east to Japan, past the original drop site and then back to Alaska on a current known as the North Pacific Gyre before continuing north towards the Arctic.

Many were stranded as the currents took them through the Bering Strait, which divides Alaska from Russia.

Ebbesmeyer predicted that they would spend years trapped in the Arctic ice, moving at the rate of one mile a day towards the Atlantic.

In 2000, eight years after their journey began, the ducks were reported in the North Atlantic. In 2003, when they were expected to wash up on the American eastern seaboard, The First Years announced the reward offer.

By that point the Floatees had been bleached white by the sun and sea water.

Sightings in the past two years have been scant, but oceanographers believe that their next port of call is southwestern England, southern Ireland and western Scotland.

Simon Boxall, of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England, said that the ducks offered a great opportunity for climate-change research.

"They are a nice tracer for what the currents are doing as they travel around the world, and currents are what determines our climate, and cycles of carbon," he said. "I would ask [vacationers] to keep an eye out, as they might be very few and far between by now. It's a real adventure story and the plastic should last 100 years, so we hope it will continue."

The landfalls have all been logged on a computer model called the Ocean Surface Currents Simulation, which is used to help fisheries and find people lost at sea.

Two children's books have been written about the saga and the ducks have become collector's items, some changing hands for $1,000.

video

This is just funny. This guy plays Bohemian Rhapsody on his hands.





Same guy doing Mario Bros. LOL!!!

Expensive pants? Or not.

Mr. Pearson, paying their court costs serves you right for harrassing these people. You should have learned the valuable lesson of "enough's enough." See below... once again, not my article. Look it up at wyff.com or click the link in the title.

Verdict Reached In $54 Million Pants Lawsuit
Judge Sides With Dry Cleaner

WASHINGTON -- A judge on Monday ruled in favor of a dry cleaner that was sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants in a case that garnered international attention and renewed calls for litigation reform.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff ruled that the immigrant owners of Custom Cleaners did not violate the city's Consumer Protection Act by failing to live up to Roy L. Pearson's expectations of the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign that was once placed in the store window.

"Plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr. takes nothing from the defendants, and defendants Soo Chung, Jin Nam Chung and Ki Y. Chung are awarded the costs of this action against the plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, Jr.," the ruling read.

Makes you wonder who the sheep are...

This is not my article. See wyff4.com for the article in full.

'Chemical Ali' Sentenced To Hang
Saddam's Cousin Allegedly Used Mustard Gas, Nerve Agents Against Kurds

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The man who became known as "Chemical Ali" after a 1980s crackdown killed 180,000 Kurds in northern Iraq has been ordered to the gallows by a judge in Baghdad.

Ali Hassan al-Majid is Saddam Hussein's cousin and was head of the Baath Party's Northern Bureau Command. He was accused of using chemical weapons during the campaign against Iraq's Kurds.

Kurds are celebrating Sunday's verdicts by slaughtering sheep.
_______________________________________________

I'm sorry? You get news that someone has to pay for their crimes with their life, and you kill innocent sheep?!? I just don't get it sometimes... What a way to tell the world you're pleased.

Movies

	My Flixster

quote

Here's my favorite marriage quote to date:

Love is being stupid together. -- Paul Valery

game

I've been playing this game for most of the day. Click the link and try it! It's called Antbuster.

amazing!

Amazing new footage of the Loch Ness Monster!


WOW! This Is Amazing - The best video clips are right here

Surprise

I don't think I've said this here yet.

My hubby tricked me into researching my own anniversary present!

We were talking about going back to the place we went for our honeymoon, Gatlinburg, TN. We've been twice (honeymoon, and then June 2005). That's the last time we've been on vacation together. I have been back since then with some colleagues, but I missed him not being there with me. Plus, that's how I destroyed my first iPod. Ha. That's what I get for not taking hubby.

So, he asked me what cabin we stayed in the first time and if it was pet-friendly "if we were to go again". I researched and found a similar cabin from the same company, since I couldn't find the old cabin. He then gave me his credit card and told me to book it! I was so surprised. I was NOT expecting that, because I didn't think we could afford a trip anywhere. Yay! Now that I have good tires, we're set to go already!

Oh, we're taking the babies, too. Provided Lucy doesn't poop in her carrier this time, we'll be great LOL.

Josh is going to to buy his xBox 360 this Friday. Bless his heart. He's wanted one for so long. This has made me realize that we can now afford to have a baby. Now all we need is the house and to pay off three large debts so they won't get in the way later. Woo-hoo!

More to write later. I and a group of colleagues helped another move a houseful of her mother's belongings, and she's taking us out for lunch as a thank you. So sweet!

quote

New Quote:

Be kinder than necessary.
Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
-author unknown to me

quote

I love this quote:

Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
- Will Rogers

weekend

Wow - we've been without internet since the 12th of June. So I'm actually writing this on notepad. I'm going to post it at the appropriate time that I can get on the internet again (probably whenever I can save it to my "baby" drive (ha) and take it to work with me.

