brainella the librarian

Seriously, Iowa?

2012-01-04T08:03:00.003-05:00

Seriously? Rick Santorum? 60% of the people who voted for him say their biggest concern is abortion. Abortion? WTH?! Where do these fools live? Do they honestly believe that is the most important issue with the economy in the toilet? Do they honestly believe he'll DO anything about making abortion illegal? That's just silly...or ignorant. Or both!

No one likes abortion. Not one single person. It's a horrible thing. But the government has no business telling anyone what to do with their own body. That is also why I think Obamacare is crap. No one should have the government telling them what they should do with their own health care. That and your light bulbs. Why should the government choose my freaking light bulbs for me?!

I need more coffee.

Hello, Friday.

2011-12-16T10:37:00.003-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
How y'all been?

Merry Christmas. Only 10 more days.
We've tackified our house pretty heavily. Can't let the neighbors win, you know. Our neighborhood has lots of lights and movable reindeer. I'm hoping to take a walk around the block soon to capture the joy.
Congress has overturned the incandescent light bulb ban for now. Yay! I hate those spiral lights; makes everything this weird low glowy color. I like my soft white bulbs much better.
Looks like the government won't shutdown tonight. It will be nice not to become unemployed for Christmas.
I've been learning to knit. I'm not good and I can't really follow the patterns yet because I have no idea what they mean but I'm actually enjoying it. I was knitting while watching the debate last night. I realized that Newt looks like Captain Kangaroo. How did I not see that before? I kept expecting the moose to pop out and drop pin ping balls everywhere.
Oh, and Michele Bachmann? When you have to announce, "I'm a serious candidate for President" -- you aren't. Just saying...oh, and stop picking on Ron Paul. Leave the crazy people alone!
I got my new glasses yesterday. Big Rx change and now my bifocals make everything weird and wavy. This is making using a computer very annoying. I'd take a picture and show you but my eyebrows are looking scary these days and I'd rather not frighten you.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a good weekend. I'm having coffee with a friend tomorrow morning and taking Matthew out for a birthday dinner. Sunday is cookie making day. If I'm not back before the 25th, Merry Christmas. I wish you good tidings of great joy.

Thursday

2011-11-17T13:15:00.004-05:00

My mother was disgruntled the other day because I haven't posted in a few weeks. What can I say? I'm going through a blogless period. If Picasso can have a blue period, I can have a blogless period. I'm not really reading any blogs and I'm not writing either.

I'm done with pottery for the time being.

Today is National Homemade Bread Day.

I sat through a three hour, semi-interesting class on the purpose and history of public health. I say semi because the teacher was more interesting than the content. I think it was supposed to be the other way around.

These little Dove Peppermint bark things are addictive.

That's all I got. Sorry.

Bye bye, Google...

2011-10-31T22:10:00.004-04:00

...bye bye.

Google is taking a page from the Netflix "We're trying to piss off all our loyal users so we'll just screw around with a great product just to prove we can do what we want and to piss you off" playbook. Google Reader was the best RSS feed aggregator out there. It was simple to use, and you could save and share anything. NOT anymore.

Because their Google+ crapware didn't take off like a whirlwind, they are now forcing people to use it to share information instead of Reader. Uh, no. I've already deleted my Google+ profile and am in the process of moving my RSS feeds back to Bloglines. Once that is done, I'm dumping Reader -- and I may just dump Gmail.

Bloglines isn't easy to use. It's taken me a couple hours over multiple days to figure out HOW to add a feed instead of using some irritating widget. It's not intuitive and it irritates the crap out of me, but I will be damned if I will let Google dictate how I use and read information. They already know more about me than I really care to think about.

I'm old and crabby. Don't move my cheese, damn it.

Fragments on Friday

2011-10-28T12:43:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
It's time to make the fragments...

I got to have dinner this week with my friend Connie. This does not happen often. She's one of the nicest people I've ever known, and she never speaks ill of anyone. I wonder why she's friends with me... LOL.
Bridal shower for Lizzy tomorrow. I'm so happy for her. She deserves all the happiness the universe can give.
I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. And I do mean cut. At least three inches. Maybe more. I can't decide.
We went in search of pumpkins this week...

there is nothing like Cackleberry Castle here -- a place I have grand memories of from my childhood -- but we managed to take a few pictures and find some nice pumpkins. Maybe next year we'll actually be able to go to CC.
News of the weird -- down in Albany, GA last night there was a fire bomb thrown into the drive through window of the local Taco Bell. Why? Apparently someone felt they were shorted on the amount of meat in their chalupa. You throw a Molotov cocktail at a restaurant because at 4am you are disgruntled by the lack of meat in your XXL chalupa? Dude, you need some sleep if you think that's a good plan. How does Taco Bell inspire such antics?
I'm leaving work early for the Halloween parade at Dominic's after school joint. I've been told NOT to be late. I wouldn't want to miss seeing Darth Vader march around the school.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Halloween. Hope you get lots of treats!

Are you scared yet?

2011-10-26T09:07:00.002-04:00

Watch this.

How about now?

Capitalism needs to thrive so we can get out of this situation. Just ask Milton*.

*Thanks, Stew. I'd forgotten about that clip.

Fragmented Friday

2011-10-21T09:16:00.005-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time

Dominic is out of school today. Stomach bug. Seems a few other kids in his class are ill and out sick too. Vomit cleaning at 3:30am is not fun.
I was out of work for a few days due to a muscle spasm in my lower back. I did what my chiropractor said for two days and then decided I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the urgent care joint and they fixed me up with serious drugs. Who knew muscle relaxants were that amazing? Certainly NOT me! My back is much better thanks but I've been told not to exercise for a while. I may have aggravated the injury by exercising. I don't have independent confirmation of that so I'll just assume that's wrong...
I started using www.myfitnesspal.com to track my food consumption. It's truly amazing how documenting (truthfully) what you eat leads you to make better choices of what you shove in your mouth. I've lost five pounds in the last 10 days. Nice.
Now all I need to do is STOP looking at all those fabulous pumpkin recipes on Pinterest. Nothing quite like food porn.
Incidentally, that salad I had for lunch did not quench my cheeseburger craving. Go figure.
I had to wear a COAT today. It was 40 degrees this morning! Autumn has finally arrived.

Happy Friday, y'all. I'm hoping the stomach bug flees our home so we can go to the pumpkin patch on Sunday.

Planning...

2011-10-20T13:05:00.004-04:00

I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and we're SMOKING the turkey. Well, Matthew is smoking the turkey and I'm making the other dishes. That Big Green Egg is definitely worth the price. I have my menu planned out for the most part. I found this new potato casserole that I'd like to try but I'm worried that if mashed potatoes are missing from the meal I might not get dessert.

It's 66 days until Christmas.

No screaming. I'm a librarian. I inform.

I started my Christmas card and gift lists today. Last year I procrastinated and things got away (far, far away) from me. I've already scheduled our annual portrait session. I've made about 20 Christmas cards, and purchased a few small gifts.

In other holiday news -- we've gotten two Christmas toy catalogs that have been perused by a certain six-year-old and a permanent black marker, and my iPod seems to think it is December 23. When I ask it to Shuffle Songs it tends to play Christmas music every other song. Perhaps I have too many holiday tunes on this thing...

Happy planning.

Vultures

2011-10-11T12:17:00.000-04:00

What is it with food on the job? Can it really be possible that individuals on any work site develop a scavenger mentality when any type of food is presented? I just witnessed a rather frightening spectacle over a birthday cake that makes me think these people don't get out much.

Outdoor kitty

2011-10-10T12:54:00.003-04:00

Meet CC, our new outdoor kitty. She's been hanging around for a few weeks. We would see her infrequently but she's been coming around a lot more lately. And now I'm afraid we'll never get rid of her. See -- my mother-in-law fed her yesterday. She fed her leftover grilled hamburger. It was the only thing (other than cheese and cream) we had. CC (short for Cass's Cat) came back again this morning for breakfast. I gave her more hamburger because we have no cat food. Why wouldn't she come back if that's what she's getting?!

She's cute, and quite sweet. But it makes me feel bad that she's outside, hungry and cannot come in my house. I'm hoping we can find her owners soon.

Fragment your Friday

2011-10-07T09:01:00.005-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Friday, and long weekend. Thank you, Christopher Columbus.

After a FOUR month haitus, pottery class is back!

I'd forgotten how much I love to throw. I haven't actually done it in about eight months. This is my hand building class but the teacher is pretty flexible in what we can do. Love her. She's the reason I'm still going there.
Happy Anniversary (on Sunday) to my fabulous sister. She and her husband will be married 12 years.
I'm taking my mother-in-law shopping tomorrow. She still has the William Sonoma gift card we gave her for Christmas about five years ago! We'll be store hopping at the mall. Aunt Annie's pretzels are right near WS in the mall. I think I've developed an addiction to those dang pretzels. Help!
My husband and I are actually going to have date night tomorrow! It's been a while. Dinner and a movie. Has anyone seen Real Steel? Hugh Jackman. Need I say more?
79 shopping days until Christmas. Just sayin'...
There is a lady on my floor here at work that does two things I find disturbing. She does not wash her hands after using the bathroom, and she runs down the hall. Do you think they are related issues?

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a great weekend. Enjoy Monday off if you have it. Otherwise, just ignore me.

Random

2011-09-28T08:22:00.002-04:00

Dominic has bronchitis, a fever, sore throat and misery. Poor kid can't sleep, doesn't want to eat and hasn't been to school this week.
My weekend excursion to SC was lovely though I'd really appreciate a teleporter sometime soon. Six hours driving each way kinda sucks.
Fall is here. Why isn't the fall weather here too?
Dominic caught his first fish while camping last weekend. Want to see?

He was pretty thrilled.
I suggested to Mrs4444 that she and I make a bet on the outcome of the Packers/Falcons game on October 9. Any suggestions? I'm coming up with dull and uninspired ideas. Then again, the Falcons look dull and uninspired these days.
It's Banned Books Week! Run out and...well, who cares. I hate that the American Library Association feels it necessary to scream about this each year. A book being challenged is not the same thing as it being banned or censored. But hey -- that's just semantics, right? Yet another reason I think ALA is crap.

What's happening in your life?

Friday...finally.

2011-09-16T08:43:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Friday, Friday...ba-da ba-da da da...I know that's not how it goes but that's the way it goes today.

I'm having a hard time getting the fragments out of my brain today. I'm in a horrifically crappy mood, and I'm not sure how to pull out of the funk.
I'm looking forward to next week. I get to have a weekend away to be crafty. Matthew & Dominic are going camping with the cub scouts. I'm taking a few days off work and I cannot state how happy that makes me.
I have a to-do list for the weekend that's starting to scare me. I also wanted to make some homemade bread (it's good for the soul) but I'm not sure I can fit it in. I have to get a pedicure. I'm afraid to take off my shoes right now...
Speaking of which -- do not let your six-year-old son choose your toe nail polish color for you. I thought he'd pick purple since it's my favorite color. No, he picked a green that makes my toes look like they are about ready to fall off. Ick.
Cackleberry Castle Pumpkin Farm is opening again. I know none of you know what that is, but I bet you can guess. This farm has a very warm place in my heart. I loved going there for pumpkins and hayrides and talking to the big pumpkin. My mother used to take my brother there for his birthday in October and the pumpkin would sing to him. He hated that. It's been closed for a long time but it's re-opening this fall. They are starting small but plan on getting bigger. I'm already contemplating taking Dominic up next year.
That may have just pulled me out of my funk. Talking pumpkins do that for you.

