Billy Mays = My Hero

You know you have made it in life when you are listed in Wikipedia for being a salesman on the TV. Billy Mays has been on the TV selling all sorts of home products for a good ten plus years. When I see him on TV I get a little excited and say, "I wonder what Uncle Billy is going to sell me today!"

The latest addition to his 20+ products that I have seen is the Handy Switch. This allows you to make a light switch to any lamp with remotes. I don't know who thinks of these products, but you have got to admit it's a pretty neat idea. I was thinking about picking up some for the house because I haven't had any luck training Sparky to get the lights.

It seems that anything Billy sells I think, wow, why don't I have that? Then the show comes back and it's like I was snapped out of hypnosis. Weird. Anywho! I have decided that when the time comes and I need to sell a house, forget realtor's, I am just going to hire Billy. I think I will actually get my money's worth.

Holiday Sweaters

Now before starting this entry, there is a disclaimer I must give. As engineers are apt to be socially awkward, holiday sweaters are intended for some people. They include people who work at schools, grandmas, and people that are blind. This entry is an FYI for everyone else.

Just as Bridget Jones makes fun of Mark Darcy for his fabulous reindeer sweater, so too, do I find myself holding back a chuckle every now and then as I witness what comes out of peoples closets this time of year. There is a lady that works in my building that is not in either of those groups. She has a couple of them she has shown off over the past month. I do snicker every now and then, but I can't help it. And of course because they are only appropriate for about a month, you need to wear them a few times. Styling.

Now, when people in the afore mentioned group wear them, they tend to look cute or at the very least appropriate. They are in the correct setting for it. If I were to bust out a sweater with sequins head to torso and blinking lights on it, I am sure I would look ridiculous because I am not in the appropriate group for it. Other people can pull it off.

I just get some good laughs when people pull out all the stops for these festive pieces of apparel. I don't know who designs it, but I would love to see the thought process behind it. "We need appliqués, beads, and sequins all over this. Let's give it all to a 10 year and see how it comes out."

However you show your festiveness, just keep it age appropriate and tasteful. You'll be fine.

A Year in Review for Books

One of the first blogs entries I made was about my book reading list I wanted to keep. To my surprise, I actually kept it up! It's kind of neat now to look back over it. I separated them out by month and if I had already read it once. I have read a solid 26 books this year and have a good feeling about completing at least two more before the year is over. That's an average of a book every two weeks. Not too shabby. Now because I am a real dork, here are some stats.

I have re-read 8 of those books. Six of them were the Harry Potter Series that I was trying to re-read before the last book came out. And four of those were read in July along with the final book making July the month I read the most in.

The book that took the longest to get through was Jane Eyre, but it was worth the read to get into Jasper Fforde's works. One of the books that I liked best was Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. The same author wrote another book that is a new favorite called, PS, I love you, which is now about to be butchered by Hollywood. That's two of my favorite books this year (Stardust was the other) that Hollywood has made into a movie. Writers strike my foot, they are out of ideas and are now pillaging books.

I read books by 10 new to me authors. Some I liked some I didn't. But I enjoyed it all the same. I can also tell by my sheet what months I was super busy with other thing (Halloween costume) and didn't have as much time to devote to reading. Apparently I had some time on my hands in July and August.

I also wanted to share with you my personal library which is stored online. You can see what books I own and if I have rated them or not. If anyone would like to borrow one of them, I would encourage you to tell me and I can ship it to you or bring it with me the next time we meet. Happy Readings to you!

Going Dutch

I was recently at a restaurant with about 20 people for a social outing. This was a lot of fun and the food was good. The few of us that got there early had decided to order a few pitchers of margaritas for ourselves and those that would be coming. The waiter was trying to figure out how to do the billing for us. There was a lot of back and forth and the thought was that all the drinks were going to be on one bill and then everyone would chip in. Well it turned out that they went on some peoples bills and we were to "chip in" for them.

Now I am all for making the waiters life easier and we should have been a little more clear about what we thought was going on, but we were not. As a result I was stuck with a $20 pitcher of margaritas on my bill. I had a glass and maybe a half out of "my" pitcher which serves about 5 people. I think all told we had 7 pitchers across the table. As we were paying bills, some people "chipped in" money and called it even. Some asked, "How much do I owe you?" and I don't know if some even gave money.

This irks me because chipping in $2 (actual amount seen coming from a wallet) for a margarita is a far cry from fair for those that were chosen by the waiter to front the bill. I did have one person actually ask, how much? and put the proper amount it. All told though, I think the ones that got stuck with the bill maybe got $5-$10 paid to them. That means we fronted the other $10 a piece plus tax and tip. You do the math.

The point I am trying to make here is if you put in all on one bill, that works fine for 4 to maybe 6 people, if you really know them all. Otherwise ask for a separate check, ask how much if something was if you split a bottle of wine or an appetizer. The problem with "I'll just give you cash" is that people rarely take into account tax and then tip. I don't think it's on purpose, but it can add up especially in large groups. I have felt like more than half of the time I have put in on a card and gotten money for it, people came up short. I honestly hope I have never done that to someone, but I rarely have the cash on hand to give anyway.

The lesson, just go dutch or be sure to be responsible for all costs you are sharing on a bill. It's just good etiquette.

It's 75 degrees, but wait! It's December!

It appears that we have hit a bit of a heat wave. As if we need it. This weekend we started in the upper 60s and I know my car told me it was 76 this afternoon and right now my thermostat is telling me it's above 80. I know that's due to oven usage, but come on!

Meanwhile back in the north, people are actually having snow fall and lots of it. There have been reports of skiing, shoveling, the occasional snow ball fight, and even some furnaces kicking on. Well, let me tell you people in the north are missing out on.

That's right, the ability to drink a beer in a t-shirt with the warm sunshine on you. It's actually been really nice to do shopping in. The down side - no one I know really wants to turn on their oven and make it warmer in their place at that temperature. That's why I waited until the evening to start. I still have my windows open and a cool breeze is coming in, but it really feels like September, not December. My kitties were even enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.

It's supposed to be like this for another few days. I am going to take advantage of this and wear some of the warmer weather clothes like skirts and open toe shoes. My summer wardrobe is better anyway. :) Meanwhile, the rest of you can enjoy your winter wonderland.

Blog Updates

Recently there has been a number of people hopping on the blogger band wagon and I have added them off to the side of my own blog. The first one is Process + Color which is Kara Bo Bara, a friend of mine from college. The next one that was added was not too long ago by a co-worker of mine named Heidi, named The Goldilocks Quest. She actually stumbled across this on accident (stalker) because she was looking for LMents Braves pictures. Well, if you put that into Google, I am one of the first websites that comes up. My last one is about my friend Josh, who has decided to tell The Tale of The Traveling Name Plaque he has started on a journey all around New York State. I think it's like the office version of the gnome. :) Anywho, they are now on the side bar in case you wanted to know who they were.

Oooo Pretty Lights!

Ok, these aren't the best, but I thought I would toss them up here. One is of the outside of my house and the other is the tree. Honestly, if you needed that explanation for these pictures, we need to talk.

Here's a cup of cheer!

I am feeling back to normal, although now I have a pain in my lower back that I am really unsure of where that came from. Doing some yoga stretches and heating pads are helping a little bit.

Today is an off Friday for me so I tried to think of every last thing I was going to need for the month of December before leaving the house today. I know I am going to have to go back out at some point, but I tried to get baking ingredients, boxes, tape, etc. because of the people who show up in public during the next month. I think some of them already started as well though because I ran into a number of rude pushy people today while I was shopping. Bah. My least favorite part of the holidays. I think everyone just needs to paste a huge smile of their face and count to 20 with a cup of cheer in their hand. It would be a more pleasant place I am sure.

I have managed to decorate the house this week. The tree is up and decorated and looks pretty at night. I have the candles in the window and the garland on the stairs. So far the cats have only knocked down 3 ornaments which I had planned for. I put kitty proof ones of the lower branches because I know they think they are their toys. I want to decorate the outside, I just need to buy a converter for the light bulb socket to accommodate outdoor lighting. How pretty.