Oh, quick note: Cricket, my in-law's doggie, is back. She was only at their neighbor's house, and the neighbor brought her back within ten minutes. All is well in the puppy world.

Today is Father's Day. Well, at least 36 more minutes of it. I got my Dad a Best Buy certificate; which for him, is better than a present. He can pick put his own present out. Since he's a gadget Dad (go-go Gadget office LOL), he usually already has everything I can think of. I got PaPa a big three CD compilation set of Big Bands Classics from WWII era, which he just loved. Mom & Dad got him a scrolling wireless laser mouse (better than mine!), btu I'm not sure he knows what to do with it yet. :)

Oh yeah - I learned something new yesterday. I should have known to ask, but alas, I didn't. We cannot get Direct TV like we thought (at least while we're in this apartment). We are not in the line of sight of the satellite, and our landlord won't let us put a receiver on the roof, so we're screwed, for lack of a better word. So now, we have to call Charter and get cable back, only 6 days after we gave it up. I'm disappointed, and I wish we'd known that could have been a problem, because we wouldn't have given up Charter until we knew for sure we could get satellite. That's our latest luck, though.

Until tomorrow...

Cricket

My in-law's doggie broke loose of my father-in-law's hand and ran away. She's dragging her leash too. Her name is Cricket, and she's a little Welsh-Corgy mix. She's absolutely the sweetest dog I have ever been around. Josh is driving over there to help find her.

Poor baby... I really hope she comes back.

Wow

BAD Day...

I'm screwing up everything around me today. My computer has a virus/trojan (im doing this from work, FYI), my job is overwhelming me, my accounts suck. Well, putting it down on paper makes it not look so bad, but when you're right in the middle of it, it sucks...

Sorry I am not more of a talker today.

Hubble

This shows us just how small we really are on a galactical scale.

Wisdom

I got this from lucidcafe.com

Pearls of Wisdom

"Fourteen Things That It Took Me Over
50 Years To Learn" by Dave Barry

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

You should not confuse your career with your life.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

Never lick a steak knife.

The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

Your friends love you anyway.

Thought for the day: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

quiz 7/8/9

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

You Are Apple Cider

Smooth and comforting. But downright nasty when cold.

What Part of Fall Are You?

Your Pirate Name Is...

Evil Jimmy Jailbird

What's Your Pirate Name?

quiz 6

Actually, I really am more right-brained, so I've been told. I like this quiz. :)

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Flagpole Sitta

You've got to see this. My favorite lip-sync ever!

Band funding

Here's the official buzz on the school funding I mentioned once before.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Greenville County School Board on Monday approved a $430 million budget for next year.

Trustees voted for the plan that includes additional teachers and school employees to accommodate 1,500 new students and provides raises for existing teachers and staff.

School officials pointed to the fact that the budget does not include a tax increase to make ends meet.

A new state funding system replaces property tax money with funds from an increased state sales tax to pay for school operations.

In addition to new teachers and staff, the budget also includes additional funding for high school bands, district-wide technology upgrades and global positioning systems for school buses.

from WYFF News 4 online @ wyff4.com.

Quiz 5

What have I done? So much more than I'm willing to put on this list. Maybe someday!

(x) Smoked a cigarette
(x) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend's car my car into my friends house
( ) Stolen a car
( ) Hitchhiked
(x) Been in love
(x) Been dumped
(x) Dumped someone
(x) Been laid off/fired
(x) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight...
(x) Had feelings for someone who didn't reciprocate
( ) Been arrested
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Lied to a friend
(x) Skipped school (college for me)
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a train
(x) Been Lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Felt like dying
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons/markers
(x) Sang Karaoke....
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins ....
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) Made prank phone calls
( ) Laughed until beverage came out of your nose
(x) Laughed till you peed your pants (almost!)
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus .
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sun rise with someone you love
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
(x) Gone roller-skating at least once
(x) Gone Ice-skating at least once

1. Any nicknames? KiKi, too many others to count, but KiKi's my favorite
2. Mother's Name? Jane
3. What is your favorite drink? Sprite
4. Tattoos? none
5. Body piercing? ears
6. Where's #4? Above #5.
7. Fav. vacation spot: mountains
8. Ever been to Africa ? no
9. Ever steal any traffic signs? no
10. Ever been in a car accident? yes
12. Salad dressing? None - hate it
13. Favorite pie? Million dollar lemon
14. Favorite number? 13
15. Favorite movie? Not sure - too many
16. Favorite holiday? Halloween
17. Favorite food? Chicken Alfredo
18. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
19. Favorite brand of body soap? Irish Spring!
20. Favorite TV shows? Law & Order, House
21. Favorite smell? Fresh cut grass
22. What do you do to relax? Sleep!
23. How do you see yourself in 10 years? w/ 2 kids and a house!
24. Furthest place you will send this message: 5 feet
26. Who will respond the fastest? I've never liked this question...

news

My brother was asked to be a pall-bearer for Crissa. He was so much closer to her than anyone in our family, since he and her father were best friends growing up. I just sat and cried last night when I thought of my baby brother carrying the tiny casket of the little girl we all held in our arms as a baby. It's still just so mind-numbing.