Happy Friday, y'all. We're having cooler weather this weekend. Bless you, Mother Nature.

What not to do, part 2

2011-09-15T10:19:00.002-04:00

Do not, especially at work, go to a Twitter feed you found written on the back of a one dollar bill.

Ack.

Yesterday

2011-09-12T09:26:00.004-04:00

I ran this picture through an Instagram filter. Reminds me of 1980 with the truck and fuzzy dice.

Just a picture to remind me that we are blessed.

I remember.

Sundays in My City

2011-09-11T09:09:00.004-04:00

We went to Ms. Sue's Farm to see the animals and celebrate a birthday. I think I had more fun than Dominic did.

Happy Sunday, y'all.

Hosted by Unknown Mami

Friday! Yay!

2011-09-09T09:19:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Come on feel the fragments...

Starbucks has done the evil. Salted Caramel Mocha. I had the frappuccino yesterday. Holy love. They used to make a salted caramel hot chocolate that rocked so much that I just added two shots to it and called it happiness. Now I don't have to worry -- it's a special drink in the fall! See...evil.
Tropical Storm Lee was a good man. We got almost an inch of rain and a week of lovely cooler temps. It's been in the mid-70's all week and down in the 50's at night. ♥ ♥ ♥ I really hope fall has begun. I'm tired of the never-ending summer.
Football is back. Go Falcons! Peter King (he's a sports writer for Sports Illustrated) has predicted Atlanta will beat San Diego in the Super Bowl. Yeah, baby! I'll be yelling at the television a lot in the coming months, I'm sure. I've been told no one can hear me. That's okay. One day they will...
Dominic and I went to a farm last Saturday for a birthday party. We had fun petting donkeys, pygmy goats, horses, chickens and one funny little pig.

Ernie and Bernie were much more interested in the hay than in us. I'm saving the rest of the fun pictures for SIMC with Unknown Mami. I fell down on the job last week but I'll get it done this week.
We will be making a donation to the the Flight 93 National Memorial this weekend. There is no memorial for those brave people yet, and it's a shame. This place will become a park within the national park service when completed, and the land will be dedicated tomorrow.

Happy Friday, y'all. Enjoy your weekend. Say a prayer on Sunday for those souls lost ten years ago.

Helloooooo FRIDAY!

2011-09-02T08:16:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Oh, September! How I have patiently awaited your arrival...okay, maybe not patiently. Come on, Fall!

Spent almost four hours in a doctor's office yesterday with Dominic. We found an amazing pediatric allergist. She was with us personally for over an hour, and we had three different nurses helping us. They tested him for food and environmental allergies. Apparently he's as allergic to cats as he is to peanuts. NOT good. He's also allergic to eggs (which is part of the eczema problem), lobster, shrimp, crab, scallops, dust mites and dogs. We still have more testing to do in October but we are developing a treatment plan. She's awesome. Seriously awesome. I'll spend another 400 hours in that woman's office if we can finally get his allergies and skin issues under control.
Additionally, I really love my NOOK -- kept a bored child occupied and out of trouble yesterday afternoon. I let him play Angry Birds and I read my book through my iPhone NOOK app. Technology is sometimes rather awesome.
The stair climibing competition is over. Thank goodness. And yes, I took the elevator this morning. For the month of August, there were 19 work days taking the stairs and I went up 119 flights. Average of 6.3 flights a day -- pretty mediocre but significantly more than normal. Now I can go back to being a slug.
Football has started. College this week, NFL next week. Best part of the year -- September through January. Love this time of year. If we could vanquish the 90 degree weather, if would be perfect.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a great Labor Day. Don't work too hard.

I knew I was going to take the wrong train

2011-09-01T09:28:00.003-04:00

...so I left early. - Yogi Berra

My morning hasn't been particularly fortunate.

Yes, I sat at that railroad crossing from 7:08am to 7:25am. Notice that last picture. The train stopped there on the track at 7:14am. I should have been at work at 7:14am.

So I sat there taking pictures and playing with the new photography apps on my iPhone; at least I could entertain myself.

Have you had a good morning?

Until

2011-08-30T10:30:00.000-04:00

Only...

two more days until I can take the elevators instead of the stairs. If I never see pastel stairwells again, I'll be entirely grateful.
11 more days until I can do something with my crazy hair. I'm thinking chopping some off and getting color.
16 more days until I break out the fall decorations and drive my husband crazy.
20 more days until Hawaii Five-0 is back! Can you hear me singing the theme music?
23 more days until I drive to SC for PPW.
24 more days until Blue Bloods (aka Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg!) returns. Yay!
38 days until we fly to West Palm Beach for a long weekend of doing nothing!
62 days until Halloween.
86 days until Thanksgiving.
113 days until my sister turns 40!
117 days until Christmas, and my husband turns older than me again.
124 days until 2012.

What are you looking forward to?

Friday but no Irene

2011-08-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Hope Irene isn't going to ruin your weekend!

I am the happy owner of a new iPhone. Holy moly. What a change of pace from a Blackberry. It's horribly addictive. I even got a $25 gift card to iTunes for my birthday so I can buy apps all over the place. Another Apple product I don't want to live without! HELP!
Speaking of apps, I'm now addicted to Instagram. It's so fun and neat to play with...

I took this picture sitting at a red light early on Wednesday morning. The sun was this amazing orange color, and so very big on the horizon. Love this app. I can ~~waste~~ spend lots of time editing pictures and making them look more interesting than they normally would.
Dominic lost his first tooth on Tuesday; though he did swallow it. Apparently the dum dum lollipop his swim teacher gave him was so delicious he didn't notice is loose tooth went down with it. He was horrified that the Tooth Fairy would no longer be coming. We managed to reassure him that the Tooth Fairy was aware of his missing tooth. You see, everytime a tooth falls out a bell rings and the TF know exactly where all teeth are. Yeah, I know, the bell is for when angels get their wings but what's one more white lie on top of the existence of fairies? Wait until he finds out about Santa!
And last but not least, I wanted say that my husband is a wonder. He's a great father and a sweet person, and after all these years he can still surprise me. Apparently at the introductory cub scout meeting last night he volunteered to be the leader of Dominic's tiger den. So yes, you hear it first -- camping will be in our future. Apparently the camping trips at this age are family outings. I'm no longer a willing volunteer for camping. Last time I went camping our tent was covered with spiders (and I do mean COVERED) in the morning and I wouldn't leave the tent until they were cleaned off. I wonder if there is a spa in North Georgia somewhere...

Happy Friday, y'all. If Irene is coming for a visit, stay safe. If you know no Irene, have a lovely, sunny weekend!

Not today

2011-08-23T09:03:00.000-04:00

I didn't trudge up the stairs this morning at work. HA! Take THAT you evil co-workers who go down two flights to use the bathroom just to hike back up to your own floor. Apparently I have some rather fanatical colleagues who think that this friendly competition is some kind of world championship of stair climbing.

Point of info -- this little experiment was suppose to get people using the stairs instead of the elevator not an invitation to spend the day exercising. I work on the fourth floor and I'm averaging 6.5 flights a day which is about 6.5 more flights a day than I used to take. I've heard some reports that certain individuals are averaging over 20 flights a day. Then again, these individuals never took the elevators to begin with. Good choice of competition, people. Thanks.

I might be too cranky for this today...

Friday's Fragments...

2011-08-19T09:47:00.001-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time

Happy the day-after my birthday!
Had a lovely birthday yesterday; had coffee and good conversation with a friend I do not get to see often enough. I bought a six-pack of cupcakes from Gigi's -- AND I even shared some! Went shopping at the mall and bought myself a new Mickey & Minnie tshirt. I'm a big Disney dork, I know, but I love that store. You know you are in trouble when the sales lady at the Disney store recognizes you.
"I don't think we're in danger of another recession." Yes, Mr. President...that makes me feel so much better about the state of the economy. My eye twitch isn't getting better.
I have this theory. If I put out my fall decorations, fall will come faster. This also would mean the 95+ degree heat we have will depart. My husband thinks I'm crazy.
My iPod died again. And then it came back to life the next day. I think it's just harassing me. Damned Apple product.
We are going to Eggtoberfest! Have you ever been?
Dominic is losing his first tooth. He's very excited about the prospect of the tooth fairy and cash but not so sure about ripping a tooth out of his head. Maybe I'll just give him another apple to eat.

Happy Friday, y'all.

Older

2011-08-15T07:31:00.001-04:00

First day of first grade.

I didn't cry this year when the bus drove away! Looks like I'm growing up too. HA! We've been quizzing Dominic since Friday when we realized he couldn't remember his teacher's name. Yeah, we are probably those parents. That's okay, we made it into a game and he thought it was fun. I'm wondering what kind of homework is involved with first grade.

Now I get to trudge through the back-to-school ATL traffic to go downtown to the National HIV Prevention Conference. It's just a thrill a minute here. I've got my Nook all gassed up for the train ride. Wish us both luck.

Friday Fragments

2011-08-12T12:52:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Clearing the wreckage of my mind...

We met Dominic's new teacher yesterday. She is quite lovely. Apparently they have a lot more first graders than they had anticipated, so they may have to move kids around the first couple weeks of school. I really like Ms S so I'm hoping he doesn't have to change. Now if he could just remember her name...
I'll be attending a national conference next week. It's here in ATL so it'll be nice and toasty warm to travel on the train and sweat mightily before getting to the facility and so I'll smell all day. Looking forward to it!
The stock market is starting to give me an eye twitch.
I still have no clue what to do with Google+.
Our washing machine became Niagara Falls on Sunday. We had about three inches of standing water in our washing room which had to be bailed by hand because we could not locate the hose to the shop-vac. And let me say, I was astounded by the sheer volume and size of dust bunnies floating around. Holy mackerel! Needless to say, our wash room is now spotless! Fabulous husband fixed the ratty old machine and it's now functional again. I'm not optimistic. That is the second time this year it has caused problems. Apparently the shelf-life of a Kenmore washing machine is approximately 15 years.
This week's work stair challenge count = 33 flights. I'm averaging just over six flights a day. Since I normally don't take the stairs, I think I'm doing well.

Happy Friday, y'all. Keep calm and carry on.

Really?

2011-08-08T09:28:00.000-04:00

I mentioned the stairs challenge we are having at work last week. Well, my employer has this gigantic initiative to try and get people to exercise more. I don't normally have a problem with this but it's pretty much a daily reminder/suggestion/push to participate.

To that end, they decided that more people would take the stairs if they made the environment more aesthetically pleasing. Here was their attempt at that...

Can you see they have painted the end walls of the stairwells? Block colors. Different pastel block colors from floor to floor -- pale yellow, weird light mossy green, pale turquoise, lavender and a hideous pale peach. Ugh. Makes me want to take the elevator! If they'd done a pattern or something with a bit of pizazz perhaps...but no, leave it to the federal government to make it worse.

Think I should draw some doodles to help out?

Finally Friday

2011-08-05T12:13:00.001-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' TimeFriday took a long time getting here...