As I mentioned, I did pick up some baking supplies and I have a huge cookbook for cookies. So now the question is, what ones am I going to make today? Hmm.... If time weren't the issue I would make them all today. Oh well, small steps will get it done too. Now to go find my cup of cheer and my apron. :)

Feeling Yucky

I came home from work today at about 10:30am. I just feel yucky. It's a technical term, I swear. I feel nauseas and in general blah. So when I get home not feeling well and have prepared my stay to the couch for the rest of the day, what do you think my cats do? Well, it seems they wanted to do everything in their power to sit on my not feeling to hot tummy. I know they just want to snuggle and are super excited I am home, but have you ever had a 18lb cat try to lay on you when you are feeling this way? Or even when you are feeling good? Gosh my cats are huge.

In my hours of the couch today, I sent a few emails, watched About a Boy (I thought it was only so-so), finished the last disk of LOST Season 2, took a nap for an undetermined amount of time, and now I am writing a blog entry. I have eaten soup and probably about a third of a loaf of bread because I know toast is supposed to help. At least something along those lines.

I hope I feel better tomorrow. Bleck.

Thanksgiving Traffic

For Thanksgiving, Rob and I traveled north to Newport News, VA to spend the weekend with some of my college friends. We left on Thanksgiving rather early as it is a 10 hour drive to their house. Along the way we were greeted with that mythical holiday traffic that people have been known to warn others about while traveling on the roads. This was helped out of course by the first serious down pour the south has seen in months.

We had left at 8am and were about 30 minutes from the house traveling on 285E heading onto 85N when the first incident happened. There are two exit lanes onto 85N, the left hand lane was a split from 285. We were in the right exit lane and in the left lane was a double trailer 18 wheeler. We were traveling behind him and watched a red pick up truck try to pull in front of him to make the exit at the last second. The pick up basically hydroplaned, spun around, was clobbered by the 18 wheeler in the rear passenger rear wheel (got to hear the crunch that makes your stomach knot) and ended up perpendicular to the highway in low visibility. I got to make my first 911 call to report the accident. Not a good omen to start the trip.

The second incident happened about 2 hours into the trip in South Carolina. We had been happily cruising along being careful about the roads when traffic came to a somewhat sudden stop. I say this because we had time to stop, but a tracker trailer didn't. To avoid hitting anyone, he veered off to the left shoulder which didn't really exist. He got to a point where the trailer almost tipped because he was at about a 30 degree angle on the grade. He managed to hold onto to it and got back on the highway. Holy crap. I think he did an awesome job with that one. It was sad to see people not letting him back in though. So why were we all stopped? Well we came upon some minor secondary accidents of people rear-ending others and then saw THE accident. This was a rolled SUV with a door missing, dented roof, and grass all over it. There were a few people along the highway picking up what looked to be what used to be in the vehicle. Scary.

Thankfully we made it the rest of the way without incident. the combination of bad road conditions and holiday travelers make for an icky ride. Let's hope the ride home is better.

Grown Up Holiday Party

I was given an invitation at work today for a holiday party at my boss's house in a few weeks. It was like opening a new level of adulthood. I have never been to a holiday party at a boss's house. I have hosted one party and if I may say so, it was far from sophisticated with the help of Mad Elf and a few Tigger decorations. BUT! It was an absolute blast and I think everyone had a great time.

I like my boss. He is a pretty cool, down to earth guy. I am comforted in knowing that other people from the office will be attending (or were at least invited) so I will have a pool of familiar talkative people to socialize with. I think this could be a pretty fun casual non work with work people event.

But how casual? It's for drinks and hours devours. Sounds simple and light, but I am already thinking, what it considered a good outfit for these things? Do I bring anything? Even if I ask and they say no, is that supposed to be overlooked and I should bring cookies anyway which my boss doesn't eat but maybe his family does, because that's the polite thing to do?

Thankfully, I think my magazine will help spell it out for me as I think they did an article on just such things. Otherwise, I may implode. Got to love stress free holidays!

Message Boards

I was just looking around Amazon for the shop from the comfort of your home in your PJs gifts and stumbled across some message boards. Message boards can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the website and topics. I was utterly amazed at what people could do with a 5 minute old post.

For one, I thought Amazon was an odd place to list what you are thankful for. I mean, it's a nice topic, but why is it on Amazon? I have no idea, but 42 replies in 4 minutes signaled that perhaps it was something people needed to express. You have to love the person that started it, they actually included this caveat, "Walk away from this thread if you can't say something nice" as if that ever stops someone. In fact, I have seen it actually encourage "bad behavior" so to speak.

The other thing that struck me as different was the people that were posting. I read through two message boards less than 5 minutes old each and some of the same people were on each. It's probably not that odd, but the way they were responding to one another or defending (isn't that a given in message boards?) you would have thought they were best friends, but made it obvious they weren't.

I go to message boards that get me answers like, why does my car do this? Or, if I want to sew a skirt without a pattern, what's the best way to do so? I guess that's the beauty of the internet, it's always changing.

Shop Til You Drop

I have spent the better part of today shopping. I had a dental appointment at 9:30 this morning (which went awesomely!) and decided that I could spend the rest of the day shopping for... well odds and ends of everything.

I had a path all laid out and just worked my way down the shopping corridor. I started at Wal-Mart to buy my dads socks. It's the only place I seem to be able to get them. I want to pat myself on the back for going into that mad house now while it was relatively empty. I also picked up some Toys for Tots too.

I weaved my way down Cobb Parkway and had a funny experience at Micheal's. There was a stereotypical person of his cell phone in there. He must has passed me a few times while I was shopping, then I ended up behind him in line. He had his ear piece in and was having what seemed to be a very in depth conversation about something. At the register he completely ignored the cashier. Never said hello, thanks, have a nice day, anything. How rude. The cashier and I had a chuckle about him while he rang me out.

I finally called it a day after being out and about for 5 hours and came home with the goods. I picked up plenty of holiday things, but also got stuff like a new pillow, cat litter, and tissues. All things you need for a merry holiday. I hope from here on in Amazon can come to the rescue. Time will tell.

Tis The Season

I thought the holiday season started a little on the early side, but now I am noticing it's mid-November (how did that happen?) and I think maybe it started just right.

Last years holiday season I felt disorganized and spastic. The was probably due to a combination of things. I had just moved here in mid-October, so I was still learning where things were and some boxes weren't even unpacked. I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for Rob and some of his international classmates that have never experienced a Thanksgiving before. This was a lot of fun, but a LOT of work. Then the first week of December I was on the west coast. Not ideal for shopping, but I did it anyway. On top of all of that I was trying to bake about 10 different kinds of cookies in my free time (HA). This year, I am determined to not be crazy. Well, beyond the normal state. :)

I didn't just move, Thanksgiving is happening somewhere else, no trip to the west coast is planned, and I already have a head start on the shopping. Even with the head start, I still have a lot of stuff left to do. I just would like to enjoy this season and not have to spend my time in lines at Target behind 30 people who decided to do their entire Christmas shopping in one trip and I just have a bag of socks. Not going to happen. I am looking over catalogs, ads for stores, and I am planning my attack. The deals the day after Thanksgiving are never that good to drag me out to a free for all anyway. So here's to a season of sanity enjoyed with friends and family!!!

Only in Georgia

There have been two news stories that have been getting some decent press down here and I want to share so you can laugh too.

News Story 1
For those of you living under a rock, we in the south are in a bit of a pickle with our water situation. It's mostly the not having lots of it around that's the problem. So what is our governors answer to this crisis which they haven't been proactive on? Why pray for rain of course! My favorite quote of the article is "The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power." Now I am ok with praying for things and whatever you want to do, however, when it's the governors solution to easing the drought, I have to wonder what they have been putting in his Cocoa Puffs. The service will be next Tuesday if you care to join.