Here is the latest from our local news on Crissa (link available if you click on the title of this post):

The parents of an 11-year-old girl who died after being pulled out of Lake Hartwell on Memorial Day said that their daughter did know how to swim.

The girl’s parents said that Crissa Powell must have panicked when she couldn’t feel the bottom of the lake after she jumped off a dock.

She was under water for about 10 minutes before witnesses were able to locate her and pull her out.

Two medical students performed CPR to keep the girl alive until she could be taken to the hospital, but she was taken off life support on Tuesday evening and died.

Her parents, Crystal and Nye Powell said that they kept a lock of their daughter's hair and a card with her handprints on it.

Crystal Powell said that she was with her daughter when she died.

"They moved her over in the bed a little bit so that I could get in with her and tell her goodbye. I waited there with her for a while," Crystal Powell said.

The Powells also thanked the witnesses who tried to save their daughter.

Crissa Powell was a fifth-grader at Berea Elementary School in Greenville County. She turned 11 earlier this month.

The school announced plans to plant a tree on school grounds in her honor.

Update

Crissa's battle for life has ended.

She was determined to be brain-dead, and her parents made the heart-wrenching decision to pull the plug this afternoon.

Not long after I wrote earlier today, Crissa went to be with the Lord.

Please continue to keep her family in your prayers. They are all completely devastated.

My brother went to see her today. It must have been right before.

It's hard to imagine that the little girl I once held as a baby has passed away before any of us. 11 years is not long enough on this earth.

Note: Pic is of Crissa (in the purple) and her sister a couple of Halloween's ago.

post-weekend

I got my NordicTrack today... in all its fragmented glory. Every possible piece is separate from each other. Wow...this is going to be an ordeal just to put it together. I hope it only needs a Phillips head (just kidding - I do have more tools than that)!

We have our first Furman Lakeside band rehearsal tonight. I'm excited to have a semi-obligatory ensemble to play in during the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the band I play in year-round. It's just nice to not HAVE to go unless I want to. Concerts in the summer are done in a week, with no further obligation unless you want to do the next one. The year-round concerts require a month or more of rehearsal attendance to be able to play.

Since we were off yesterday, I've been trying to play catch-up again today. I think our sales department is making up for it too LOL.

Oh, I finally bought a little half-gigabyte flash drive for work. I can stop emailing important documents to myself and just save them on that instead. I swear I've heard them called "jump drives" before too. That's what I went looking for when I went shopping. Maybe not!

No new news on Crissa. Things are, thankfully, no worse, but sadly, no better. Please continue to keep praying for her. She needs all she can get.

Prayers needed

A little friend of mine was in an accident today. The whole situation has actually made the news, too.

Our childhood friend's (mine and my brother) oldest daughter (only 11 years young) was rescued from a local lake earlier today. She was climbing up a pier ladder and either jumped or was knocked off. No one is really sure, but she cannot swim, and she's a very obedient little girl, and she wouldn't have done something she wasn't supposed to do. The other girl with her turned for a moment, turned back, and she was gone. She immediately started screaming for help, but she was not found for around 5 or more minutes, only 9 feet from where she fell in.

Some people nearby were nurses-in-training, and performing CPR until EMS arrived. They said she was blue and had so faint a pulse that EMS couldn't even shock her. Brain damage has already been mentioned and partly confirmed. That is, if she even pulls through.

I think of her little face and cannot imagine it being blue. It's almost unreal.

I was ok until I saw her school picture pop up on TV when I turned to the news earlier. Then I just cried.

The last time I saw them all was on Halloween. I even got a cute picture of the girls I had always planned to copy and send over to their mom and dad.

Lauren, my niece, is 11 also. I can't imagine that happening to her.

She's just too young.

Please put Chrissa in your prayers tonight.

Aww

I'm so mean - I haven't posted in 16 days. My fault! Yeah, I've been busy... who hasn't?

Supposedly, if the tracking is correct, my new NordicTrack will be in my living room by the end of the week. Yay!

Work is going fine. Normal work status. :)

Concert band is wrapping up this week, well, practice at least. We have one more concert in a couple of weeks. I have Furman University Lakeside band rehearsals starting next week. We only have five concerts, and the rehearsals are in the same week as the concerts, so it's not a huge commitment. Plus, Josh is FINALLY getting a car of his own again, so I won't have to worry about whether I have a ride somewhere. -happy sigh-

I'm listening to not-so-calm music on my pod. I think I'm going to switch LOL. Not impressed with angry rock today. This is not normal!

Ahh - now our accounting system is down at work. Not cool. Makes my job harder. :( This kind of blows the "i'm not working today" plan out of the water.

Band Funding

Nice news - I just heard that funding for our local music programs has been increased by our school board. Considering that for a long time, the funding has been cut, it's a wonderful change.

I'm glad to see that the board is aware of how important arts (of all types) are in our schools.

Yay!

Quiz 4

Ok, I wouldn't make fun of anyone's pet, but the comedian part is pretty accurate.