There is a competition going on at work for the month of August. We are competing to see which team (and person) can take the stairs the most often. I work on the fourth floor and I'm averaging five flights a day right now. I don't go out to lunch often and I usually go upstairs two or three times a day. I'm not going to be winning any prizes, I know that. The stairwells have no AC so it's humid and gross in there. Great way to start the day, but I am doing it. Maybe my ass will be smaller on August 31...
We now have a 10 gallon aquarium -- it was for Dominic's birthday. Yesterday we obtained three goldfish (one for each of us) -- Dominic named his Goldie, Matthew named his Biff (anyone know that reference?) and I named mine Barry Goldfish. HA. I know, I should stop being dorky. I thought it was funny.
Today at 4pm I will be at the talent show for Dominic's summer camp. Children from ages five to twelve singing and dancing. Dominic and his friend Jack are singing "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. He's very worried he'll make a mistake; performance anxiety at six. Dang. He loves to sing and dance so I think he'll be great. And yes, video will be shot.
I had blood work done on Monday with the bad doctor. Why do they persist in making me talk to him when they take my blood? I know he's the only doctor in early and all but he's bad. And prescribes drugs I won't take. Bad. Did I mention I don't like him?

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a lovely weekend.

Music

2011-08-04T08:05:00.000-04:00

Have y'all heard of these two Croatian young men? How is it possible that I'm old enough to use the phrase young men? Ack. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser are cello players. They play rock music on their cellos. This is seriously cool, and it doesn't hurt that they are easy on the eyes.

iLive!

2011-08-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

Apparently I should not be allowed around electronic devices.

As you can see by this picture...

...my iPod is NOT dead. My fantabulously brilliant husband cleaned the connector (the offending part) and voilà! MUSIC! I no longer need to make a decision about getting the iPhone. YAY! Though considering the quality of the Blackberry camera I should probably get the iPhone or not take pictures with this thing. Seriously crappy.

My BB battery is dying at a rapid pace these days, and the phone will need to be replaced soon. I'm hoping to hold out for the new iPhone. I'm still keeping my iPod though. I want my phone to be a phone and my iPod to be my tunes. I'll carry both. That doesn't bother me. I have a mental block there. I'm not afraid to say it.

YAY iPod!

Day of fry...

2011-07-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' TimeGood morning America, how are ya?

Tomorrow is Dominic's birthday party. Chuck E. Cheese. 12 five- and six-year-olds. Pizza. Cake. Presents. That is why...
I'm getting a massage on Sunday morning.
I'm wondering if I will be employed on Wednesday. I'm one of those furloughable people (they told us that "non-essential" isn't really PC) so if Congress and the President keep playing chicken with the US economy I may have some unexpected time off.
iPod is officially toast. It will not connect to anything when I plug it in. Not the car system, the speaker system or the computer. It won't charge. Nothing. So...do I buy a new iPod (my personal preference) or do I get an iPhone? or do I wait for the iPhone 4G to come out? Or do I get a new iPod and a Blackberry because I don't really think I'll be keen on having to deal with the music (which currently takes up 14.6G of space) on the iPhone? :)
I have an admission to make. I cannot stand Jennifer Nettles' (of the band Sugarland) voice. Not speaking. Not singing. It grates on my last nerve. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. I had to change radio stations (yes, I've resorted to listening to the RADIO again) repeatedly this morning because that horrible song kept coming on. AAAAAHHHHH!
I'm sorry, Heather (my sister). I know you love them and see them in concert but ACK. I also know you feel the same way about NKOTB. It's okay though -- I forgive you. You are my sister after all...

Happy Friday, y'all. Stay cool. I plan to stay indoors as much as humanly possible. Too dang hot. I know I complain about the heat and humidity a lot, but guess what -- it's REALLY freaking hot and humid here.

iSad

2011-07-28T09:44:00.001-04:00

Do you see it? The sadness? You can't?! It's right there. On the unlit screen. The screen that doesn't play music anymore. The sadness that my iPod died! AGAIN!

The last time I had to buy a new iPod was July 27, 2008. Why do I know that? Because I posted about it. Three years to the day I bought the flipping thing, it dies. So is the shelf-life of an iPod three years? Seems like I'm buying a new one every three years. It worked yesterday morning but on the way home it would not play. At all. I thought maybe it was the Toyota iPod system but when I tried playing it with the speaker system....nothing. Bah!

Tonight will be iPod recon to assess and evaluate. I really hope I don't have to buy a new one. Sadness.

Sadness.

Update! Looks like the sadness has been amplified since I left home without the iPod...

HELP!

Friday Fragments

2011-07-22T10:50:00.001-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Been a long week...

My friend Merle passed away Tuesday night. He's no longer in a pain. He's no longer suffering. I'm glad for that but I will miss his silly smiling face. Sometimes the whole thing makes me so angry. This sweet person, 45 years old with three loving kids and a dedicated wife, dies way too early in life but people like Whitey Bulger and Charles Manson moulder away until old age. I know there is no rhyme or reason but it sucks!
Dominic picture time.
Laser tag rocks. Dominic got to play at a friend's birthday party last weekend. He also got to demonstrate his stance and technique. Apparently he picked up a bit more than we thought from watching my brother Douglas teach his son Cole gun safety and shooting.
We have crunchy plants in our new landscaping -- very sad dead plants due to this hideous heat. We are now watering daily to keep the rest of the poor plants alive. And for as hard a time as those plants are having staying upright, the freaking weeds are growing like crazy! Sheesh! If only those evil little beasts would keel over too.
I went to the Hallmark Christmas ornament preview last weekend. I'll not say how many ornaments I bought but I will say they have quite a few nifty new items.
I have delusions of getting lots of things done this weekend. I have about seven or eight errands I'd like to get accomplished and get the house reorganized since our trip up to NY. I've been kind of slack lately. I think it's the heat outside and the lack of ice cream inside. Yeah, that's it...

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a glorious weekend. Celebrate life. It's all too short.

Prayers

2011-07-19T13:15:00.000-04:00

I usually don't do this but I'd really appreciate your collective love, blessings and prayers for my friend Merle. I worked with him for a few years until he moved to a different division. Merle has pancreas cancer and is in hospice care. Today he has become unresponsive and is only expected to be with us for another 24-48 hours.

Merle is a wonderful, sweet, quirky man. He can always make me smile. He was also the photographer at my wedding and has taken family portraits for us. See this post for some of the fantastic pictures he took. He captured wonderful moments in our lives.

Merle has a wife and three kids who are going to miss him dearly. Please pray for them. I cannot tell you how sad all this makes me.

Stay well, my friends.

Supplies

2011-07-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

School starts again for us in 28 days. I say us because it's a group effort to get anything done. The elementary school is very accommodating...they have open house for the students and parents on a Thursday afternoon from 12:30 - 2pm. Why must it be in the middle of the day? I work 25 miles from my home. It is a 40 minute drive each way. I have to take a half-day off so we can go to his school for 20 minutes to meet is teacher and deliver the 20 lbs of supplies they demand from each child each year.

So here is the list of items need for each child in first grade:

Book bag (without wheels)
Scissors
Primary black and white composition books-wide-ruled (2)
Large zippered pencil pouch (no boxes)
2+ boxes of 24 crayons (please, no larger amounts)
Glue sticks (12 or more)
Kleenex (2 boxes)
Baby wipes
Plain #2 Pencils – sharpened (2+ pkgs. of 12)
Liquid soap – Boys
Waterless hand sanitizer – Girls
Clorox wipes
Pink pearl erasers (4)
Ziploc bags (any size)
3 x 5 ruled index cards (2 pkgs.) – Girls
3 Plain pocket folder w/fasteners – 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green
Dry erase markers (1 pkg.)
Post-It notes (3) – Boys
Blue 1½ inch D-ring binder with a clear pocket insert on the front

What's with the 2+? Should I buy four or five boxes of crayons or pencils? Why do first graders need 24 pencils for one school year? And 12 glue sticks? Are they going to paste themselves to a wall or something? What about the scissors? Every student in every grade at this school has to bring a pair of scissors. Does this school go through 1000 pairs of kids scissors a year? Do they throw out the scissors in May and get all new in August each year? If not, why do I need to buy a new pair each year? Is there anyone I can ask these questions at the school that won't think I'm a crazy crackpot and pre-judge my child?

Oh well...I have 28 days to prepare myself for the deluge of money requests and fundraising campaigns.

Look at the pretty flowers!

2011-07-17T09:06:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Unknown Mami
What does your city look like today?

Our landscaping is finally done! Behold...before...

And after!

Seriously -- how much better does this look?! YAY!

Hello, Friday!

2011-07-15T07:51:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
I'm back! Did you miss me?

The surprise party for my Pop was wonderful. It indeed was a surprise -- actually, he was more shocked than surprised. It was great fun seeing some people I haven't seen in 20 years and getting together with extended family that I don't usually have the opportunity to see when we normally visit.
Doesn't Pop look thrilled?
Our landscaping is done. It looks wonderful! You'll be bored with pictures soon, don't worry. We even have a drip irrigation system to make sure the sad plants don't die in this hideous heat. Two plants haven't survived trauma of being plunked down in our yard in this disgusting July weather. Landscape Man is coming back out to replace them. Money well spent. We no longer are the house no one will look at -- that's now the house at the top of the hill. Their yard has no grass, just weeds. It's very unattractive. Can I now be snide about other people's yards?
I received a thank you package in the mail this week. It contained cake pops and cake balls that were so yummy I had to hide them in the fridge. WOW! I keep saying I'm going try making them, but now I am determined! Holy yumminess.
I have my own office at work now. They moved me to a different floor than everyone I work with -- holy quietness. I can actually get work done at work! No interruptions AND this office is at least 10 degrees cooler than the other one. It's ALL good.
Dominic currently has a heat rash. If it's not one thing, it's three others. Sheesh. Poor kid.
I received hand written letter yesterday; a real pen and paper letter. I have a pen pal. She lives in Northern Ireland and she's such a neat person. Each time I get a letter from her it makes me smile. I love writing letters and sending "real" mail. It is such a novelty getting hand written correspondence. Do you write letters? Would you like to?

Happy Friday, y'all! Have a grand weekend.

Happy Birthday, America!

2011-07-03T23:23:00.002-04:00

Schoolhouse Rock Rocks. Celebrate your life, liberty and happiness.

I have sparklers and I'm not afraid to use them. Happy Independence Day, y'all.

Friday!

2011-07-01T08:16:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Hello July! Can you believe we are already half-way through 2011? ACK!

The landscaper emailed last Friday night to let us know he wouldn't be arriving on Saturday to rip out the hideous bushes. The weird thunderstorm patterns had set him back a few days of work. Hmmm. Anyway, he's supposed to arrive on July 5 to start. I'm starting to think bad thoughts about landscapers in general. We've not had the best of luck over the last two years...
Dominic and I leave Tuesday to go up to NY. The surprise party for my Pop is July 10. He doesn't know yet, I think. :) RSVP deadline is today. I'm not going to detail how many people have not responded. (A LOT!) For future reference, if you get an invite that has an RSVP deadline...RESPOND. It's annoying to the invitor when the invitee doesn't respond. Sorry. I'm probably preaching to the choir here.
I will be alone this weekend. And do what? Self indulge! Hair cut, mani/pedi, massage and watching some movies that my husband would never want to see. YAY! They are going to the lake to sweat in the heat and humidity (bleh) and ride the boat. I won't get to set off fireworks but that that's okay. Maybe I'll get me some sparklers. Got plans for the Fourth?
In one month Dominic will be six years old. How is that possible? I'm taking the easy way out and having the shindig at Chuck E Cheese. He loves to play air hockey.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a fantastic weekend. We live in the greatest nation on the planet. Celebrate 235 years!

Frankly, my dear...

2011-06-30T07:43:00.004-04:00

You should read this book.