News Story 2
This next one happened last night. Apparently a man robbed a bank yesterday afternoon and was heading out of town on I-75 close to the start of rush hour. There was a GPS locater in the bank bags he took with him. The police decided to track that GPS unit, isolate it, and hence find the suspect. I think this is a good idea. The method in which they implemented it though I would have to disagree with. They shut down I-75 during rush hour to go from car to car and search for the suspect while trying to find the unit. !!! They never found either and eventually gave up. I am so glad I don't commute on the highways.

I will have to quote Leslie from the morning show here, "Only in Georgia will you pray as a solution for no rain and now we shut down the highway going from car to car looking for the bank robber with the story being broadcast over the radio which people are listening to while stuck in their cars. What is wrong with us?" I have no idea.

To Heat or Not to Heat?

It's November 7th. To most people this means that fall is in full swing, the holiday shopping has begun, for some it's finished (sickos), and that colder weather has come to stay. Being in the south delays the coming of cooler weather for quite some time, however we have finally started to get into the temperatures where you can see your breath in the morning.

This week has really been the start of it though and now I find myself wondering, when is it cold enough for heat? This morning when I got up, my apartment read a nice cool 62 degrees downstairs. I had to put on a pair of sweats last night under my covers to be comfortable and getting out of bed this morning was a bit of a challenge. When I got in my car, the thermostat told me it was 37 degrees. A stupid grin appeared on my face.

I absolutely love it when it gets cold here. The people at work are very entertaining to watch coming in and leaving. You would swear a blizzard was happening with their ski coats and hats. I have a fleece on. The only disappointing part is that even though it gets this cold, it won't snow. In the back of my head, I keep saying, any day now. I know that is further from reality than ever with our all time low precipitation these past few months. Stupid weather.

ANYWHO! The real debate is, how much longer can I hold out before turn the switch to heat? Tonight and tomorrow we are dipping in the 30s again but in a few days we climb back to highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. I think it would be fun to hold out til Thanksgiving. Maybe I should have a lotto for it. Whoever wins has to pay my first bill. I mean.... have some cookies. :)

Because my cat was high

Giving a cat some catnip has the potential to entertain, enlighten, and inspire. After watching my cats have some this past weekend, I came up with this song. (All on my own I will have you know.... Ok maybe Mike P started it which he stole from someone else, but I made it was it is!!!)


I was gonna use the scratcher, until I got high
I wasn't gonna tear up the furniture, but then I got high
Now I am using the couch and I know why, 'cuz I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I wasn't gonna chase the laser pointer, until I got high
I was going to lay around, but then I got high
Now I am running through the house and I know why, 'cuz I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

I wasn't gonna get twitchy, until I got high
I wasn't gonna eat the treats, but then I got high
Now I am fighting with my sister and I know why, 'cuz I got high
Because I got high
Because I got high

For the Honor of Grayskull!!

Ok, it's time to reveal my costume. I spent way too long making this thing, but I think it was worth it. Otherwise I would have to question my sanity. Anywho, after many hours and pokes with the needles, this is what I produced from the sewing machine.

Now, I feel it is important to point out, I made the entire costume with no pattern. I did not buy any of this from e-bay or the back of a truck. I have skills and this is one time of year I want to take credit for them. :)

That one shows off the full length and is a pretty good picture of Melissa and I. I was so glad she came because she is such a fun person and I miss her. There are bound to be more pictures of me, but this is what I have for now. For those who are still trying to figure it out, I went as She-Ra Princess of Power and I was awesome! Rob did have to take the sword away from me at some point in the evening, but hey, it was a good time. :)

Additional photos:

My personal favorite, sword in one hand, Yuengling in the other.

B&B Eve

It's that time of year again. This year is marking the special 10th year anniversary edition of the B&B Party. By this time, if you haven't found yourself a costume, you may want to check out websites like this one for those last minute costume ideas.

I am proud to announce that my costume is about 95% done. The finishing touches will be add after I arrive at my destination. Some of it is lack of time to ensure things dry, some is due to the nature of how it will be put together and making it more likely to break in route.

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on this costume and I am hoping that it looks every bit of awesome as I think it does it my head. I have pricked myself several times with the pins. Some of those being in the last few hours. Yay last minute work!

I am looking forward to the party and seeing how other people are dressed. For those of you dying to know what my costume is, you need more to do with your time. I will have pictures hopefully up for viewing by Monday evening. That's being optimistic, but, there are many people who want to see it, so it may happen.

Shecky's Girls Night Out

This past Thursday I was invited to do this Shecky's Girls Night Out. In an effort to just get out and do things, I said sure why not. It sounds like fun anyway. The idea is, they take over the lobby of a hotel and pour in vendors of things woman love to shop for like purses, jewelry, clothes, and other random stuff. Then they offer you free drinks while you are there, some wine, beer, and chambord. They also give you a goodie bag full of free stuff with your ticket. So we paid $13 to get in and do all of this. I didn't think it was a bad deal.

To be honest, there was a lot of tacky stuff (and people) there. It was entertaining just looking around. Some tables were hard to get a look at so we just made the rounds. We meandered a bit, stopped to grip about work while nice people brought us refills. Then went back shopping. I did find something I really liked for a reasonable price. It's pictured below. It reminds me of the necklace from Lord of the Rings.


We headed for a bar to get some munchies and then onward to home not to long after. Well I spilled out my goodie bag to see what I hauled in. I got some active hair rubber bands and head bands, a free compact brush, a pair of underwear, a trail size Lara Bar, a fill size skin milk hand wash, a free beauty magazine, and a free book. Overall a decent haul. Then I look closer at the magazine and the book.

The magazine has on it "New products and procedures that really work, from wrinkle creams to liposuctions, lasers to botox, experts reveal their secrets". Nice. The book is called "Change Your Looks, Change Your Life - Quick fixes and cosmetic surgery solutions for looking younger, feeling healthier, and living better" So much for being happy with who you are.

Overall, it was a fun night and I really do like my new necklace, just poor choice in reading materials.

The Great Pumpkin

Last weekend the Amanda, Mike, Rob and I climbed into my car and made a trip out the the east side of town. We were in search of The Great Pumpkin at the good old pumpkin patch. The rule was we had to go to a place that you actually got to cut the pumpkin from the vine. So Rob grabbed the hedge clippers, Amanda grabbed the wheel barrow and off we went.

I have never actually picked out pumpkins this way, so I was not dressed properly in my shorts and sandals, so Rob had to fetch my pumpkin for me. What a nice guy. :) I would like to mention however, that I was dressed for the weather. At 80 degrees it felt a little too warm to be out picking pumpkins, but that's how it is.

I did find it funny and completely in line with the location of this pumpkin patch, to find that off the back corner of the patch was a shooting range. It's where the white trailer is in the photo above. I don't know what they were shooting, nor did I want to get close enough to find out. It was just an ironic setting with families picking out pumpkins, the cow train for little kids going around, hay rides, and then the firing range. Only in Georgia.

Grandma's Chicken and Rice

My sister gave me this recipe of my grandmother's to have in my collection. I guess it's one of her favorites and it is really delicious. And after making it, there is no argument there. It has in fact been voted hands down a favorite by Rob and myself and now a new comfort food to me.

Sadly, my grandmother passed when I was only 9 from cancer. I never really got to know her like my older siblings did so I rely on them to help fill me in. They tell me all kinds of stories about her and pass down things like this recipe.

I do have memories of her, like when she was teaching me how to sew. I learned to make a white with tiny blue poky dots pocket. I was so proud of myself. I also remember playing old maid with her. She had the Old Maid and the last match so she changed the cards around so much that when I picked the card, it was the Old Maid, but she was laughing and smiling while doing it.

She also taught me how to play cribbage which is a pretty fun game that Rob reintroduced into my life. He didn't know it at the time he bought the board that the last time I played was with my grandmother, so it was kind of special.