Take the What Type of Friend Are You? quiz.

Quiz 3

Well, there wasn't a pic for band geek. This was as close to that as possible. LOL - Oh yeah, and I don't want to kill anyone.


Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.

Quiz 2

What type of Fae are you?

Weekend Wrap-up

Picture is of my Mom walking my niece.



I had another concert this past Friday night. It went pretty well. Most of our pieces sounded better in the auditorium we were in that night (a high school auditorium) vs. our normal concert hall (a college auditorium). At least schools get the good ones, though. Kids need to hear how music is supposed to sound without carpet and bland walls absorbing or bouncing their sound all over the hall.

I kind of put myself in a pickle, though. Well, no one else knew, but I did. We played with the high school kids and one of them was asking all of us what kind of flutes we all have. She came to me (I have the oldest and most generic flute out of everyone, as I am not as concerned with having a good flute as I am with my piccolo), and I told her it was my "bad one," when actually, it's my only one. I have had it since 11th grade (15 years). It needs some work, but it has a beautiful upper and middle register. The lower register, though, needs some serious work. However, I betrayed my good old flute and told them I had another. I'd love to have another one, but this one is just fine, and I'd rather have a Burkhart piccolo, as you well know by know if you've read any of my music posts. Oh well. Next time, I just might admit that this is my only flute LOL. Shame on me today.

Hubby was at work, so Danielle came over and we went to OTB for Cinco de Mayo (NOT the Mexican Independence Day, by the way... look it up if you don't believe me). No, I'm not Mexican, but neither was ANYONE else there except a waitress and a bartender. We got a drink right away since a bartender was walking around getting orders, but we waited for a table for over an hour. We went up three times to see how far up the list we'd moved. We ended up finishing our drinks and getting our food to go b/c they kept upping the time on us. So, we took our food home and watched Buffy reruns! We still had a great time. Forgot to bring my camera. Dangit.

Oh, I bought a NordicTrack last week. I don't think I have covered that here yet. It's a little expensive, but it pays for itself by the time I add up all the monthly fitness club fees I have had to waste over the past year with only having one family car. Besides, I will be able to work out much more by having something so handy. Even if I can only work out a small amount at a time, I will still build up more time faster since I can keep coming back to it any time of the day I want. Wear myself out for five minutes, take a rest, do some laundry, drink some H20, come back and work it out again. It makes so much more sense than to wear myself out for ten minutes at the club, try to do some weights while still worn out from the cardio, then give up and go home, not getting another chance at it later. Besides, whatever I have spent on exercise equipment is pocket change if it means I will be healthier.

That's all for now. I have to iron clothes for tomorrow.

Mouse

Ok, I just love this. Sad, though...



MOUSE TRAP

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain? The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:
There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me."" I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.

"Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

REMEMBER,
EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;
OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

quiz 1

Take the Villain quiz.

Ha

I was perusing IMDB earlier and I found out that I share a birthday with the following peeps:

Johnny Carson
Ang Lee
Ryan Reynolds
Cat Deeley
Doug Flutie
Sam Raimi
Weird Al Yankovic
Nancy Grace
Martin Luther King III
Dwight Yoakam

Yup, that's all I have to write about. :)

Taking a break from sorting music. Going back now.

Drifted

Well, it's official. My mind has drifted for good LOL. Today has been my slow day at work. I have been finished with my required tasks since 10AM. Since then, I haven't really done much of anything except keep my customers in check. And about the time I say that, here comes the big boss over to say hi! Luckily, the power of the alt-tab combo works fast.

I have felt blah all day. I don't really know what's wrong with me, other than maybe it's near girl time. That usually doesn't affect me, though. Maybe I still have baby fever. Maybe I am sick of someone here at work. Who knows... If I had a "happy pill", I'd be taking it right now.

In a couple of weeks. I think Josh and I are going to go to Reedy River and go on a picnic. We talked about it once before and decided it would be fun to do again. We haven't done so in awhile. I think it would be nice. :)

I accidentally kicked Lucy in the head this morning. I felt so bad! I was half-asleep and turning over in the bed. I barely remembered that she was at the foot of the bed. I felt my foot hit something soft and I heard a bell jingle. I knew right away what I did. Of course, she jumped off the bed and I only saw her when I left. Bad Mommy… poor piddy.

We’re going out to the Golden Corral tonight. It’s kind of like a Ryan’s steakhouse, for those of you unaware. A steak buffet is like heaven for my hubby. The buffet might need its last rites when he’s done.

Oh, I am half done with the music sorting. Josh and I did a lot when Rusty was still playing Star Wars. Josh had the whole floor covered with about 40-50 different pieces of sheet music. I think there was a total of about 800 or so sheets of music he dealt with. Yikes… thank goodness for hubbies. Especially mine!

Songs of the Day:
The Diary of Jane: Breaking Benjamin
Leaves the Pieces: The Wreckers
Apparently, I’m not in any certain music mood -LOL.