Yeah, it is about 1,000 pages and it was published 75 years ago today. Yes, it's about the south, the Civil War and Scarlet O'Hara. It's all that and much more -- this book goes light years beyond the movie. The movie covers the surface plot. The book explores the characters, the culture and the time period.

I love this book. If you've not read it, you should. Have you read it? What do you think?

Politics

2011-06-29T18:13:00.003-04:00

The 2012 election is 496 days away. 496. 496! And we already have to hear all this mind-numbing garbage non-stop. Can't we get those fools in Washington to make it a four month process? You can run your ads and have debates in July. All primaries in August. You get September and October yell at each other and annoy the crap out of us, and then in November, vote. Done.

That's it.

No more Billion dollar campaign war chests (yeah, we should pay more in taxes but he wants a billion dollars to get friggin' re-elected). No more warm-up debates 18 months before the election with every fruit-bat candidate available (thank you, Ron Paul and Newt).

I'm tired of listening to the carping...and we still have six months before 2012 begins. I may need to start drinking.

Friday Fragments

2011-06-24T07:51:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Some days I think fragments are ALL I have in my mind...

I determined something vital at 11:15pm on Wednesday night -- I'm getting old.
How did I determine that? By going here...
I went to a concert with three friends Wednesday. NKOTBSB. Holy cow. I haven't had that much fun in AGES. I danced, sang and had a grand time. And then I needed to rest. Wow. I think I might just be too old to stand around on concrete steps for hours dancing and singing. Yesterday I had an all-day headache, my feet hurt, my ears rang, and I went home early so I could take more medication and have a nap. Yeah, I'm getting old. But seriously -- I'd do it again, I had that much fun.
I've been waiting for tomorrow for almost TWO years. We've hired a landscaper to come redo our entire front yard. Tomorrow they will be ripping out the hideousness that hides the front of our house. Hallelujah!
For Father's Day, my fantabulous husband received a Big Green Egg. We've discussed getting a smoker a couple of times, and since he's a pretty good griller -- I figured it would be pretty fun to see what we can come up with. We have a pork roast thawing to try out on Saturday. And less indoor cooking in ATL in the summer is a happy thing! (Do I sound too happy to not be cooking?)

Happy Friday, y'all. I hope the humidity doesn't screw around with your hair!

Friday!

2011-06-10T07:41:00.005-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
What are your fragments from this week?

I gave blood on Monday. I've been giving blood since I was 17 years old. I consider it my good deed for the day. Do you give blood? You should consider giving blood if you can...they gave me a new t-shirt and some Nutter Butters. Who can argue with that?!

Pet peeve that has manifested itself this week -- someone asks you for a favor, and then complains when you don't do the favor to their liking or on their time table. Bite me, lady. Last time you get a favor from me.

12 days until the NKOTBSB concert.

When I pick up Dominic from his summer camp each night, the conversation goes like this...

D: Mommy, do you have your iPod?
Me: Yes.
D: Can we listen to Born This Way first and then The Boys?
Me: Sure.
D: And can you turn it up?
BTW -- The Boys, that would be NKOTB. Love that kid.

I sent out the invitations for my Dad's 70th surprise birthday party last Friday. Got our first RSVPs on Monday. 56 invites, eight replies this week. Am I expecting too much that I thought we'd have more than that by now? And no, I have no patience.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a great weekend. I'm hoping that the weather isn't so freaking hot. Dislike summer.

That guy

2011-06-07T15:14:00.006-04:00

Have you ever known him? The guy that annoys the crap out of you just because he exists? He's not rude to your face but you get the impression that he says snide, nasty things to other people about you? He has this tone of voice that makes you wince. He's super nice to you when he wants something but otherwise can't be bothered to be pleasant anytime else?

Do you know him? Because I do. And I'm tired of him annoying the crap out of me. How long do you have to ignore or irritate someone before they finally just stop talking to you?

Alligators, ho!

2011-06-05T13:43:00.007-04:00

We spent an extra-long weekend in South Carolina over Memorial Day. One of the fun things they have in North Myrtle Beach is Alligator Adventure. It's got LOTS of alligators, as you might have guessed...but it also has some nifty other animals. African fruit bats, lemurs, tortoises, snakes, tigers, one camel and a burro. If you ever get the chance, it's a nifty place to explore.

We go for the alligators. They are impressive. Enjoy...

Simon, Greg and Dominic riding the gator!

Did you know there are albino alligators?

Hosted by Unknown Mami

Friday Fragments

2011-06-03T08:14:00.003-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Time to let go of the small stuff...

I'm a bad, bad blogger these days. Now that school is out and pottery is done for the next three months (yeah, don't get me started about that!) -- I am going to focus a bit more on blogging here and at The Do and Ju Review.
After all the planning and visions about moving to a bigger house, I think we've decided that it is not a good plan right now. I'm not going to get my cave. With the real estate double dip we are looking at much lower home prices and selling will be almost impossible. For as much as we'd like more room, we will be fixing up our current place. You know what that means? I finally get a NEW stove! I can hear the angels singing!
Photographic evidence that my son loves to read.

He could have been playing with his Leapster but he chose to read his books for about 90% of our six hour drive to SC. He even read to us. Yay. I'm very happy my child likes books and reading.
I'm still liking my NOOK Color a LOT. I've read five books on it now, and it's pretty cool. I never thought I'd be one for an ereader but I guess I'm a bigger dork than I thought!
Enough with the 90+ degree weather. ENOUGH. It's been over 90 for a week. I spent three days outside this week and I'm now done with summer. I look like someone has been making polka dots on my head with a brown marker. Freckle-city. It might be cute on an eight year old but I'm over 40 and it's not cute on me.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a cool weekend. I'll be hiding inside with the AC.

Candidate

2011-05-25T09:26:00.006-04:00

So...my campaign donation went to this man.

Herman Cain

We heard him speak two years ago at the Tea Party Rally on Independence Day in Marietta, GA. He was wonderful. (That day was also Dominic's first exposure to political activism.) Herman Cain is a business man, but he's had a talk radio program on WBS Radio here in ATL for about four or five years. I only got to listen to him when I drive home from pottery class in the evenings. He's currently on hiatus from his show to pursue the Presidency. He ran for the Senate in 2004 but Johnny Isakson (bleh) won. I like Herman Cain. He's funny, smart and very focused on the economic and financial issues that plague our country.

I would love to see him on a national stage engaging the politicians with his ideas and no-nonsense charisma. No, he's not a politician; but you see where the politicians have gotten us. In a big hole and continuing to dig...

Want to learn more? His campaign site is here and an information blog post is here.

What does $100 get you?

2011-05-23T10:03:00.006-04:00

I made my first donation to the 2012 Presidential campaign. Any guesses as to who benefited from my generous donation? I'd post a poll but I really have NO idea how to do that. I'm a pretty incompetent blogger.

So what should I expect from my $100? Something? Nothing? Anything?

BTW -- I'm participating in a blog tour via Kathie at Like a Box of Chocolates. Go on over and take a look at some fun blogs...

Friday, Friday

2011-05-20T08:48:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Time to defragment.

It was idiot day on Buford Highway (for those of you who aren't in ATL -- it's a four [sometimes six] lane open access road that is rather strange and scary in certain locations) this morning. Some goofy thing was driving a scooter, not a bike or motorcycle, a SCOOTER while weaving in and out of the cars and large gasoline tankers. Death wish buddy? Take it somewhere else.
I'm getting my hair straightened tomorrow. Well, sort of. With the humidity creeping back into the GA air, I need help. My crazy hair looks like frizz hell. I'm hoping a Keratin Treatment will help. I've be assured (and reassured) that it will loosen the curl a bit and keep the humidity frizz factor down. Does anyone remember when Monica went to Barbados? That's me in humid weather.
I'm going to be playing this all day tomorrow anxiously awaiting...
And then we'll see what May 21, 2011 has to offer.

Happy Friday, y'all. Hopefully you'll be hearing from me again next week...

Random thoughts...

2011-05-16T08:09:00.003-04:00

I didn't get to fragment my Friday due to a sick child. A 2am wake-up call of croup-like coughing is NOT a good time no matter what anyone might tell you.
The surprise party for my father is pretty much set. Date/location booked, menu picked, invitations done, airline tickets bought, car reservation made. Only problem is I forgot to put the RSVP date on the invite. So -- should I put a post-it note on the front or does it matter? I'm worried it matters.
Did you watch the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavor taking off today? Have you ever seen a shuttle launch? Truly amazing sight -- we went once to see it but I don't remember if it was the Columbia or Discovery. I just wish my son would have been able to see it. I hope the future still has the possibility of manned space flight. Dominic wants to build rockets when he grows up.
Have you ever heard of planking? I had not until this morning. Very odd. Seems like a silly way to go.
My fantabulous husband sent me this today which is rather amusing. And since ~~my child~~ I've become addicted to Angry Birds, I find it quite hilarious.
I'm seriously contemplating a staycation (I really detest that word, btw). There are so many things I'd like to get done around our house that I'd love to take a few days and just GET IT DONE. I seem to procrastinate and focus on weird things during the weekend. Can I go back to working part-time?
And last but not least...pottery ends on May 25 for the entire summer. I'm not sure which brainiac decided that adults don't want to take pottery classes during the summer but I'd like to have a discussion with this individual. What other hobby can I pick up this summer?

Happy Monday, y'all. When is our next three day weekend?

On my phone

2011-05-11T10:03:00.004-04:00

My Blackberry does not take pictures of any kind of quality. That fact does not stop me from snapping crappy shots of things at random.

This was from Easter. Apparently the Easter Bunny likes to leave jelly beans in the butter...Dominic was horrified.

The view from the floor of my office. Why? I was doing my chiropractic traction and reading Twitter. Ran out of tweets and got bored. My life. It's one great adventure.

My child. He enjoys his ice cream. We went WAY out of the way after dinner on Mother's Day to go to my favorite place (Carvel!). Dominic was very excited since we don't get to go there very often.

Yesterday was May 10. It is not necessary for it to be this hot already. NOT.

Gas was $3.83 when I drove by this station yesterday morning. This morning it was 11 cents more. I thought gas was supposed to be going DOWN. WTF?

And that's the vision from my part of the world. How's your view?

Friday Fragments

2011-05-06T07:48:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
I think I've had too much coffee this morning...

Bin Laden is dead. I hope the bastard rots in hell until the end of time. The world is a better place.
I am having lunch with my son today. He's been so very good at school for TWO weeks that I am leaving work at 10am to drive 22 miles to his school, eat lunch with him and then come back to work. He was quite excited last night that he's finally gotten all of his privileges back.
Only three weeks of kindergarten left. I can't believe my child is this old already.
I'm having a massage tomorrow. Yay!
As much as I love my NOOK Color, I've got some issues. The first book I bought is missing a portion of the book. As in, there are an undetermined amount of pages that are NOT in the file so I cannot finish this blasted book. I sent email to customer service. Yeah, not helpful. So I called customer service. It took 50 f-ing minutes to get them to listen to me, and all they did was refund my money. Good but I WANT THE BOOK. I hate, hate, HATE it when they stick to their stupid-ass script, repeat every damned thing you say BACK to you while not listening to a word you are saying. The dude actually told me that he couldn't help me and that I'd have to contact the PUBLISHER in order to get a correct digital file. EH? Yeah, supervisor time. She was almost as worthless but she did refund my money. She also told me they would let the publisher know about the problem with the ebook. Gee, thanks. Oh, and if I wanted to, I could re-purchase the ebook in 1-2 weeks once the publisher corrects the issue with the book. Um, yeah so I can waste another hour getting another refund from people who don't listen to me. Hmmm...if this happens with another book, the darned machine is going BACK to B&N.
Wow. Sorry for rambling. Still irritated.
Happy Mother's Day to all you fantabulous Moms out there. You rock.