I wish that I could have had a grandmother to grow up with, but I have older siblings and that's pretty cool too. Thankfully I had a cool grandfather to grow up around, but there is no replacing a grandmother. :)

We Are The Champions!

Last week was sadly, my last softball game of the season. I mean have only been playing since the sometime in April. Somehow, I don't think the sarcasm is really translated that well. It was fun, but seriously way too long of a season. If you will all remember the post that documented the start of it and note the date.

We had playoffs the week before last to determine who would go to the sudden death match, I mean the championship game the following week. Well we managed to pull that together and win so we got to play the last game.

To be fair, it was a really close game, they scored 3 runs, we scored 3 runs kind of deal. So it was neck and neck until the 6th inning where we scored plenty, leaving the score at 15-11 to start the 7th and final inning. They tried their hardest, but with 2 outs and a guy at bat that couldn't hit a fair ball to save his life, the championship was at hand! (Otherwise my title for this blog entry would be highly misleading.) At his last strike, I had ball in hand and we were declared Division C League Champions for 2007! *Enter Queen Music*

I guess the deal is we get plaques or something stating how awesome we are to put in our cube. That's a plus, I will have proof of it as soon as they are made. I had a pretty good team and I guess since I survived softball season I am allowed to go out to lunch with them now. Neat. I must have scored some amount of cool points to manage that status. It was probably when the dude stepped on my foot with his cleat at home plate while I tagged him out that did it.

I honestly don't know what I am going to do on Wednesday nights anymore. I have been bowling or playing softball since February. I think I might just put my feet up and watch TV. Who am I kidding? I have a costume to make!!

Yoga Does a Body Good

Last weekend Amanda invited me to attend a yoga class taught by a lady she has it with during the week courtesy of the county. She has been talking about it for a while now and I have kind of wanted to try it but don't know the first thing about it. This instructor teaches a Sunday at 4pm class so it's at a pretty good time when nothing else is going on.

I got there and met the bubbly instructor. She's got a good personality and didn't make me feel like an idgit for not having a clue about what I was doing. I liked that. She also didn't push to get into that "perfect pose". She said, whatever you can get to is perfect for you. Kind of like an A for trying. I am sorry, but I can not make a V with my butt on the ground and torso and legs in the air. For those that think yoga is just about stretching ought to try that pose and hold it for a minute.

At the end of the session I felt pretty good. It's weird, you get an exercise and actually break a sweat, but at the same time it's relaxing. There is soothing music playing the background, she talks in a low, encouraging voice, and it's slow controlled movements. It kind of calms and centers you. If you have never experience yoga, I would say, go for at least one session just to see what it's like.

This neat article explains some of the health benefits to yoga which I have heard mentioned time and time again. This instructor for the Sunday class is a walking example of how yoga can help. She had arthritis and scoliosis and since starting yoga, she has no pain from either and has not been sick, even a head cold. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Can't hurt to give it a whirl and if I feel better physically and mentally after each session, I think it's worth doing.

Sarah vs. Goliath

Last Friday evening was Georgia Tech day at Six Flags over Georgia. Now I generally think of this park as "ghetto" from all the reported violence from that area. However, if you put a bunch of college kids from a reputable campus there, it cleans up fairly nice.

I am not a hop on all the rides kind of person. A co-worker of mine had mentioned some for me to look out for that might be more up my alley. Well the gang, Rob, Mike, Amanda, and I all head into the park. Mike is set on full speed ahead to Goliath! I follow suit. For those of you who are unaware of what Goliath is, you can read about it in detail here. It basically states that it's a 200 foot tall steel juggernaut with a top speed of 70mph. ... So not a ride I would get on.

So I wait in line with the gang and think about if I want to get on or not. About half way through the hour long wait I decide I am going to go for it. Mostly to try and get over that fear I had the last time I faced this kind of ride. The Ride of Steel at Darien lake looked a lot worse in my memory than Goliath. I waited in that line for almost 2 hours for that ride and was in tears and close to hysterics before I got to the cars and just walked through. I honestly thought Goliath wasn't as bad as the Ride of Steel until I got home and looked up that stats and found them to be the same in height and speed.

So when the time to load up came, I climbed in with heart pumping, but with the "I can do this!" attitude. So we begin our 200 foot ascension and close to the top I say, "Holy crap, I am really really scared" which is pretty much pointless at that point because its not like they stop the ride and let you out there. So away I went! I thought I was going to die. If there had been cameras on that first drop and not the last, I would have had the sheer look of terror on my face. It was only when Rob said, "Ok I am done now" at about half way through the ride that I started to ease up and have fun. Well that lasted for all of a minute. The ride stopped and I tried to stand up but only to find myself rather dizzy. Then I started to walk down the exit ramp slowly saying, "Uh oh... I don't think I am going to make it." Needless to say, I tossed my cookies over the railing before ever exiting the attraction. We have been in the park a whopping hour and thirty minutes. I spent the rest of the evening sitting very still and sipping coke while they got on other rides.

Mike told me I should have phrased it like, "Goliath was so much fun I knew no other ride was going to top it, so I stopped at the best", but I thought that was too obvious. I will never get on that ride again, but at least I can say I did it. He also was curious if it was going to be the negative G's that make you feel like you are coming out of the chair or the drop that would scare me more. It's still the drop. The good news is that all other coasters will feel tame next to the Big G. Sarah rode Goliath and Goliath won. Doh!

My Other Boyfriend

Most of you are aware that Rob is in grad school and puts in long hours making impressive models, doing homework, and working on top of that. Well, that leaves me with a lot of free time on my hands. The Pennocks have been nice enough to take me along on their hikes on the weekends and allow me to hang with them even when Rob is unavailable.

Since I have spent so much time with them, I have begun to bond with their dog Rummy. Rummy and I play a lot destroying toys, running around the house and of course the abundant amount of affection I show for him. He is an awesome dog.

Well, I was caught in the act, Rummy was kissing me in front of Rob and I couldn't deny it any longer. My other boyfriend is in fact Rummy. It's really a great relationship. The dog is always happy to see me. The relationship started to build during this hike. As you can tell Rummy is very excited about having me take his picture. Our relationship has just strengthened over time. Long hours of bonding can do that.

Of course Rob will always be number one, but on those weekends when he is stuck in the lab, it's nice to know I can still have fun with Rummy.

The Diehl's Visit Atlanta

A few weekends ago the Diehl's made their way to the great ATL. Rob and I met them at the airport to start their totally awesome weekend. They arrived on Thursday night and were whisked away to Casa de Pennocks. There they enjoyed a 3 night stay with Amanda, Mike, and Rummy.

Friday we went into the city to have some lunch, visited Rob in the studio and got a quick tour of campus and then to the World of Coke. World of Coke was fun and way better than going during the weekend. Smart move on our part, we got parking and it wasn't over run with people.

Saturday we decided to tackle the big mountain, Stone Mountain. It's no 14er, but it offered a nice view. The weather was nice enough that we weren't drenched in sweat once we got to the top either. We drove around the front to see the generals carved into the side of the granite face.

We enjoyed having them down here and showing them around town. Well at least I did and I am pretty sure Rob did too. I shouldn't speak for all parties.

We are pretty sure that the Diehl's are now aware of how much more awesomer the ATL is than DC with our confederate flags, rednecks, and of course, Rummy.

Guide to Picking Your Halloween Costume

It's that magical time of the year again. The one night you have to be someone else and no one will send you to the funny farm. You're dying to be a box of tissues? Suit up my friend! Want to be a super hero, let me get you your cape! Anything you can imagine, you can be.

There is a party that is going on its 10th year in existence for all wackos who want to be that other object or person. For those of you who do not fall into the circle of regular party goers, it is the one and only B&B Party. Complete with it's own website. :)

After all the years this party has been going on there have been a LOT of costumes done. Some of them are pretty original and some have just been classics executed really well. Some of my personal favorites include, Duncan as LiLu (He gets the first memorable imagine of Rob's friends), Holly and Wade as Publisher Clearing House Giver and Winner, Dave as Duff Man, Ben as Uncle Rico, and many more. They are all so creative and it's a silent competition to outdo each other every year. Yeah there is the whole "costume contest" but what you really want to hear is people saying, "That's an awesome costume."