Refresh

Well, it's a new week. I spring-cleaned all weekend. I even got our new steam cleaner out and clean 1/3 of our living room. That is mainly the high traffic areas due to "Mr. I work with raw rubber and get it on my shoes and track it on our beige carpet and don't bother to take off my work boots." Well, from now on, he has to, according to me. The other night, he knocked on the door wanting to be let in since he had his hands full with groceries. I peeked through the door and took his groceries, tell him to take his shoes off before he came in. I'm hoping to make this a trend LOL. Cleaning solution is expensive!

I also went with my Mom to my sister-in-law's candle party. I love those things, but I always spend more than I intend. I meant to spend only $20 but ended up spending $37. The good thing, though, is that I am set for a LONG time. I bought all tealights, so I'm happy for quite some time!

My hubby has company over today. I'm so glad I cleaned. He and his best friend, Rusty, are playing the Star Wars computer game (oh yeah, that was another tax $ purchase. It was only $20!!).

It's probably a good thing that he has company. I have music to organize before Thursday. Not only am I in the band, but I am also the librarian... a bad one at the moment. I have a lot of our music at home that I need to organize and bring back to our library. Luckily, the pieces we need for Thursday are already done and ready to use... well, except for the Patriotic folders, which is a task in itself. I don't even know what goes in those right now. I have to email my conductor to find out.

Yeah, ok. Enough for now

Drifting

My mind is really random today. Not entirely sure why, other than the fact that I'm a little tired. I didn't get much sleep last night. Oh well, no big.

I have band practice tonight, so I won't get home until near 9:30. The only disadvantage to this is that I probably don't get to eat since I'm getting home so late. I hate eating late b/c it causes acid reflux and I really shouldn't let food sit on my stomach when I go to bed. However, we did have our OTB day (as indicated in previous post) and I had my fill of cheese dip as expected. Happy tummy.

I am anticipating a seat move today at work. I have heard rumors. I am prepared (well, about as much as I can be without having "where's my item" issues) to move, but we have to be hush-hush, b/c seat moves usually come with account moves as well. That would be the hush part. I really hope I do not lose the accounts I have right now. I have worked hard to get them where they are, and to give them away to someone who might screw them up again will tick me off. As of right now, who knows what will happen?

30 minutes later...

Woo-hoo! No account switches. The seat move is happening, but I am not moving! I was one of the lucky few. Plus, I still have the same boss. Yay! Such a huge sigh of relief right now. Same boss, same seat, same customers. Whew. Now, we who are not moving get to watch everyone else's accounts while they trek across the department.

2 hours later...

I am annoyed with these crazy people moving their crap all around the department. I am SO glad I am not moving.

Must concentrate - 19 minutes left.

anti potty-humor

We are up to our elbows... in water. Our toilet overflowed!! And no, we have no plunger. We are about to in a moment, when Josh comes back from an emergency Wally-World trip for that and some Draino. I woke Josh up from his semi-nap yelling about it while throwing towels everywhere on the floor. I'm basically doing this to keep my mind off of why I wanted to go into the bathroom in the first place LOL.

In the meantime, I'm watching the last hour of the movie Hostage.

In all, I had an ok day at work. It wasn't bad, just not the party scene you'd imagine work being. One of my accounts surprised me by actually paying us (highlight of the day LOL). I froze my butt off all day, though.

Oh, the pids like their waterfall. Well, they didn't hiss at it or run away. Lucy still drinks with her paw, even though there is a lovely waterfall. Bless her little heart.

I am having a craving for spicy food. Luckily, two co-workers and I are taking our bi-weekly trip to a Mexican restaurant called On the Border tomorrow, so I'll get my fill of spicy cheese dip. :)
11:40PM

10 minutes later...

Potty fixed.

Going to bed.

Dizzy Girl

Ooo - I have a nice case of vertigo today. If you want to get a natural high or need an excuse to be a klutz, you should be me today. It started off with a little car sickness earlier today and has not stopped. Luckily, I have drugs. :)

On to the day's events so far...

I forgot to recharge my iPod last night, so it is on its last leg of battery power. Oh yeah, I forgot to say before that my sweet hubby re-bought me a new iPod for Valentine's Day. It's red! It's so purty. Plus, he had a sweet message engraved on the back for me.

I also forgot to turn off the iron this morning. I was worried about it all day until I could go home at lunch and check it. However, apparently I have a new-fangled iron, because that bad boy was plugged in, but stone-cold when I checked it. Hooray for technology that realizes I am not at home and have helpless pids.

I am setting up Macy and Lucy's water recirculator tonight when I get home. I forgot to do it last night. Macy's used to it, but I hope Lucy doesn't think that her water bowl is mad at her. I'm sure she'll love it, though. She usually doesn't lap up water, rather she cups her paw and drinks from it. It's so cute!

Oh, I made chicken and dumplings on Sunday night. I am so proud of myself! I don't know how healthy it is (is it?), but it was good! Actually, that probably means that it's NOT good LOL. Who cares? That was some good stuff! Plus, I actually made something from scratch (well, almost totally from scratch - I bought the dumplings since I didn't have time to make dough). I even used my own chicken broth and -gulp- used a whole chicken. Josh didn't understand why I wanted a whole chicken, but I wanted to do everything myself. Though, next time, I might take advantage of the times and buy a pre-cut-up chicken, bless my heart. Cutting it up took almost as long as making the dang meal.