Happy Friday, y'all. It's going to be sunny, non-humid and beautiful here. Hope you have the same.

Real Conversation

2011-05-04T08:02:00.003-04:00

While making dinner last night...

Me: Hey Dominic, what are we going to do for dinner on Sunday?

Dominic: What's Sunday?

Me: It's Mother's Day. Are we going to do something special?

Dominic: Nah, we'll just get some regular food.

Me: What? What kind of regular food?

Dominic: I don't know. What are you going to make?

And from the living room I hear snickering...by my husband. Perhaps I should contemplate adopting a girl so I'm not longer outnumbered. Hmph.

Friday Fragments

2011-04-29T08:03:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Friday, Friday...la la la la.

Traffic this morning was a bit light. Did all those ~~crazies~~ people who got up at 4am to watch the wedding stay home today? If so, THANK YOU, Will & Kate! I am grateful for all the hype. I wish we could have had an Air Force flyover at our wedding!
Dominic's school day socializing has eased a bit. Each day he manages to NOT get into trouble he gets one of his "privileges" back. You know...his toys, books, TV watching, computer, etc. Yeah, he had lost ALL of it. He now knows they are privileges not necessities. He really did NOT appreciate sitting alone on his bed with nothing to look at or play with. Mean parents. At least now he's behaving himself at school [knock on wood].
Mother's Day came early...well, yesterday. I know it's cheating but I really wanted it!

The NOOKcolor! Um...love it. Seriously, I never thought I'd buy one of these things. But this device is freaking cool. The new software is the same as the Android phones so it now runs like an iPad -- without the price. I can ~~waste~~ occupy my time anywhere as long as the battery holds out! First book I bought? Resistance by Anita Shreve.
Lent is over and I can now eat cookies!
Braves pitcher Derek Lowe was arrested for DUI and drag racing on Peachtree Street last night at 10pm. So -- who thinks this guy is actually going to receive any kind of punishment for this behavior?

Happy Friday, y'all. Hope your weekend is wonderfully lovely.

What I have not done this week...

2011-04-28T12:24:00.003-04:00

exercise every day. Why? These damned thunderstorms and a damned fidgety five-year-old. He jumps in our bed when thunder wakes him up. Dude is NOT a calm sleeper; getting three head slaps is my limit.
stopped eating chocolate. Easter candy bad.
have pottery class. They canceled it last night because of the big storm. We didn't get much of anything but those in north GA and south of ATL did. My in-laws were way too close to the tornado in Spalding County. Tuscaloosa, AL is a mess. I lived there for almost a year when I went to the University of Alabama. Keep them in your prayers. They definitely need it.
eaten salad for lunch. Why? Because when Whole Foods sells their salad bar for $7.99 a pound, their romaine lettuce needs to be something other than brown and wilty. Who is going to pay for that?
been able to avoid all this inane royal wedding crap. I cannot figure out why it's so engrossing to people.

Feeling like I need a kick in the butt.

Friday Fragments

2011-04-22T07:19:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time

The conference with Dominic's teacher was good yesterday. She (and we) are concerned that Dominic tends to be more interested in his social life than paying attention in class. We had a nice meeting and have a few ideas on how to reign him in. Academically, he's doing great but he's more interested in having a good time at school. I'm afraid of what he'll be like in college if he's already having a good time in kindergarten!
I took a sick leave day today to go to two doctor's appointments. Blood work, irritating male doctor and chiropractic re-assessment. When did I start falling apart?
Today is also errand day. Need to get my groceries, Easter goodies and go to the post office. My life is very exciting!
I bought some Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home from the doctor. That's why I ate salad for two months straight...so I could eat donuts!
While at the grocery store I chatted with an older lady about the unhappy price of buying food. I spent almost twice the amount of money today on groceries than I did about six months ago. When the hell is someone in the government going to finally admit that inflation is out of control? Is good old BO too busy campaigning again to give a crap about how horribly the economy is? I'm a bit irritated about that particular subject, sorry.

Happy Friday, y'all. For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter. May the Lord bless you and keep you. :-)

Random thoughts

2011-04-20T15:28:00.007-04:00

Whoever came up with deep fried mac and cheese is evil. Macaroni and cheese isn't bad enough for you to begin with that you need to deep fry it and dunk it in a sauce.
I want a headlight donut.
The picture on my new work badge makes me look mad.
I need to go get stuff for Easter baskets.
Lady Gaga needs a reality check.
I have a parent/teacher conference tomorrow to discuss my child's behavior at school.
I'm not looking forward to that.
Makes me want to eat two headlight donuts.
Which I won't do because I have bloodwork scheduled for Friday am.
And if the results come back and there are donut globs in the blood, that evil doctor will be mean to me.
Beware, Do -- you are going to need to feed me headlight donuts in July!

Apparently all I can think about it donuts...what are you mindful of today?

BTW -- this is a headlight donut...

Friday Fragments

2011-04-15T08:44:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Good morning. Welcome to the fragments of my mind.

It's Friday and I have a kink in my neck. I need to go get a massage.
I think I might be addicted to banana creme pie yogurt.
I may be showing my curmudgeonly ways when I admit this, but I finally started listening to the Black Eyed Peas, and holy moly -- awesome! Great music to exercise to...

I love this song.
As you probably know, the furloughing never happened last Friday. And hey -- they actually got the CR and budget figured out and done this week. Congress did something. I'm not going with something good because that doesn't happen often. They did something. Now let's see what happens for 2012. It only took until April to get the 2011 budget done.
I get up at 5:30am to exercise. I put my headphones on, turn it up, and pedal on my bike for about 30 minutes. At about 28 minutes in Dominic scared the bejesus out of me. I wasn't really paying attention and he walked up behind me and put his head on my arm. I almost fell off the bike. I suppose I should turn the volume down, right?
Last night I went out to water the new flower bed and discovered that we have sprouts! Maybe I will get some daisies this year!

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a lovely weekend.

Thief!

2011-04-13T13:57:00.004-04:00

I almost stole an apple today. I went to Whole Foods to get lunch. Lunch was salad. If you are what you eat, I'm a big green pepper. I've eaten more salad in the last month that I have collectively in the last three years. I'm about tired of salad. I sure hope that doctor is impressed with my blood work next week or all this non-burger eating has been in vain.

Anyway, I stopped in the fresh produce section just inside the front door and picked up an apple. I put it in the outside pocket of my gigantic bag so I could make my salad. I paid the little check-out dude and exited the building. About half-way across the parking lot I actually said out loud, "I just stole an apple from Whole Foods."

U-ie. Back inside to pay for the apple. $1.01 for an apple. Does that seem like a LOT to pay for an apple? Does to me.

At any rate, I got my salad AND my apple and I won't be thrown in jail for swiping a Granny Smith. My integrity is intact. The apple was pretty good too.

Friday Fragments

2011-04-08T08:04:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
First -- Happy Birthday, Mom! She's turning 40 again this year; I think she's now younger than me.

I'm so happy it's Friday! Are you?

I'm feeling non-essential today. Can I go home now?
It's supposed to be in the mid-80's this weekend. Sunscreen already? I had to slather it on to work in the yard last weekend. I'm hoping I can get the new flower bed finished this weekend. With help from a five-year-old I'm sure it will get done right quick.
New recipe alert! I'm going to make a Chocolate Cassata on Sunday. That cake looks amazing. I'll let you know.
I don't know how much ice cream is where you live, but one pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream is $4.49. Say what? That's more expensive than 1.5 quarts of Mayfield (that's a local dairy) ice cream. Insane.
Go Yankees! Sorry, Matty. :-)
Adele has a show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta in June. The only tickets I can find are on StudHub -- cheapest are general admission for $183. I think I'll just keep listening to my iPod. Dang.

Alrighty, y'all. Have a happy Friday and a fantastic weekend.

Book list

2011-04-07T09:59:00.004-04:00

Are you on Facebook? If so you've probably seen that "I got xx/100 on the BBC Book List Challenge. How many have you read?" meme that's been popping up non-stop. Have you looked at the 100 books the BBC thinks you should read? No, I'm not going to post all 100 books. I understand it's the BBC and all, but seriously -- must Dickens, Austen, the Brontës and JK Rowling be everywhere? There are many other authors who are much more interesting.

What are the top ten books you would recommend to people to read? My list...

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Gone with the Wind
3. Band of Brothers
4. Atlas Shrugged
5. Suite Francaise
6. The Killer Angels
7. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
8. Bridget Jones's Diary
9. The Godfather
10. The Handmaid's Tale

Is there one book you would recommended above all others? I'm thinking on that.

Non-essential

2011-04-06T08:40:00.005-04:00

Are you essential? Apparently, I'm not. When the government shuts down on Friday, which is looking more and more likely, I will be on furlough. No taking vacation or sick leave. No work, no pay.

I won't necessarily be sad if the government shuts down. I want something productive to finally happen with this budget. We cannot, as a country, continue to spend money we do not have. They need to fix it. Stop pointing fingers and calling names. If I hear Chuck Schumer call someone an 'extremist' one more time I'm going to write him a letter and politely ask him to STOP. Okay, so it won't be that polite -- I'm tired of this whole political response to an economic mess.

So if I'm unemployed next week, anyone want to have lunch?

Friday Fragments

2011-04-01T11:22:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
I've been MIA from FF for a few weeks. Did you miss the fragments of my mind?

My son apparently is dating already. He informed my husband when being picked up from school on Wednesday that Arya was coming over after dinner. He had given her our address and phone number so she could relay that info to her parents, and come on over. Say what? I have a five-year-old Lothario.
I will be eternally grateful when the circus that is the royal wedding is finally freaking over. Those people are the completely opposite of interesting to me. Insipid drivel, all of it.
Go Yankees!
New NKOTBSB song on April 5. iTunes is my friend.
Tomorrow will be my first pedicure of the season. Desperate need! My sad toes need some sparkle. With the weather (hopefully) getting better I bought two new pairs of sandals. Purple or red polish?
I'm in a baking kind of mood -- have been all week. I'm thinking apple chip cake....mmmm mmmm. We may even have all the ingredients. Can I leave early today?

Happy Friday, y'all. Hope it's not snowing where you are. We are supposed to have sunny, happy weather is weekend. I'm going to get to use our new screen door. Yay!

Hey Larry!

2011-03-31T09:25:00.002-04:00

Larry is underglazed and sitting on a shelf ready to be fired again. He turned out pretty well, I think. Dominic is going to love it. All he needs now is to be glazed. Yay!

Random thoughts

2011-03-24T12:36:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I'm going away for the weekend. Alone. I'm so excited I can't stand it. It's a scrapbook weekend in Myrtle Beach. Hopefully I'll actually get some pictures into the scrapbook at some point.
Exercising is going well. The new stationary bike rocks. I get up at 5:30am to pedal for 30 minutes. I think my butt is shrinking.
I may have to purchase the new Jennifer Hudson CD. I heard the song Where You At and it's fantastic.

Damn, what a voice. And she looks amazing.
I really want a Nook (the Nook Color!) -- nifty little piece of hardware. I really want one but I don't want one. I'm afraid that if I pay all that money I won't use it enough. Or maybe I'll drop it in a mud puddle and kill it. I have SO many books already that I shouldn't ever buy an ereader.
WTF is a kinetic military action? Do they really think calling it something other than war makes it something other than war?
No fragments tomorrow that's why I'm randomizing today.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Go me!