So you work on your costume and you keep it to yourself. Even hours before the party some people hold their cards to their chest. No worries, I do the same. The reveal is much more fun if you just present yourself in costume, then no one gets their own ideas of how your costume should look before they see it.

Nothing is different this year. I have my costume picked out and I think it's going to be a blast to make and hopefully I pull it off well. I have come a long way since "The Tourist" who came on a whim to get off the couch and meet people (best decision ever). Below are the last few costumes I have done and they are all hand made which gives anyone super bonus points. Anyone can go buy a costume off a rack. It's not truly your work of art until you have pricked yourself with some sewing object.

Medieval Bar Wench


Poison Ivy and Rob as Two Face

Tis My Favorite Season

Time to bust out the cooler weather clothes, go pumpkin hunting, and rake some leaves! This would be more true of course, if I lived a little further north. Right now I am still in shorts, but I am getting into the season all the same.

I love autumn. I was trying to think of the one reason why this is my favorite of all seasons, but I don't think there is just one.

The colors of fall are just spectacular. Mother nature sure knows how to paint the landscape with brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and hints of green. The other seasons just can't pull it off. It's a color palette that is identifiable as a season.

There are certain things I only do in the fall, one of them is making pies. It just seems wrong to do it any other time of the year although I love them. It's a fall activity! There are certain things I won't wear any other time of year and it's really just my association with the item and fall. I know that's weird, but that's just how I am (by now, that should be a duh).

It also marks the start of the many holidays. September-December are the most fun months out of the year in my opinion. They all have their big holidays, Labor Day aka last BBQ of the summer and birthday weeks, Halloween - B&B Party, Thanksgiving - Eat til you explode, Christmas and New Years - Gifts, parties, family galore.

I decorated on Saturday for the season with fake leaves, my apple pie candle out and burning, my fall wreath on the door and it really seals the deal for me. If I could, I would be waving a huge banner that says Welcome Fall!! Now I just have to wait another month before the season really starts here outside, but on the inside, we are celebrating already!

The Passing of an Altanta Landmark

When I first heard the news, I was devastated. According to my former co-workers I would be out of a job to boot. This past month, an Atlanta Landmark on the tour path for visitors closed it's doors to the public. That's right, Girls R Fun has closed.

There will no longer be glowing pair of hot lips with the word "YES" glowing in the night.

The beat up blinds and tantalizing signs for girls are no longer teasing the public eye.

The flashy signs from the road will never attract customers.

I would like a moment of silence to observe the passing of this truly awesome landmark. It will be missed.

This is My Friend Josh

This is my friend Josh. He and I have known each other for over 10 years. Dang... that's a long time. Anyway, we try to see each other when I get the chance to go home. Currently he lives in Albany so we had to juggle a little to make time to see each other, but we ended up hanging out for a few hours at the Amory Square Starbucks.

He treated me to a mocha and we chatted about life for a while. It stinks that I live so far away and those talks over cups of coffee (beer, food, etc) are harder to get to. But we pick up just like we never left off and that's what I like our relationship. He is pretty level headed and has gotten plenty of calls from me when I have need to talk to someone about whatever. If I am upset, I just got a job, I can't make a decision, I need to get some computer info, etc. I know he is going to be one of those life long friends. So if you happen to be in Albany and need a guide or someone to have dinner with, he is your guy so stop and say hi. :)

This picture was brought to you in part by the camera tripod Rob got me as an anniversary gift specifically because I like taking these kinds of photos. I think it worked out pretty well.

Hanging Out in The Airport

I am flying home today. I hope. Currently I am parked in the Syracuse International Airport. I have been here since 2:30ish. When I came here today I had two flights to take. One leaving here at 4:15pm then transfer in NYC and take the 7pm flight back to Atlanta. I got as far as telling the lady at the check in counter this and she picks up a phone and asks if there is room for me on another flight. She told me I can take a flight non-stop to Atlanta at 5:55 out of Syracuse. Neat.

I walk over to the Delta counter get my ticket, call appropriate parties about my early arrival time and think things are going pretty well. My dad has decided to wait with me until I have to go through the gate. The security check at Syracuse doesn't take that long because it's not a busy airport. So we hang out and in that time Rob calls to tell me he sees that my flight isn't leaving until 8:50 and not due into Atlanta until 11:30. How odd. I walk down to the counter to verify this is actual fact and it turns out it is. My dad waited with me until almost 6pm and then I went through the gate.

I now have 2.5 hours to kill before my plane is supposedly ready. I guess things might get better, but I am still going to be quite delayed. I got to the airport today at 2:30pm for an 8:50pm flight. Nice. At least I had some company for a while.

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

This photo was taken a while ago on the trip back from the beach. It's taken a while to write about because of the computer issues and well, a picture is worth a thousand words.

In case you can't tell, it's pouring outside. Rob was filling up the gas tank when this lady pulled in. I watched her get out of her car, leaving the door open, then go to the trunk, leaving that open as well, to grab an umbrella and use it while putting air in the tire. She did this for a good 5 minutes at least. I was just so baffled by this scenario that I had to take a picture. I can't imagine how wet the inside of her car was. Of course, Rob was being silly and washing the windows at the time (in the rain) and he thought I was taking pictures of him. Both would have been good pictures, but I know Rob was being goofy. This lady though, I am not too sure what she had going on upstairs. :)

Birthday Week

That's right, an entire week for the birthday celebration. I started my partying last Friday and it will probably carry over until Monday. It's not exactly a week, but I am willing to bend the rules as I am the birthday girl.

My sister first came up with this concept. You should probably know that our birthdays are right next to each other. Hers is today and mine is tomorrow. My good friend Sean's is the day after mine as well. Since we already had two days for celebrating, what's a few more? Then you are sure to get at least one weekend (two if you are me and greedy) no matter where your birthday falls. Also, we happen to have birthdays right around or sometimes on Labor Day. This can cause logistical problems with people being out of town and places being closed or what have you. So the birthday week was invented.

Having a birthday in early September can have its drawbacks, but also some pluses. My very first day of school was my birthday. In college, my 21st birthday was the first day of classes. The downside was growing up, people were getting ready to go back to school or had to do the last family vacation, so I was sort of stuck for parties, but its gotten better.

This year I will be heading home shortly after my birthday and my sister and I are planning to goof off all of Friday and I can't express how happy that makes me. First I get to spend time with her, second, we are going to the spa, and third, we are going to sit back and drink wine while my brother in law makes us dinner. If that's not a perfect day, I don't know what is. :)

I plan to embrace all of my birthdays and to try not to get too depressed about what age I happen to be turning, whether it's 26 or 46. It's not like you can stop time and linger at a particular age anyway. Why not embrace it and have fun? I am being optimistic about this whole idea and my 50 year old self might want to punch my 25 year old self, but that's ok.

It's my birthday and I am going to do what I want. Right after I go to work and some meetings,but then totally, whatever I want to do. And whatever Rob has planned. :)

Socks - Not the White House Cat

I am on a quest. One woman's search for black dress socks that don't suck a whole lot. I have purchased various kinds of black socks, some expensive, some not, and lots of different brands. All but one pair have failed to impress me. That is the one pair of socks I bought at Ann Taylor Loft and they no longer carry socks. Figures.... What I am looking for is a pair of socks that meet the following criteria.

1. They stay up. There is nothing I hate more than the feeling of socks falling down as I walk. It just irks me.

2. The don't get holes in them in less than a year. Perhaps this is asking too much from dress socks, but I put my toe through a pair last week and I can tell you, it's not very stylish.

3. This one is a carry over from two, but getting thread bare in the toes and heals. Also not very cool since I don't wear shoes in my desk area. Yes I know, I should, but frankly, I am much more comfortable with them off.