That's all for now. I have 45-ish minutes left at work, and I need to concentrate.

Frivolity

Ok, one could look at my receipts for the weekend and have no problem whatsoever realizing that we got our taxes back. We spent a LOT of money. I am glad there was not another day in the weekend.

Here is the list of things we bought (I think it's complete):

Paper Shredder
Fireproof Lockbox
Portable File Holder
Steam Carpet Cleaner
Recirculating Waterfall station for the pids
Sneakers for me
Dress shoes for Josh
3-tier cookie rack and new cookie sheets
Clothes for Josh
1 t-shirt for me
Disney Puzzle

Here are my excuses. I feel the need to explain.

You can look at the list and see that we really did need most of that stuff. You can't blame us for needing most of it, especially the steam cleaner and the fireproof box, since we do live in an apartment. We rented a cleaner once, and it cost us about 50 bucks total for two nights. As much as the pids mess up things and as klutzy as I am, we really needed one. Fireproof box is self-explanatory. Would you trust your attached neighbors not to burn down your marriage certificate, pet's medical history, etc? No, you wouldn't. We should have gotten one a long time ago.

The paper shredder was necessary as well. Besides, it keeps me from doing what I have been doing, which was taking all of our spam mail to work and shredding it there. We plugged that bad boy up last night and shredded everything we could find. We were like kids with a new toy. When we got done shredding the pile of junk mail we had, we went after more. We even shredded credit cards (yes we can) and a newspaper. Oh yeah, we knocked out the power, too. Apparently we cannot plug in and run more than a couple things on one side of the apartment, so the shredder must have been just too darn much for our pitiful fuses.

As for the waterfall, Macy had one a long time before Lucy came along, but we didn't take good care of it. We let it get broken and unrepairable. Therefore, we technically owed Macy that item.

Portable File Holder should be self-explanatory. Besides, Josh was getting tired of having to search for our important papers every time we needed one (those that don't currently fit or deserve to be in the fireproof box are going here). This is to hold everything that would have fit in the larger fireproof box that we couldn't afford.

I have not had a new pair of sneakers since Josh and I were dating when he'd gotten me a pair for Christmas (4 or more years ago!). Besides, mine were 1/2 off since we got Josh's at the same time (gotta love Shoe Carnival's buy one get one half off sales). As for Josh's, I just love the way he looks in brown leather shoes LOL.

Disney Puzzle. Ok, whatever. It was only $10 and I have been wanting a new puzzle for a long time. Besides, this one will take FOREVER, so I won't want another for awhile. At least I didn't buy the Pooh & Friends puzzle plus the puzzle roll-it-up mat as well!

Clothes for Josh: He really needed new clothes. Besides, we put that in the tax budget. We decided we'd could afford to let him have $200 for a clothes budget. He has been wearing the same things for a long time.

My one t-shirt: Well, it was cute.

Cookie Rack & Cookie Sheets: I have alway wanted a rack that wasn't a broiler pan and didn't warp my precious cookies. As for the sheets, Josh cooked chicken one too many times on my Calphalon cookie sheets and they finally peeled apart (yeah ok, only one was Calphalon, so maybe I deserved one of them croaking). Technically, he owed me two sheets, but they came in a pack of three. That's not really my fault. They did show their future stubbornness, though, as it and the entire tribe of pissed-off cookie sheets jumped from the rack and attacked me. Grab one and they all take up for each other or something ("you ain't taking us without a fight!"). Luckily, my husband knows my fourth octave yelp and came running to help me and the poor Bed, Bath & Beyond girl who came to my rescue.

I therefore reject the term "frivolity" for the most part and insert the word "necessity."

Ok, I have written enough for now.

M&Ms

Josh and me as M&Ms. He's wearing an iPod and I'm holding a camera. Typical us.

Other than that, though, we're a little naked!

Enjoy!

De-stressing

Hey all!

We were invited by one of my co-workers to her husband's 30th birthday party last night at a place here called Chief's Wings & Firewater. We had a pretty good time! About 40 people were there (most of them I knew from work, others were her hubby's friends).

We'd also had a team-building exercise at work all day yesterday. Afterward, we had a cookout, complete with "liquid refreshments." I had my share! In fact, I didn't have all that much at Chief's since I'd already halfway filled up at work. Ha. Spent less $$.

We got our taxes back a day or two ago. Josh is getting half for a car. We're spending a little apiece on new clothes, probably getting a steam cleaner, and we're not sure what else. We'll more than likely put it toward paying off the furniture.

By the way, speaking of buying things on credit, I am so DONE with the amount of sweet little retail cashiers asking me if I want to save 10% on my purchase today by signing up for their 29% interest store credit card. Of course, looking at the bright side, at least that do-not-call registry has done some good, as I no longer get the same offer via phone. I have to actually go somewhere to get asked now.