2011-03-21T08:40:00.003-04:00

So someone tried to engage me in a political discussion about the 2000 election...or as she stated, "the stolen election of 2000." Basically how it's George Bush's fault that we are now bombing Libya because he stole the election. Um...huh?

I calmed stated that I'm not allowed to discuss that topic and removed myself from the location.

Aren't you proud that I didn't actually say what was running through my mind, "Come again, crazy lady?" It's a step forward; I think my mother would be proud.

Today

2011-03-17T11:55:00.008-04:00

My ponytail holder is green, and so are my earrings. Take that! You cannot pinch me. Besides -- I'm not Irish; I might have freckles but that means nothing.

Dominic thinks holiday = presents. I tried to explain that St. Patty's Day only gets you odd green food and pinched for not wearing green. That stressed him out. Mother of year. That's me.

Please say a prayer for my Mom. She starts her radiation for breast cancer today. And all because of her I have to go get another mammogram. Sheesh! Love you, Mom.

Did you need surveillance data on Raccoon Roundworms in Pet Kinkajous? If so, it was published today in the Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. Odd.

At any rate, Happy St. Patty's Day! May your green beer be tasty and your dinner not be boiled cabbage.

Real Conversation

2011-03-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

At the dinner table last night...

Dominic: [leaning over to look at the pan of lasagna] Is there sugar in that?

Me: Uh, no.

D: That's good because if there was it would be in the DANGER ZONE!

Me: Uh...what?

D: Sugar is in the DANGER ZONE at the top of the food pyramid.

Me: Yeah? Who told you that?

D: The active board at school.

Me: [looking at my husband across the table] And this is why we should home school...damned liberals.

Matthew: Dominic, do you know what the word moderation means?

D: No.

Matthew: It means that you can have a little bit, not lots. So you can have a little bit of sugar and it's okay.

D: Oh. I can eat sugar?

Matthew: Yes, in small amounts, it's fine.

After dinner, a bit later...

D: Can I have dessert?

Me: Sure.

D: Can I have a lemon cookie?

Me: Sure -- but you know that it has sugar, so it's in the DANGER ZONE!

D: That's fine. I'm going to eat it anyway!

Every time someone says DANGER ZONE all I get is a mental image of Top Gun and F-14s...not the food pyramid.

Got a cookie?

2011-03-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

I love baking. Cookies are one of my favorite things to whip up when the mood strikes me. That won't be happening again until April 24. Yes, I've given up cookies for Lent. All those evil Girl Scout cookies sitting in our house need to be run out of town.

I realized from the comments yesterday that many people either don't observe Lent or know about Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday (that's today) and lasts until Easter. These 40 days (actually 46 but you don't count Sundays) represent the time Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan. It is a time of sacrifice (you cease doing something you enjoy or love) in honor of Jesus.

The last two years I gave up ice cream; I need to be realistic about my choice so bread basically went out the window. I know that is not possible. I had a friend give up Facebook last year. Soda would be a good choice too, I should really give it up entirely. Should I give up both?

Enjoy your day!

2011-03-08T07:40:00.003-05:00

Because tomorrow starts Lent. What are you giving up? I'm contemplating giving up bread but I don't think that is attainable. I'm a bread addict. The last two years I've given up ice cream...but bread? Does that include biscuits? Or english muffins? Or blueberry muffins? Pita? Tortilla? It's all so confusing.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras or Lent? What are you giving up?

Rise and shine

2011-03-07T07:28:00.000-05:00

A little humor for a Monday morning...

Friday Fragments

2011-03-04T07:47:00.004-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Good coffee morning. Dunkin rocks.

I had a virus on my computer when I got to work Wednesday morning. Care to guess how long it took to get to use it again?
Pottery is out of session until March 30. I have an interesting new idea for Christmas ornaments. Yeah, I know...but if I don't start on them now they will never be done by the time I need them!
Date night tomorrow night. Why? Because we are celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary.
Doesn't seem like it has been that long. That's a good thing, right?
Speaking of husbands, mine is a wonderful person. My new recumbent bike arrived yesterday and he put it together immediately. You see, I've been exercising on a broken bike. How long will a person procrastinate just to save money? Apparently two months. This new bike rocks. It's comfortable, has an easy display and doesn't make weird thunking noises when I pedal. Yay! Why didn't I do this sooner?
I don't know how much YOUR gas costs but it was $3.04 for regular on February 21. It is now $3.41 (I'm not going to mention how horrific super unleaded has become.) I'm ready for this upward trend to stop. We don't really have a gas-guzzling vehicle but it already costs $60 to fill up my tank and that gives me a pain in my head every time.

Happy Friday, y'all. Enjoy the weather because we're supposed to get 2 inches of rain in the next two days. Bah!

Friday Fragments

2011-02-25T08:47:00.003-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Time for the fragments...

I'm so happy it is Friday. I feel like this week has been 10 days long.
Girl Scout cookies are evil. And I'm not in love with how expensive 18 cookies are now. Holy mackerel. 18 lemon cookies for $3.50? Dang. But I love me some cookies.
BTW -- art exhibit we saw last Friday was very cool. Bresson was in some opportune places at opportune times. His portraits are incredible -- Matisse, Coco Chanel, Marilyn Monroe, Samuel Beckett. Dang. Dinner was nice too; it helps when your dining companion is a PR rep who knows the chef. You get fancy desserts compliments of said chef.
My hair lady (it sounds really pretentious to call her "my stylist") suggested I try a keratin treatment on my curly locks to relax the craziness. Anyone done or heard of this? I'm scared. I would hate to have all my hair fall out.
Facebook is now becoming the creepy place where you get odd communication requests from weirdos in other countries. I've gotten two disturbing messages from strangers in the last month. Anyone else had this happen?
Recently I've been seeking out new music, and when I saw this performance I had to buy some of her tunes. Adele also has a new album out, "21". I may need to get that too. Enjoy this song. She's simply amazing.

Happy Friday, y'all. It's raining today but this weekend is supposed to be spectacular.

My happy list

2011-02-22T10:39:00.003-05:00

I've seen various people do this recently, and I've done it before too.

Currently, the things I love...

My iPod -- I cannot live without my tunes
Speaking of music, I recently discovered Feist. Heard of her? She has a funky voice and sound. Bought and am really liking her album Let It Die.

Exercise -- believe it or not, I've been exercising daily for about three weeks. I've lost about 10 pounds since the beginning of February, and I've not felt this good in a long time. Go me!
Eucalyptus spearmint hand cream by Bath & Body Works. Oh, the joy.
And peanut butter. Do I need to explain?

So -- what do you love?

Friday Fragments

2011-02-18T08:42:00.005-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
I have a three day weekend. Thank you, Mr. Washington for being born.

Tonight I'm going to a preview opening of the Henri Cartier-Bresson modern photography exhibit at the High Museum with my friend Connie. We are then going out to dinner. Looks I have a date with a married lady.
I wore a pink shirt to work on Wednesday because my son told me that although I look pretty, I wear too many "boy colored clothes". Apparently pink and purple are girl colors and boy colors are all others. I need to wear more pink though pink is not my signature color.
Larry, the minion is complete.
I've started reading Atlas Shrugged. Have y'all read that? It is rather odd but interesting. Part 1 of the movie comes out on April 15. I find that amusing.
Did you watch the Grammys? I recorded it so I could watch the crazy. Did you see The Egg? What do you think of Gaga's new song? Love it...though that egg. Dang. Watching celebrities always make me feel better about my life.
I've been feeling completely scatterbrained lately. I feel like I am forgetting something but I have no clue what it might be. I have this feeling every time I leave home for some reason. Perhaps it's my mind I'm forgetting...
Dominic is feeling better. He went to school yesterday and did fine. He had an elevated temp again this morning but we sent him to school anyway. Parents of the Year. We are destined.

Happy Friday, y'all. It's supposed to be gorgeous and sunny this weekend. Watch it rain the whole time! Ha!

Happy VD

2011-02-14T08:10:00.003-05:00

This is not my holiday. Dominic loves the whole thing -- telling people you love them and giving hugs. Ah, the notions of a five year old; that kid is amazing. He worked on his Valentine's all weekend only to end up sick with a fever of 102 and cannot go to school. He's very sad.

Here's the best Valentine I've seen in a long time. Makes me laugh every time.

Have a happy Monday, y'all.

Friday Fragments

2011-02-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
I'm not sure my eyes are open yet so if I misspell everything you'll know why. Happy Friday.

I may need to go back to the ortho because I've done something stupid to my left knee again. How is it that every damned time I start exercising and eating right I hurt myself? Seriously? Am I that big a klutz?
I'm still listening to the NKOTB CD non-stop. All your fault, Jenny!
Do you watch SouthLAnd? You should. I know I'm a police show junkie and all, but that and Blue Bloods make my week. Best shows on TV. Word.
Hair appointment tomorrow. Good thing because it is starting to look like I stuck my finger in a light socket again.
And last but not least, I had to share this.

It makes me laugh.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a happy weekend.

Monday = One Day

2011-02-07T10:57:00.002-05:00

Because it's Monday and I can, for you viewing pleasure -- a Friends clip.

So far today...

My child woke me up at 1:03am and 5:00am.
I have no idea why either time.
I did not want to drag my butt out of bed, but I did.
I was late and got slowed down by 1,000 school buses.
Hate that.
Had to stop and get breakfast because I forgot mine.
Loud lady across the hall has finally moved offices.
Praise be!
Gave blood.
I now have this rather annoying red bandage around my arm for another three hours.
Had a rather odd meeting about confusing things.
Did not get enough coffee.
I'm going to go fix that situation in about five...

Are you having a good Monday?

One sparkly note though -- I sold a coffee mug on Etsy! Yay!
Oh, and date night was nice but the trendy food sucked. How can someone screw up a burger and fries that badly and stay in business? I think I'm SO unhip that I don't get trend food.

Friday Fragments

2011-02-04T08:17:00.004-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Welcome Friday. When is my next day off? Here are the bits and pieces left of my mind...

That's Larry the minion. He's my current pottery project and made of clay. Larry will be a bank for Dominic. Have you seen Despicable Me? Does he look like a minion? (Well, other than that large piece of clay in an unfortunate position up front -- that is for support. He has a similar one in the back which will be removed once Larry is stable.)
I'm tired of mind-numbingly dull meetings.
We are actually going OUT tomorrow night...without child for dinner with friends. Holy moly! That hasn't happened in a LONG time.
The weather here has been erratic. Yesterday about 5pm it was snowing and sleeting -- Dominic was so excited. By the time we made it home is was pouring down rain. It's supposed to rain 1-2 inches today. Hopefully the temperature doesn't drop below 32 because we'll all be screwed.
I really want a donut.
Since January is over so is my moratorium on fast food. That sausage biscuit sure tasted good this morning. Life isn't bad without fast food but Friday mornings are definitely lovely with a McD's biscuit.

Happy Friday y'all. Hope your weekend is bright and shiny.

Jiggity jig!

2011-01-31T09:56:00.001-05:00

Do you see it?? Those, my fine friends, are four tickets to see NKOTB. Go ahead and judge me all you want. I get to see the Boys dance and sing on a Wednesday night with the Girls. And yes, I'll be taking Thursday off.

Friday Fragments

2011-01-28T11:48:00.001-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Blogging at the speed of light! HA. Good morning, and welcome to my stray thoughts.