If anyone has a place the would recommend I buy them from, I am all ears. I bought some from Target, whatever various brands they had, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, and Old Navy. The Gap has good socks, but once they get all black, the elastic they normally put in place is replaced by some inferior elastic bound to fall down.

Quest marches on!

Parking

Todays topic - Parking. I went to Costco today to get a few things that would require a cart to haul it to my car. To my knowledge I have yet to acquire super human strength so there you have it, stuck with conventional methods. In choosing my parking spot, I alway go for the spot near but not next to the shopping cart return if I know I am getting things that will require me to use one. This seems logical to me. Then I can just load the car, walk 10 feet to return the cart and back to the car and away I go. Oddly enough, I don't think many people use this method for choosing where to park. Works for me since that will leave me with lots to choose from!

Another good method is going for along the store front instead of out from it. Those parking spaces are normally left alone because the people who want the spot near the door try for right in front of the store. If they don't find one close, they usually just park at the first available one down that aisle. I wonder if it's some weird psychological choice. Bare with me for an extremely dorky engineering moment, but I bet that the way people park looks like a normal distribution from above. Whoa, that was almost a bit much even for me.

Now some people are the kind of people that pull down an aisle only to get about 15 yards in because they are waiting for someone to finish loading their car and pull out so they can have the spot that's only a little ways from the entrance. I don't understand why people do this. In the time spent waiting for the spot to become available you probably could have parked and walked to your destination. What's another few feet? Most of the time the next available spot is only a few more down.

Now this excludes holiday shopping or at times when there is little to no parking available. Fine, troll along and get what you can get, however I am talking the everyday things. Are people really that lazy? I do enjoy a good parking spot, but if it's not present when I want to park, then fine, next one in the area will do. I figure I probably don't get enough exercise as it is. Does anyone else have weird methods for parking or I am alone in my dorkness on this? Which by the way I am totally willing to accept.

My Sister Rocks

I was thinking about what I should write a blog about today and it dawned on me while I was looking at the "shrine" I have made at my desk at work of all the cool stuff my sister has done over the past year. I am not talking about your average Joe Schmoe sheet cake, but fancy stuff.

It was kicked off by her amazing talent with her gingerbread house. It wasn't just any gingerbread house, it was a 40" tall Lighthouse with cottage. Although this picture doesn't show it, she did a cutaway room on the back of the cottage where there was a dining room, fireplace, and oriental rug. She entered the competition and took first place as grand prize winner and as peoples choice award. The picture below with her in it gives you perspective on how big it really is and yes, it really lights up.

Since that win, she has been doing a number of neat looking cakes in her kitchen. The first one that popped out was one that looked like something you could get at the fast food joint, but better! Everything on this display is edible, including the fry boat.

Next came the beer bottle. This particular cake is about 2 feet long. Reminded me of my days at the brewery. I can tell you, the cake tastes nothing like beer. ;)

In between it all, she also does weddings. This is what a typical spread of hers looks like. Don't worry, I have her tagged to do mine when that time comes. It's going to be delicious!

And the latest out of her kitchen this last week was a pirates ship. A 3-D pirates ship. I think it looks pretty awesome myself. I can barely draw one much less make it out of cake.

My sister is a very talented individual. I'd like to think I have picked up a thing or two from her over the years. :) She's a pretty good teacher too.

Trash Trail

So this morning I was up and out early to do some much needed grocery shopping. Before I left, I cleaned out the fridge and made a point to fill the trash and toss it on the way out. Normally I remember in those 5 minutes of leaving the house that I have trash that I need to toss before going out of the complex. This morning was not one of those mornings. I did remember by the third light I got to because it started to smell. I turned around and tossed it out.

There are a number of ways I have seen people carry their trash to the compactor here. Some people just carry it, some put in on the trunk, top of the car, or on top of the hood. Most mornings when I leave for work, there is at least one person who has put their trash somewhere ON their car and forgets about it, then drives off down our road. I assume once they hit about 20mph, it flies off. Then welcome obstacle course of whatever they had in that bag.

It happens so often I wonder if it's the same person or if everyone in our complex has a day like I did today and just plain forgets. But for all the complexes I have lived in (and those that have moved know, it's been quite a few) I have NEVER witnessed this before. It's a phenomenon that I can't quite grasp. I don't know if it's this complex, the fact that people don't put it in their car, or something about being in GA, but it stinks.

Softball Winning Streak

It's been a while since I posted something to do with softball. We are still playing. The last two games have been played in 100+ degree heat. Not the best weather for playing, but it's not rain. That postponed the season by an additional two weeks in a row. The softball season end date is now the last weekend in September before playoffs.

We have finished the "regular season" which is where we play all 12 teams. The "league season" has now begun. It should be no surprise to you that my team is in the bottom of the three leagues. The plus side is we are at the top of the bottom league which gives us something to strive for. We have one team that we are having a hard time beating, but overall we don't care that much. We are still mostly concerned with happy hour after the game.

Even after all my fumbles, my team still lets me play. Last week I managed to pull a nice out by throwing to first. But that was after I let two balls past me at second, one with lifting my foot up as it came toward me.

Overall, I have learned a lot this season, but it's hard to say if I will want to play again. It takes a lot of freaken commitment to do this. We started April 11th and it won't finish till sometime late September early October. Yeah it's only once a week, but for 6 months it's a lot.

OOOO Shinny!

That's right, I finally got my nice shinny new computer! In fact, I am writing this blog entry with it. :) It's all nice and new and fantastic! I so far have found that I like it a lot. It's a little snug getting it into the bag I have for it, but I am sure that will get easier with time.

So since I have this new beast, there are some things to note about new computers.

1. All your old stuff isn't on them. This can be a plus and a minus at the same time. Plus - Free hard drive space. Minus - Having to load it all up again. Even IM, iTunes, WoW, camera stuff, etc. Kind of a pain.

2. It's actually legal software. Something new for me.

3. It's better than what I had. Also good and bad. Good because I spent the money on it so it better be a step up from what I had, but bad in that I don't want to use that "old" thing anymore. Yuck!

4. It's portable! Well, this is only true if you got a laptop. I can't wait until I get so lazy I can't sit at my desk to work and I have to bring it to bed, and fall asleep with it. It's going to rock!

But all in all, for day one of ownership, I am pretty happy. I found the volume button, figured out how to get the internet to work, and managed to download Firefox. Yay! Now if I can only figure out what triggers the sleep vs. off mode. :P

Project Board Update

I am on step closer to project tracking! I have completed my project board so I now have a place to keep the rest of my projects. I have a number of things that will be going on there such as, Halloween costume, Christmas gifts, and the usual household stuff. I haven't figured out just where to hang it yet, but I am sure it will find a home soon.

Day at the Lake

Yesterday I was invited to go to the lake with some friends of mine from work. I got up really early, like work time early, on my day off to go with them. But it's the first true Friday off in almost two months and it's a day on a boat in the middle of this ridiculous heat way in Atlanta. It was an hour and a half ride from here to the lake which didn't seem to bad with a car full of five people. We ended up at Carters Lake, one the boat owners frequent because of it's lack of people. Something I appreciate.

We got to the lake around 11am and met another couple waiting for us. We piled into the boat and out we went. At the first stop we all hopped into the water. How warm it was! Almost like bath water, but some cool pockets down lower. Really refreshing to dip into.

The first sport up was wake boarding, which all but two people tried. I am proud to say I did manage to get up on the thing, but got I so excited and fell back down. Meh, not really my sport, but I would try it again anyway. The next sport was knee boarding. Now there's something I can get into! I bopped right across the wakes and caught some air, but not too much. I had a blast.