We had a date tonight. I love date night! We went out to a restaurant called California Dreaming. They have the BEST beer-battered chicken strips and loaded potato soup. I always end up taking half my food home, though. I usually don't eat appetizers since I know I can't handle that plus a meal, but I can't pass up their soup. We also saw the movie "300." I was a little reluctant to see it before. I wasn't in the mood to watch yet another dramatic battle movie, plus, I wanted to see "The Number 23." However, I'm glad I let Josh pick the movie. I'll give my synopsis of 300 later on. It was well worth the ticket price.

Well, it's 3:30 in the morning here, and for some reason, I am wide awake. I'm going to go finish my current load of laundry, finish watching Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, pick up my snoring hubby off the loveseat, and put my bod into the bed.

Estimated time of arrival in bed = approximately 1 hour.

That's just not normal.

Funnies

Words Only Women Use (I wouldn't have posted this, but it's so true!)

1. FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. FIVE MINUTES: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. NOTHING: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. GO AHEAD: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!

5. LOUD SIGH: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. THAT’S OKAY: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. THANKS: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8. WHATEVER: Is a women's way of saying SCREW YOU!

9. DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, I'VE GOT IT: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking, "What’s wrong." For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Mad Kitty

Poor kitty. Leave him alone!

Ticker

New ticker added at the bottom of the page. Getting rid of some others later on.

Bunny Pics

Bunny cake in all its cuteness, as promised!










All that was left was its poor little head...









Our Easter Eggs, once brown, now beautiful colors of the rainbow. Brown eggs work really well, by the way!

Updates

I'm still playing around with my template. Just as an FYI, I have added some blogs to the "You Should Read" section. Apparently, I am reading more blogs lately!

I'm going to make more changes later, but I am at work, so my resources are limited.

Icy

LOL - there are icicles on the volcano-cam today.

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

Happy Easter!

For those who celebrate, have a happy Easter!

Don't forget that it's not just about bunnies, ducks, and hiding eggs (although that's fun).

Masterpiece

Bunny cake is done! However, I cannot find my camera. As soon as I do, the bunny cake will show up here in all its cuteness.

The cookies, however, did not fare as well. This goes to show that playing around with recipes does not work as well in reality vs. theory.

Bunny Cake

I could literally fall asleep standing up today. Below is why.

I have CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome). Mostly due to typing all day and having played an instrument for 20 years. Most of the time, I can get away with having no pain and it leaves me alone. Yesterday, though, it flared up big time and is still hurting even today. It makes sense that it's happening this week, since I have had quadruple the amount of playing time last week and never really rested my hands and wrists like I used to (I used to soak them in warm water after long practices and take an alleve right before I started practice). I had forgotten how much CTS can hurt, as I have not dealt with it on a regular basis in a long time.

Anyway, I took some excedrine yesterday at work. When nothing happened later on, I took Panadol (like generic tylenol). I had dinner and sat with Josh for a little while.

Yesterday was also Lucy's 2nd birthday. So, at about 9:15, when Crossing Jordan was on, Josh called me into the bedroom so we could pet Lucy together and wish her Happy Birthday (yeah, we're silly, but they're our babies). I remember petting her, laying down on the bed, and watching her jump off. After that, I don't remember much else. I missed the rest of Crossing Jordan and the entire Medium. Those are two of my favorite shows, which I wait all week to see, and then I fall asleep before I can watch them LOL. Oh well.

Anyway, the reason I told you all that was to explain why I could fall asleep right now. I woke up SO groggy, like I had been literally knocked out or something. I have been like that all day. I need to stop listening to lite music or I'll really fall asleep!

Oh, all bunny cake materials have been purchased. I'm so excited to make something cute! Funny thing is, I don't even like coconut or carrot cake. I'm just making it for the family. I'll post a pic when I make its royal cuteness (or the fallen disaster pic, whichever it happens to be).

I'm also making lemon cookies and probably red velvet cookies. I learned a new cookie recipe recently.

your choice of CAKE mix (my first one will be lemon)
1/2 cup of oil
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of water

Mix until it is a cookie batter consistency (thick, but manageable for you first-timers).
Bake for ten minutes on a regular cookie sheet or 12-15 on a pizza stone (just an estimate - you have to really watch them) at 350 degrees.
Poof - cookies are done!

I have already tried the lemon ones. They are SO good.

I am at work right now listening to the Gladiator Soundtrack and working sort of diligently LOL. Actually, I have been working my tail off trying to get some things finished. So, I have to go. See you later!

Potter

I just found out (yeah yeah, later than everyone else who already knew) that the 7th and final Harry Potter book is coming out this summer. Woo-hoo!

Of course, Josh and I have already agreed to go stand in line at our local Barnes & Noble until midnight to be one of the first to get the new book.

I'm so excited!

Blah

The following is a complete mind-blower. This is also why I have had a migraine headache for a few days now. I wasn't going to write about this here, as I usually keep my "issues" to myself. However, I am past the point of caring.