Dominic's week of no electronic items ended yesterday. Four days of green card/good behavior while on restriction and the day restriction is lifted he gets a blue card and loses privileges for the day. That's my son!
Before I even got a cup of coffee this morning, someone has already stolen a half pot. WTH people? I hate that.
Tomorrow starts operation Get the Junk Out. We've rented a storage space for the evacuation of non-vital living items in our current house in an effort to find a house bigger so we can fill it with more crap. Actually, we will be making repeated runs to Goodwill also. Someone man's trash and all...
I am the Mystery Reader for Dominic's class on Monday. I need to pick a book. Any suggestions for a kindergarten class? We have a ton of books but I want to find something different than the other parents.
And last, but certainly not least -- say a prayer today for the seven souls lost on the space shuttle Challenger 25 years ago today. I was 15 years old that day and remember it so vividly.

Happy Friday, y'all. Make the most of your wonderful weekend.

I found my soap box

2011-01-27T10:40:00.004-05:00

This post should set my husband's teeth on edge.

I read this article discussing a documentary of the treatment of women in the media. This topic is something that seriously pisses me off. A LOT. I absolutely detest going to the CNN website only to see a picture of Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Condi Rice or Nancy Pelosi looking haggard, miserable or just plain awful.

I do not give a crap what you say...the media, including women reporters and journalists, treat women in the news horribly. Look at the recent interview that shallow piece of crap on CNN, Piers Morgan, did with Condoleeza Rice. Some of his questions for the former Secretary of State?

"Are you high-maintenance?"

"If you were cooking me a meal, what would you cook?"

"Dr. Rice, while you remain one of the most eligible women in Washington, how have you avoided being snared in the marital trap?"

Really? The woman has a PhD in political science, is a professor of political science at Stanford University, was National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Why not inquire about who does her hair too? Or her nails? Inquiring minds want to know! Would he have asked Colin Powell or Warren Christopher those questions? Of course not. Why are women measured by a completely different standard than men? And why is it okay that this happens?

This article discusses the documentary, conceived and made by Jennifer Newsom, after she watched what was going on in the 2008 presidential election. She's not the only one who was disgusted with what happened. I know many people do not like Sarah Palin, but the things the media said and did during that election after she was chosen were repulsive. Too bad Katie Couric wasn't one of the people stopping that train wreck -- no, she was driving the engine. Perhaps she needs to take a good, long look in the mirror.

In many ways I'm glad I had a son instead of a daughter.

OKay, end rant. Back to your regular programming...

101 Update

2011-01-25T08:34:00.007-05:00

Last March I posted a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1,001 days. I've been working pretty regularly to get more and more done. I need work on more of my pottery goals.

6. Continue adding to Dominic’s yearly scrapbooks (I'm almost finished with year three! It's an on-going battle.)

7. Make scrapbook of Dominic’s portraits (created in March 2010, it also includes other family portraits - always ongoing.)

9. Participate in the AAC annual art show/sale (Nov 2010) -- yeah, that craptastic weekend was my last.

11. Read 10 books by authors I’ve never read before -- nine done so far!
*Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn (april 2010) - eh. Don't bother.
*Book Thief by Markus Zusak (may 2010) - fantastic book but very sad.
*Rebellion of Jane Clarke by Sally Gunning (july 2010) - good historical fiction.
*Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Àngels Anglada (july 2010) - again, fantastic but sad.
*Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (aug 2010) - very interesting though I actually figure out what happened before the book ended. That doesn't happen often!
*Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson (sept 2010) - pretty good but not sure it is historically accurate.
*Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (oct 2010) - holy mackerel this book is good. Read it!
*Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent (dec 2010) - very good book about one family during Salem Witch Trials.
*Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (jan 2011) - very good but very sad. It's about the round-up of the Jews in Paris in July of 1942.

13. Read three books recommended to me
*In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Do) june 2010 -- good murder mystery.
*The Godmother by Carrie Adams (Kathie) aug 2010 - interesting chick lit but the main character was completely annoying.
*Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Jenny) oct 2010 - again, read this book! Read all three!

15. Find three new musicians I like (still looking...)
*Lady Gaga
*Lady Antebellum

23. Learn to read a crochet pattern - december 2010 (I thought this would be easier than it is)

26. Read 3 biographies
*Decision Points by George Bush (currently reading)

31. Try one new recipe every month -- Most of these recipes are worth the time to try. I've discovered that I cannot make Asian food. It's scary bad.
*March 2010 – Ultimate sin cookies
*April 2010 – Chicken & caramelized shallots
*May 2010 – Mac and cheese recipe from taylortakesataste.com
*June 2010 – Nestle’s Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies
*July 2010 – Bow tie Lasagna
*August 2010 – Baked Mastaccioli
*September 2010 – Perfect potatoes au gratin
*October 2010 – Ree’s meatloaf
*November 2010 – Brownies as They Should Be
*December 2010 – Balsamic Beef Stew
*January 2011 - Mac & cheese from Galley Gourmet

40. Make brownies from scratch (november 2010) -- those brownies are SO worth it!

45. Have a family portrait taken (november 2010) -- they actually turned out well too.

51. Go on a weekend trip by myself - Paper Princesses, NC - april 2010

-- they are having another weekend scrap book-o-rama at the end of March. Well, you can do just about any paper-crafting but I work on my scrap books. It's SO much fun. It's near the beach. And there is NO family. I'm there. Want to go with me?

68. Go without fast food for a month - january 2011 (haven't had fast food since Dec 28 -- go ME!)

77. Get new blinds for all the windows (october 2010) - those nasty, old, yellowing, brittle things are gone. The house looks SO much brighter!

78. Get a new fan for our bedroom (april 2010) - what a difference a decent fan makes. Dang.

85. Donate all the books I'll never read again – PBS/Goodwill (I've cleaned out a LOT of stuff but I really need to put on my bad librarian hat and weed like crazy)

88. Go blog free for a week (march 27 – april 3, 2010)

90. Learn how to load and shoot a 9mm (september 2010) -- I hit the bulls eye first!

92. Learn how to load and shoot a rifle (september 2010) -- semi-automatic rifle. Have the video to prove it too!

93. Meet five bloggers I read in real life -- it's amazing what wonderful people we can meet. I've made many friends through this blog but meeting them in person just reinforces that amazing people they are... :)
*Jenny from JennyKate’s Spot (march 2010)
*Lizzy from Hot Tub Lizzy (october 2010)

95. Put reusable shopping bags in car and USE them (I finally have a system so I don't forget them EVERY damned time!)

96. Do something fun for my 40th birthday (that did NOT occur so I'll have to revise for 41)

99. Solve a Rubik's cube (I had a bit of help, but I did it!)

What came first?

2011-01-24T07:59:00.005-05:00

The fried egg or the boiled egg? Do you like eggs? I love eggs. Boiled eggs, deviled eggs, fried eggs. I have two boiled eggs for breakfast most mornings and one of my biggest issues is peeling them. Normally I lose about 1/4 of the egg because I can't peel them easily. Well, NO MORE! I saw a post on goodLife {eats] blog that I think has solved my egg problem. The only thing I wasn't already doing was using the salt. They peeled perfectly this morning. No divots, no tearing, no tears...and it's a Monday!

Are you an egg person?

Friday Fragments

2011-01-21T07:46:00.003-05:00

Hosted by Mrs 4444 at Half Past Kissin' Time

It's Friday. Time to make the fragments...

My child. We had to have a talk last night. Dominic didn't just get a blue card at school yesterday, he got the dreaded yellow. This means he was repeatedly reminded and warned that his behavior (making noises, talking and crawling around on the carpet) are not acceptable. When asked, "Why were you doing that?" His response, "I wanted to." Yeah well...now you get to accept the consequences of that choice, my son. One week without any electronic items. No computer, Leapster, television, or Wii. I think the thing that is most awful for him is no Despicable Me. Why? Just look.

He dearly loves that movie, and making mini-minion movies of his own. Our resolve will be tested with Saturday morning cartoon viewing.
Instead of a medium Dunkin coffee this morning I got a large. It's necessary today.
I chipped my tooth last night but I have no idea how that happened. My left front tooth now has a weird little piece missing. I'm debating on calling the dentist.
Is it really bad that we haven't actually put all the Christmas boxes away yet. They still sit in our living room...mocking me.
Someone stole my banana. When I went home yesterday I left a banana on my desk for breakfast this morning. This morning...no banana. I hope it went to good use.

Happy Friday, y'all.

Pottery and songs

2011-01-19T09:35:00.004-05:00

I have my stuff featured in the ceramics and pottery Etsy Showcase today. Since I've decided I will no longer participate in the annual show at the arts center I figured I'd better put them up in the shop. Want to see some of my favorite pieces?

The glaze on this piece is amazing -- is is called Jasper. It's red on the inside of the bowl but breaks blue and green on textured areas. Love it. Going to have to make more high fire pieces now.

I've finally figured an easier way to make coffee mugs that aren't round and squat. Really like this glaze but it's a bit too matte for my taste.

I have five owls. I may end up keeping one. I gave one away for Christmas. I think I'm done with owls for the moment. Owls and tentacles.

My favorite glaze combination -- porridge and red revolution. And the bowl is pretty nifty too. Nope, not humble.

This vase isn't real big but it turned out pretty neat. I had another nifty vase but I gave that to Aunt Pauline for Christmas. All reports tell me she likes it.

I'm hoping some of these sell. I need to repay my personal fund since I shelled out last night for tickets to the NKOTB concert. I'm officially broke now. But I do get to see the cute boys sing on June 22. Well worth it, I think.

What's on Your Mind Wednesday

2011-01-12T14:06:00.004-05:00

Stolen from Tanya at A Taste of T
Look out. I'm thinking...
- I should have gone to bed earlier last night.
- I'm almost snow day-ed out.
- Day three. I'm close to being interested in going to work.
- These oatmeal chip cookies are really good. I need to stop baking.
- It was 20 degrees out at 7:30am. It is now 29 degrees.
- The ice is never going to melt at this rate.
- If this ice stops us from going to Myrtle Beach this weekend, I'm going to lodge a complaint with Al Gore. Rotten bastard. If he invented the Internet, I'm sure he invented all this global warming crap too.
- I need a pedicure.
- I wish I had a pair of warmer slippers.
- The mail hasn't come in three days. I don't miss the bills.
- My hair is looking kind of frizzy-crazy with all this dry weather.
- I think my eyebrow alopecia is back; my right eyebrow has this weird thin spot right in the middle again. Yes, again.

What about you? Got anything interesting on your mind?

Snow day!

2011-01-10T10:58:00.005-05:00

Kirk Mellish (he's the weatherman for WSB radio here in ATL) said it was going to snow. He said we'd have freezing rain. He said the temperature wouldn't get over 31 today. So far he's three for three. Want to see? It's SNOWMAGEDDON!

This was last night about 10:30pm. It was coming down pretty fast for a while there.

Poor Gary; he is our front door snail. He's a sad white lump right now.

Looking down our street. Matthew left his car at the bottom of the driveway just in case he wanted to make a getaway today. That car is never going to thaw out!

Our back yard. Dominic can't wait to get out there and play. I told him that once the freezing rain stops we will go out. I wonder when that will be...

We have about seven inches of snow. It's been freezing rain for over an hour. It's 27 degrees right now. I think we might be in this house a bit longer than just today.