We had lunch and snacks, the boat had a pretty fabulous sound system you could listen to music as you played in the water. We were out there for almost 8 hours. Overall it's been one of the best days since I have moved here. Relaxing, water, fun, what a good combo! Of course today I hurt in places I didn't know existed, but it was totally worth it. :)

Wired and Fired

About a week and a half ago Rob, myself, and a couple from Rob's grad program went to a unique place called Wired and Fired. I believe the men were there for support while Laura and I were there because this sort of thing appeals to us a lot. Not to say the other two didn't get into it, just they weren't, "What do I choose? I want to paint one of everything!"

So what is Wired and Fired? It's a place you pick out pottery, grab a chair and some paint and create you own unique piece to take home a few days later. It's a pretty neat idea and not a bad idea for gifts, girls night, or whatever. They let you bring in your own drinks and food and let you have at it. I think that's nice. It creates a really casual atmosphere.

So what did I choose to paint? After quite a long time and much debating, I settled on a fairy box. What a detailed project. The other three got much simpler things to paint. Next time I am getting a mug or plate. I did have to come back for a second time, but it's a great stress reducer and fun to do, so I thought it was worth it.

Well, I was called to go pick up this piece that I had spent so much time on. When I got there yesterday, they told me it was the best Fairy Box they had seen in quite a while which I thought was a nice compliment. However when they went to grab it, it wasn't there. In fact they were unable to locate it anywhere. Needless to say I was told they needed to check with some other people to see if they had taken home my project by accident (would have been the employees fault, not the customers). This made me very upset. After the terrible week I had just got done having, I topped it off on Sunday with smashing one of two fancy crystal wine glasses I had and then this. They said the would give me store credit if they are unable to locate it, but do I really even want it? I don't want to sit there and paint the same thing I did last time and I don't feel confident they won't loose whatever I do end up picking. They can't pay me back for the 5 hours I spent traveling and painting, and creativity. All around I feel like it's a pretty raw deal and there isn't anything I can do about it.

Things have to get better right? Oie...

Update: After looking and calling around, they have determined that my piece is no where to be found. Since they said it was the best one they have seen in a while, I am going to go on the assumption that it was so awesome it turned into a have to have item. I rock and that's all there is to it. Also the guy sounded really sorry, which helped. And he is giving me a $50 credit towards the store. No more fairy boxes, maybe that mug or vase...

Girls Night

What a fun night it can be. I never really understood why people would attend these or I guess I should say that I never really grasped the concept of having them. Well since moving to GA there have been a number of them that I have been invited to and quite a few I have participated in. These particular girls nights are we low key people who just want to have a good time. We don't go crazy drinking, hit up strip clubs (although always an option here in the ATL apparently), or trying to pick up guys in bars.

That being said, we did spend the night before St. Patrick's Day in a bar, however no one was really looking for a date, half are married, a quarter are dating, and the others ere quite turned off from the males present. No doubt a smart choice for them. But we have also done pizza and bowling, dinner and a movie, dinner and a play, etc. Simple things that woman like to do. Tonight is dinner and a movie (chick flick too) and it's going to be a lot of fun.

The girls that go aren't catty. I don't see them enough for them to seem that way to me even if they are. They are good, fun people. I guess my perception of girls nights were tainted by movies and preconceived notions. Most of the woman at these things don't go out with many people other than their husbands or boyfriends except for these girls nights. I thought that was odd, surely they must go out, everyone does. Turns out a large majority are looking for friendly people to hang out with just like me. For some reason this totally surprised me, but it's been nice to know I am not alone. In fact it's something to bond over. I appreciate girls nights now because I get to go have fun with random people who are there for the same reasons I am, unload about daily life, share jokes, and enjoy ourselves. We keep it to once a month and change it up. I haven't seen an invite for any repeat events yet which is always refreshing. I finally seem to be embracing the girl thing; wearing pink and purple and going out with the girls. It's a start!

To the males reading, no pillows fights have ensued and I am fairly certain it won't happen. Sorry, but I felt I should be upfront about these things.

Does Someone Have a Case of the Mondays?

Ever feel like the entire week was one giant Monday? Perhaps I like using pictures from Office Space a little too much, but I think it fits. No one in my office asks me this questions thank god, but it could start at any moment. My week truly has felt like on giant Monday. It's just the amount of work I have been given recently, the people, the hours, the everything.

I have taken over an awful project from a leadership development person (aka - future leader in company) and it's been nothing but a nightmare. The work is just a mess. In trying to work with this mess I get to work with some new people. These people have attitude problems and think that I am their new scape goat or someone to just pass off rudeness to. I got so much attitude from this person I thought to myself, what just happened here? I asked a simple request and you would have thought I was asking for a parting of the seas. Oie. I have so much work going on I am forgetting to do some updates to it all. It's not that I don't care, I just have no room in my head to remember it all anymore.

On top of it all I have had some pains in my shoulder that could be a number of factors, most of which being I carry stress there. Ya know, in case it wants to go for a ride or something later. I also think that I have been sleeping funny because of my beat up pillow.

I just keep telling myself it will get better. Like today I found my misplaced conference call card with my host code on it. It was right where I left it last week when I used it, in the department conference room. Also, when I ordered food on Wednesday, the guy on the phone was so polite it made me smile. So those are the moments I am going to focus on. I just need to loose more stuff so I can find it later and be excited about it because ordering food is expensive. Tasty, but expensive. :P

PS - The second I hit publish my cat tried to sit in my lap by bounding into it, missed and punctured my leg. I swear - one giant Monday.

My Project Board

I have been inspired by Holly and Wade to create a project board. Something that will keep that ever list of growing things I should take care of eventually. If you are Holly and Wade, that probably means later that week. For me, I can settle for sometime in the next month. :P We all have to start somewhere.

So! My first project is going to be the create said project board. My sister creates cork boards from wine corks. Ingenious! I asked for some guidance from her on how to make this, but once I get it going, it will serve as the meeting place of a series of post-it note looking things for projects I want to do.

Namely things like my mirror on the back of my dresser. I had a corner break off which I have kept in the hopes of gluing it back together. It has been broken for almost a year now and there is sits. I don't really know what glue to buy for this project, but I am sure some nice person at Home Depot can educate me.

I am sure there are more things that will go on the board, but I often feel like I will remember something I needed to do, forget about it for roughly 3 months, then have an, "Oh yeah, that thing" moment. If it were all in one nice area, it may keep it to the front of my brain and get done. Then again, it could collect dust like most other things. At least it will give the look of being organized and motivated. :)

Are you popular?

I am a user of facebook. It pains me to say it, but yes, I have a profile and friends and silly pictures as well. I think the idea behind it is pretty cool. They have a lot of applications and things you can add to you profile like where you have been and your favorite movies. You can also add all your likes, join groups with similar interests and take part in polls.

I just added a new application to my profile mostly because I was bored and thought, what the hell? Well as I play around with it more I am just blown away by it and not in the good way. It's called Top Friends. It claims to let you select friends that you check the most and put them in a separate area so it's easier to message them, check their profile, etc. And it does this, but when you go to the application there is so much more.

Not only can you track your top friends, invite them to use top friends, and put a ranking to the actual top friend spot, you can also see your popularity. They give you a popularity rating based on how many people have you as one of their top friends. They give you the next level to try for, right now I Have a Nice Personality, however I could get bumped to, People Like Me, from there who knows! It actually says, " To improve your popularity, invite more friends to make their own Top Friends list!"

Now figuring that most of the people that use facebook are the younger crowd who are always trying to find their place and make friends, etc, I cannot fathom how this helps at all. I have to be cool in virtual land too? In fact I even felt a little slighted by the idea of an application telling me I only have a nice personality because I don't have top friend ranks with every person I know. Then I was like, what a minute, your a machine and I don't need you to keep tally for me to know who really likes me.

They also include a drink feature here. I don't know, maybe if you send them virtual drinks, they will like you better? But they start you with water, tea, light beer, and a strawberry punch. If you send 5 drinks, you can get the ability to send a rum and coke. I almost just want to bombard people with drinks just to see what will happen. I just thought to myself, "what kind of crack is this?"