I had a semi-blowout with a friend/co-worker (known hereafter as F) a couple of days ago. It just so happens that one of my best friends (BF2) had the same situation with the same person on the SAME DAY. Except hers was so much worse than either of them realizes.

Yeah, I was ill for a couple of days, but eventually I decided life's too short and literally said "I'm over it." I have tried to not necessarily be friends with F, but to at least be nice and not bring up anything. F is VERY sensitive in the first place (which is actually how the whole problem started anyway). I have never had to walk on eggshells more than I have with F.

Here's the problem:

BF is so NOT over it. For a long time, BF has put up with F's sensitivity and bullying. Yeah, that's harsh, but it's true... at least from an outside perspective. I'm also not the only one to notice. Someone else asked me once why BF hasn't blown a gasket and told off F. I had no answer.

Therefore, while BF is totally justified in this, I am in a wierd position, especially since we have all been lunch partners for awhile. I can't mention going to lunch without F getting huffy and ignoring us both all over again.

First, GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK.
Second, I no longer have any tolerance for bullpoopie. I'm 30 and ready to have babies and I don't need the stress.
Third, I have more important things to do than worry about being a friend-fencerider.
Fourth, I don't CARE anymore. Get over it. Both of you.
Fifth, I will no longer suffer physically and emotionally for someone other than myself.

Actually, that's not TOTALLY true. I do care.
But I do mean get over it.

Sleepy

Quick post before I go to bed.

More $$ for the piccolo! We're getting a decent chunk back on our tax return. Half is going toward getting Josh a car. The other half is going to be a small clothes budget, probably my flute overhaul, and a little toward my future piccolo. Yay!

Happy stuff. :)

We have no practice on Thursday, so I have a free Thursday night for once. Don't get me wrong, I love being there, but it helps to have a night off every once in awhile. Plus, that will give me the chance to catch up on organizing the part of the music library I have at home.

For now, I'm off to bed.

My hubby is awesome!

While I was gone playing the first night of my Easter gig, my hubby finished cleaning our apartment! Bless his heart. :)

He's not just awesome for that, but that was a nice surprise!

Oh, and I got paid for the Easter thing tonight. Woo hoo! That's $200.00 I'm probably spending to have my flute overhauled. Either that or to save up toward my future Burkhart piccolo. Com to think of it, maybe I will put it up for the piccolo.

I just priced it again. With all of the extras I want, it comes to $6300.00 before tax/shipping or the special case ($300.00 for the one I want). Yeah, it's expensive, but it's what I want. If I'm going to get something like that, I may as well get the extras. Plus, I will play SO much better on that one. That may not sound true, but ask any instrumentalist . The better materials that are put into an instrument, the better a person plays on it.

I told Josh about it and he wants to help me get it, but it'll be a long time before I can afford it. I'm just going to save all music related earnings.

New pics of the girls

As I said before, we had a b-day cookout for my Mom on Sunday. Here are a couple of pics of my nieces from that day... maybe even one of Ben, the squishy puppy dog.

Work fun

Here I am at work, slaving the day away. LOL - actually, it's not so taxing today. I DO need to clean my desk, though. All the dust particles have invited their relatives and having a grand time in my personal space. I'll post a pic one day so you can join in the ridicule of my messy mini-kingdom.

On the other hand, I have band practice tonight of a different sort... like the paid sort! I was asked to play in an Easter recital for a local baptist church. How can I say no? I have the nights available, plus it pays $200 for those with perfect attendance. The only downfall is that I don't get the music until 15 minutes beforehand. That wouldn't normally be a problem, but I have no idea what caliber of music to expect. Yikes. I'll update tonight if I have not had a musical breakdown. -mini-shudder-

Template

Well, I think I have finished most of my template. I have at least put everything on the page. I can edit and move later. Woo to the hoo.

See? I promised I'd be back today. 11:30 is still officially today, thank you very much. :)

We had a cookout for my Mom's birthday (actually today) yesterday at my brother's house. I got some adorable pictures of the girls. As soon as I find my cable, I'll upload my newest pictures.

Oh, we got our new furniture already. We went ahead and got everything on an Ashley Furniture account since we don't have to pay interest until 2011. I figure we can easily pay off $3,000 in a year or so and still get Josh a car. Yeah, I said I don't have credit cards, but that's still pretty much true. We have that card, but we won't put anything else on it until the initial amount is totally paid off. Even so, the no-interest part keeps me truthful in saying once before that I don't keep credit card debt. :)

Well, I just started writing, but it's too late to keep going. I have to get up early to take Josh to work if he's called in (gotta love mandatory call-in days).

I'm going to go to sleep in my new PJs. :)

Goodnight!

I'm back!

Ok, hopefully, I am back for good. I have gotten over my anger at not having bloggerbot. Yeah, it still sucks not being able to post more than five pics at a time, but I have no choice. Alas, life goes on.

Anyway, I am busy doing the "template upgrade." For the non html-savvy folks such as myself, this idea is perfect. I can go back to being html-lazy and let blogger do all the work LOL.

I'll be back tomorrow.

For real this time!