In other news, I have been trying desperately to get our house back into shape. Between the holidays, going out of town, three gift exchanges and lack of ambition -- this is one scary home. Boxes, paper, and toys everywhere. It scares me. We aren't hoarders but it's starting to make me wonder. While sorting through piles of stuff I managed to make a pile of books that I received.

Three cookbooks, four biographies and three novels; that should keep me busy for a while! I'm going to make Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon sometime soon (it's on my list -- which I desperately need to update).

Happy snow day, y'all. I think I'm going to go bake something!

Friday Fragments

2011-01-07T07:42:00.005-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' TimeBack in the routine! It's Friday. It's time to defrag.

I've already managed to spill coffee on myself twice this morning. Grace in action. That's me.
My chiropractor has been harassing me (and I do mean harass -- at every appointment he does it) to take a nutrition class at his office. (Seriously, it's been going on for months.) It's a 12 week course that costs $35 -- it's not conducted by a doctor, nutritionist or dietitian. A health coach helps you "learn" a "life system". Now, I know I have a big butt. It's kind of obvious whenever I look in the mirror. However, I'm not impressed with the "life system" they've chosen -- no carbs for the rest of my life? Yeah, that will happen. I'm wondering how nasty I'm going to need to be to get him to leave me alone.
It's supposed to snow here this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed!
I started pottery classes again this week. I'm currently making a Ducky Momo bank for Dominic. I have two big bins of pottery hanging around so I'm going to try and get pictures of them done this weekend so I can post them to my Etsy shop. I need to get some of this stuff out of our house. Perhaps a giveaway is in order...
Nine years ago today I started working in this building. I don't talk about work much though some things around here would make for some pretty great blog fodder. Since I'd like to keep my job for the time being, I'll just say that some things change and some things don't. I wish common sense was more prevalent and foolishness was less prevalent. I'm going to be having a big drink with dinner tonight.

Happy Friday, y'all. Have a great weekend. We are going to de-Christmas-ify our home and start packing stuff for storage.

Did you want to lose weight?

2011-01-05T16:27:00.005-05:00

If so, Doritos is willing to help you out.

They'll sell you a one ounce bag of nachos with four chips and six crumbs in it for 75 cents. Your ass will thank you. Your wallet won't.

One level at a time

2011-01-03T10:53:00.005-05:00

So in Tanya has inspired me once again. A one word resolution. Her word is trust. I'm not really a resolutions kind of girl but I can get behind a change in philosophy.

My philosophy -- strive. Strive to do better, be healthier, stop procrastinating, to stop cussing. Seriously, I cuss too much. If you hear me cuss, slap me or something will you?

Anyway, the first way I am trying to strive is by taking the stairs. Simple, right? Not so much. I work on the fifth floor; going up five flights will make me stop striving rather quickly. So I'm starting with one floor at a time. Once I've gotten that mastered I'll go for two. I'm also figuring that if I take it all in moderation I won't mind the change in habits. One step at a time.

Strive. Do you have a word?

Bits and pieces

2010-12-30T10:15:00.004-05:00

It's been over a week since I blogged. Did you miss me?
Can you believe tomorrow is New Year's Eve? Got big plans? I don't. I'm pretty dull.
On our 1,011 mile drive home I realized that many people are, for the most part, selfish and stupid when driving. Why else would you plant your big-assed car in the left travel lane going 60mph in a 70mph zone, talk on your phone and not let anyone pass you? Because you are stupid? Or selfish? Or stupid? Or ignorant and irritating? I may not be the most patient driver but MY GOODNESS! Get the hell over!
In our four days and 2,022 miles of driving up and back, we had about 10 minutes of actual snow time. Other than that, no snow. Oh, they had lots in central NY but it did not snow the whole time we were there. Then again, it never got over 26 degrees either.
I'm going to Barnes and Noble after I leave work today to pick up Mockingjay. It's all your fault, Jenny! I'm really enjoying this series. I'm also reading Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. It's about the roundup and deportation of the Jews out of Paris in July of 1942. It is very good. I'll have to write some reviews on The Do & Ju Review soon.
Made any resolutions? I'm not. It never works. I'm going to try my best to behave myself, exercise more and try to stop cussing so much. After flipping off the jackass in the Explorer covered with Clemson University crap when he flipped me off yesterday, I thought it wasn't the best way to communicate. Then again, sometimes people really deserve it. But I really do cuss too much.
I'll leave you with this fab picture. This was what most of our driving tour of GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, WV, PA and NY looked like. Brown and dirty.

And BTW -- not making that drive anymore. It sucks and takes up four days.

Happy New Year, y'all.

Happy

2010-12-22T06:51:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas, y'all. We are headed to NY as soon as we can get out the door. Yes, we are driving about 18 hours. Don't ask, I don't want to do go into it.

Have a wonderful holiday. You'll be hearing from me again soon. Adventures in highway travel... yippee!

Secret Santa

2010-12-15T15:11:00.005-05:00

I participated in Georgie's Secret Santa Soiree again this year. The twist this year is that I get to post the loot for my person and (s)he has to visit the different blogs on the list to find the person who sent the package. Georgie has been so wonderful hosting all these fantastic people. Thanks Georgie! You rock.

The fantabulous lady I was given has a great talent that I envy. She's a quilter. I can barely sew the hem on my pants. Jealous. She also stated she like the scent of vanilla, chocolates, and Taco Bell. I like her already! So without further delay, here are the items in the package I sent.

Smell something good?

Hmmmmm....chocolate.

Quilting items were highest on the list, I think...so I managed to find some really neat stuff. This was fun; I don't know much about fabrics and quilting but I can see how addictive it can become!

She said she doesn't splurge on dish towels -- which I love. I thought these were pretty neat. They are kind of vintage but Christmasy too.
I hope you like your gifts, SSS partner-o-mine. I had a lot of fun putting this stuff together. Merry, merry Christmas.

What's on Your Mind Wednesday

2010-12-15T07:39:00.002-05:00

I'm stealing T's idea for a Wednesday post. Thanks, T!

I'm tired of making out all these Christmas cards.
My hair looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket.
It's probably a good thing I have a hair appointment at 10:30am.
I took the day off to go shopping.
Now today is looking more like errands and chores than shopping.
I love Sharpie pens.
I need to do laundry but don't want to.
I need to develop self-cleaning clothes.
I started reading Catching Fire last night but it couldn't hold my attention. Is it worth it?
I'm still addicted to Desktop Defender.
I blame Paul.
I need more coffee.

I really need to go finish those Christmas cards now...

Real conversation

2010-12-12T11:16:00.003-05:00

In the car on the way to Target to shop on Friday.

Mommy: Remember Dominic, we need to get a Christmas present AND a birthday present for Daddy.

Dominic: Okay, Mommy. We celebrate Jesus' birthday the same day as Daddy's birthday.

Mommy: Yes.

Dominic: How old will Jesus be on his birthday?

Mommy: 2,010.

Dominic: That's the same as the year!

Mommy: That's right. We started counting the years when Jesus was born.

Dominic: Wow. That's old!

Mommy: Yes, it is.

Dominic: Daddy's not that old.

Mommy: Not yet.

Friday Fragments

2010-12-10T07:35:00.003-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Here are the bits of my life...

15 days until Christmas. How's your shopping going? I'm about 75% done. Matthew and I are taking next Wednesday off to go shopping...together. Scary, no? Hopefully we survive each other and the mall.

Dominic is now walking around singing this fabulous tune.

I find it hilarious, as does he. Whenever we start singing it Matthew just shakes his head. I'm passing my musical tastes on to my child. HA!

Today is our work holiday party. I baked! Apple chip cake. Yum. I even bought a $10 gift for the gift exchange. Look at me being the joiner!

It's been so freaking cold here this week. Yesterday it was 17 degrees when I got up. This is the south; we don't do 17 degrees here. At least we don't have 44 inches of snow...Syracuse, NY got snow for almost 98 straight hours. And we are driving up there for Christmas in 12 days.

The best selling song on iTunes this year is Hey Soul Sister by Train. I bought it. Now it just annoys me. Eminem's new album Recovery is the best selling album. I did not buy that, but I did purchase the song he did with Rhianna. Are you an iTunes person? What song or album was your favorite this year? I'm not hip -- I finally discovered Lady Gaga and I really like the song Telephone. And now, when I get into the car with Dominic, the conversation is this, "Mommy, do you have your iPod?" "Yes." "Can we listen to Monster by Gaga?" Every time. I hope that doesn't make me a bad parent.

Happy Friday, y'all. Stay warm!

I'm just going to say it...

2010-12-08T07:23:00.002-05:00

I know it's taboo. I know I'll look horrible, dumb and mean. But I'm just going to say it and get it over.

I detest the Beatles. And I really don't give one fat, hairy crap that it has been 30 years since John Lennon was shot. Enough with the docu-crap about it. Yeah, we know he's dead. He's not coming back and we still have to deal with that hideous Yoko Ono. Enough already.

Friday Fragments

2010-12-03T07:45:00.002-05:00

Hosted by Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Fragmenting at the speed of light. Well, alright -- at the speed of early-morning-haven't-had-enough-coffee light. Warning! That's not overly fast.

Our house has been taken over by boxes. Between boxes of presents ordered online to the insanity that is the delivery of a telescope, we have enough cardboard in our house to re-create Hooverville.
Have you heard of this new television show "Bridalplasty"? The 12 women on this show are competing in wedding themed activities to get plastic surgery procedures done from their make-over wish list. EH? A plastic surgery wish list of all the things they want "fixed" before they get married. Wow. Very enlightened. I find these kind of shows horrifying.
This morning in Dunkin Donuts there was a guy getting five dozen donuts. I don't care how many he wanted but was it really necessary to pick EVERY one individually?
I bought our Christmas tree the other day. It's fake. We are traveling this year for the holiday and watering a real tree is kind of important. At least we know THIS tree won't be too big for our house. And no needles! Oh, and I bought twinkling multicolored lights too. HA! If you are going to go tacky, go whole hog!
I'm already dreading the volume of fudge I'm going to have to start making the next few weeks. I think I made eight batches last year. That's a LOT of sugar and chocolate. It's a good thing I only make it once a year.

Happy Friday, y'all. Go Gamecocks! Kick the crap out of Auburn tomorrow, please.

Blast

2010-12-02T07:49:00.002-05:00

26 years ago today, the number one song in the US was...

I still love 80's pop -- makes you want to dance, sing and smile. What's your favorite 80's song?

Randomly

2010-11-30T10:39:00.001-05:00

Did you miss my fragmented Friday?

I was rejected by the Red Cross yesterday morning. I have iron-poor blood and they wouldn't let me donate. Guess I'll need to eat more steak and spinach. Taking those iron pills makes me sad.
Do you have an Elf? We do. He arrived on Friday and we named him Barnaby. Dominic is loving finding Barnaby each morning. I fell down on the job last night and forgot to move him to his new location. My fabulous husband saved me though; he moved Barnaby before Dominic could notice. Yay honey!
I've become addicted to Desktop Defenders on Facebook. Yet another way to waste time.
I received a Gold Starbucks Reward card in the mail the other day. Apparently I've used my regular Starbucks card enough that they just signed me up and sent it. Think I go to SBUX a bit too often?
When are those Kardashian girls finally going to go away? Seriously...they kinda scare me. Well, them and that horrible Cyrus girl. Bleh.
When are you putting up Christmas decorations? I finally got the Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff packed away. Now I need to convince Matthew to go up to the attic and retrieve all the Christmas crap.

Have a good Tuesday. Stay dry. The weather is cold, rainy and crappy today. Need to make a Starbucks run... :)