They do have a neat feature of applying a mood which is basically a labeled icon, but it's cute, so props there. However I have learned that I can now keep a public record of who I like best if they are on facebook and have already allowed me to be friends with them. This apparently is how you become "popular". I hope to make my other friends try harder to edge their way to the top friends ranks. I can bribe my way to the top of my other friends lists with strawberry punches and tea. All to achieve some pointless ranking in virtual land. Yay!

Creamy or Crunchy?

When was the last time you went to buy peanut butter? Did you notice how many choices you had? Let's say you have the normal brands, JIF, Skippy, Petter Pan, Smuckers, and you average store brand. Now each of those probably come in at least creamy and crunchy, and maybe even extra crunchy. Some of them may even come in combos of those choices like, reduced fat, light, and contains 8 essential vitamins. That's without adding in all the varieties of natural peanut butter. And while we are at it, might as well figure in the jelly/peanut butter combo because you may be too lazy to open two jars to make a sandwich. And to top it off, some people may be trying to price shop.

My point is, nothing these days is a simple choice. The act of choosing a type of peanut butter could very well lead to a nervous break down. I won't even get into buying cream cheese. And that's just at the grocery store.

My latest book that I am reading is the second in the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne of Avonlea. I think it's a good book and I get sucked into it. But the book is based on simpler times before all technology and modern day stuff. Granted it's a book so it's not addressing the real issues of living in that time period, but more who is misbehaving in a one room school house. Their biggest crisis for a day may be helping a man make a cake because he didn't know what he was doing.

I just wonder what it would be like to live in that time period. It just seems like a night and day comparison to the chaotic world we live in. I think there are a lot of pluses to todays world versus then, but sometimes I like to be smarter than the things I am working with. Who knows, maybe in the after life I can go play in different time periods.

I know, deep thoughts...

Not your average 486

I have done it. I have finally done it. I have purchased my first computer. Does this sound a little ridiculous? Probably. I am half-way into my 20s and I have never once purchased an actual computer. I got my first one for my graduation gift from college. My dad had the good sense that I would probably need one of these pieces of technology as I was on my way to higher education. Good man. This came with an 8 Gig hard drive and a legal copy of Windows 98. Pretty fancy.

Sometime later in college I decided to upgrade some components. My dad bought my a large 30 Gig hard drive which at the time I said, how will I ever fill this up. Answer - World of Warcraft, 10 Gigs. I also upgraded a processor, video card, and power supply at various other points in its life. It never had another legal copy of any software on it. Yay college peoples finding the loopholes and this burn disk thing was pretty sweet! Finally once I graduated from college, my computer said the hell with you. It died. But did I think I should buy another? No way! I proceeded to use half a laptop. That's right, half. The screen was missing, but it allowed internet access and the ability to communicate with people. Perfect! I can't recall what the solution here was to actually fix my computer again. I may have just used that laptop until Rob bought his new computer. I inherited his old computer with my hard drive in it. That is what I own today.

For a while now it's been whining at me. "But I don't have enough room, I don't have enough memory." All it seems to do these days is bitch, bitch, bitch. I swear. Well I got this great idea that I was going to officially purchase a new computer. I managed to purchase a 19" widescreen monitor to replace to one that was handed down to me a few months ago, I felt encouraged. But what to buy? I spazzed about this for a few days, which turned to weeks, and now it's been months. Rob finally put it in plain terms, "whatever you get will be infinitely better than what you currently have, buy it already!"

So after months of wondering what to buy, I finally held out until Dell simplified it with, this is your one option, this option is free, and here are all sorts of coupons! You sir, have a deal! I put in all my information, verified it with some people, proceeded to the checkout, and finally hit submit! Shortly after, I received the email with expected delivery date. I get to wait almost a freaken month!!! Let me tell you how anti-climatic that was. Well, since I have been on computers (8 years) what's another month? What a pain. But at least it will be a pretty blue!!

Demotivation

Sometimes, all it takes is a poster to put things in perspective. Some brilliant mind came up with De-motivational posters shortly after the motivational posters came out. I think these have been a bigger success because they reflect reality a little too closely.

My co-workers and I were checking them out a while back trying to figure out which ones we should purchase and hang around our cube. We very soon after found we would have to buy the lot and we would probably be fired for some "HR Related Incident".

I have posted some of my favorites here. Although some people have also gone ahead and adapted this format and started to create some of their own. The one below is probably my favorite that is not on their website.

So true, so freaken true.

Work Annoyances

Remember that lady in Office Space that answered the phones with her high pitch icky voice? That's the kind of annoyances I am talking about. On more than one occasion I have found myself inside the set of Office Space at work and I will probably continue to do so while I work in a cube farm office. Because we are all so comfy cozy close together without a way to block each other out, there are bound to be things that gradually grate on your nerves that another office mate is doing. That being said, I am going to share some highlights from my office.

One - The guy who clips his nails at his desk. For some reason or another this bothers me enough to make me get up and go take a walk. That's a personal hygiene issue best left to the walls of your home.

Two - People who almost clear their throat. They try to do an "ahem", but it didn't work so they will repeat the process of almost clearing their throat for about 30 minutes. You would think just clearing the throat would be less irritating for all parties involved.

Three - The guy who does laps at lunch around the floor. There is a guy in my office who likes to speed walk at lunch wearing just his under shirt. Thankfully I do not have to see this all the time as my desk doesn't face the opening, but for my two cube mates who get this show everyday they are trying to figure out a way to tell a 50 year old man, that ain't cool.

Four - The 200 emails you get from the person one cube over because they can't consolidate thoughts before hitting the send button. I think the record for me was 6 emails in about 45 minutes from one person when it could have been just 1. Like I want to process through all that junk.

Five - The loud talker who doesn't seem to work. We have a guy in our IPT that will wander from cube to cube to cube talking about the latest thing with money. The new gym reimbursement plan, changes to taking comp time vs overtime and which is better, how much is paying for new windows, you name it. By the time he has hit your cube, you have already heard the story 3 times and don't wish to encourage him any more, but he will talk even if you ignore him.

Of course there are more, but I thought sticking to the top five is plenty. Let's just hope I am not contributing to the issues at hand. ;)

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter craze is back! This month is probably going to be the highest grossing month for J.K. Rowling yet. What's another billion or so to the richest woman in England? The fifth movie, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, is currently in theaters. Also in one weeks time, the most prized final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, is released for public reading. I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I believe this to be a glorious month as well. Of course in preparation for this month, I have been doing an obscene amount of reading.

I have chosen to re-read the entire Harry Potter series. So far I am about 3/4 of the way through the fifth book. Even though I have not finished the book, this did not prevent me from watching the movie, however it would have been nice to have finished it. If I could only skip out of work for a few days. Hmmm.... :P I did manage to see the latest movie on opening day. Rob picked up tickets on his way home from work for the 9pm showing. I told him we better get there an hour early as I have previously gone to see other Harry Potter movies on opening day and you are better off getting there early. At 8pm we pulled into the theater and promptly got in line taking spots 5&6 in the line. About 10 minutes later the line erupted behind us and then proceeded to get so long is started to snake around the lobby. Experience has paid off! We got decent seats and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I won't put spoilers in here because that's not my style, but it was really well done. A little cheesy in a few parts, but on a whole, it was fabulous. I want to see it again.

I have also been spending some time trying to fill a co-worker in on the details of the Harry Potter series. He is a movie watcher only which I feel is quite sad because these books are so easy to read. I have lent him my fourth book and picked out the last few pages for him to read so he understands what is going on and the why it's happening. I am sure Monday I will be asked for more back story which I am happy to provide. I think the people in my office think I am nuts. I am ok with that.

Now I have 7 days to read the remaining series before the 7th book hits my hands. I probably won't do a whole lot next weekend except read. I can't wait to find out what happens. I have been told I must really be motivated to be reading all of these books again. I say it's a fine line between being motivated and being slightly retarded. :P It will pay off in the end.