A day in the life of binks

The earth is round and I didn't drop off its face.

2012-01-17T17:41:00.001-05:00

Nope, I did not fall off the face of the earth.

No earth shattering catastrophe has happened.

Like most of my favorite bloggy reads, time and life just caught up and interfered with our little hobby.

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years! A lot has happened in those 2 years:

My son moved out.

My son moved back in.

I had custody of my nieces for several months.

I've been fingerprinted.

I've been travelling.

I've become politically active.

I've dieted and exercised and stopped (several times).

I've been to a major high school reunion.

I've been remodeling my house.

I've remodeled the remodel.

I've been through a bout of depression.

I've been addicted to Facebook and now my new Pinterest addiction.

I have NOT been reading.

No blogs

no books

no magazines.

I've tried, really I have, but the desire to read just stopped.

I've missed the blogs and the friends I've made.

I miss comment love (or hate).

I miss the journaling of my life events.

So, this may be a resurgence or merely a fluke.

I guess, only time will tell.

Binks

Friday Fill Ins

2009-05-22T12:33:00.002-04:00

1. Moving day is sad when your friends are leaving. I love those McD's & I'm sure gonna miss 'em! .

2. Born free. Remember those lions?? Anyone?

3. My best quality is my brain. Sad, but true.

4. Don't sweat the small details.

5. In nearly 10 years, I will be able to join AARP. Where did all the time go?

6. Energy is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm not looking forward to getting on a plane in this tropical storm weather, tomorrow my plans include visiting all my buds in North Carolina and Sunday, I want to swim with my NC boys and lounge by the pool. Fat ass and all!

____________________________________
I'm making no excuses for my absence, but I do miss y'all!!

Friday Fill Ins

2009-05-01T08:00:00.011-04:00

Trying to get back into the swing of things.
We'll try the Friday Fill-ins.
(Why am I speaking in the third person? This sinus/ear/throat/chest infection medicine must be affecting my brain.)
_________________________________

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is finding out who the REAL boss is and making sure you don't piss them off.

2. Leather clams? ( maybe you've read this, maybe not - may be a tad off color)

3. When I think of carnivals I think of clowns. And when I think of clowns I think of IT - ewww, creepy.

4. White Ranunculus are my favorite spring flower. (I bet you had to look that one up, didn't you?)

5. Things on my desk include cough drops, gum, cell phone, crazy ugga bugga pen, 6,000 pens & pencils, pliers, giant crystal paper clip holder with 900 paper clips, anti bac lotion (for mini vacation getaways), flowers from Salty, Frontgate catalog, magnifying glass, various papers - files- notepads, computer stuff. What can I say? I have a big desk.

6. Coughing makes me wanna puke. *cough*cough*cough*varp* - excuse me.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a secret getaway and dinner, tomorrow my plans include chillaxing (wink*wink) at the secret getaway and Sunday, I ~~want~~HAVE to clean out my son's room for my BIL to stay in next week, while he is in town working.

Now, in light of the current panic mode of the entire planet.....

The mind of a child haunts me

2009-04-30T17:50:00.011-04:00

And that mind is my own, of course. For some reason, every time I hear the word anniversay, this is what I hear in my head.

(beware, you can only listen to the first verse or you will be plagued too.)

Now, since this is my actual anniversary, it has been ~~playing in my head~~ tormenting me all day long.
(And I find it especially fitting, since I work in a rock pit!)

But Salty was very sweet and bought me flowers

and is planning some secret destination for tomorrow.
I know, I know, we've already celebrated (of which, I have neglected to share anything about my trip -but I've been horribly uninspired).

So maybe just writing something will get the juices flowing.
(get your mind out of the gutter, the writing juices - DAMN!)

____________________________________________
(So, in case my wonderful husband is popping by, looking for some acknowledgement)

I love you baby!

Look how far we've come

2009-04-17T18:47:00.019-04:00

It is hard for me to believe it has been 19 years since you were born. It has been a tough, wonderful struggle that we've been through.

Most of the time, just you and I against the world.

I just want you to know, that I will never regret giving up anything so that you could have your Power Rangers and soccer and skateboards. I've always wanted you to have more than I had, to have a stable environment and a safe home. I am only sorry that I did not have more to give.

I only wished for you to become a man of substance and integrity, that you push yourself to reach for the stars.

Whatever you decide for your life, I will always be there to support and encourage you. But some things in life are better appreciated if they are not handed to you on a silver platter.

I will love you when you stumble and when you succeed; when you make mistakes and accomplishments; if you are rich or poor. Nothing and no one can change the way I feel about you.

Happy Birthday, Codester !!!

Love, Mom

_____________________________________________________

I saw this at Soxy Deb's
and thought a trip down memory lane would be appropriate for today . Thanks Deb!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Not planned and a complete surprise.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? No and we were not really together. Sort of a trial reconciliation after 2 years of living together and BAM!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Shock and fear. I knew that I wanted to have children, but unsure of the time and how it would change my life.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? It was a consideration, but there was no way I could do that. Besides, looking back, it was great up until about 14-15.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 28

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I took a trip to Orlando with my brother and could not keep my eyes open. I fell asleep the minute I got into the car. Then, riding a roller coaster, my boobs were killing me. When I got back, I went to the Women's Clinic and had a test. I didn't miss my little friend, so it was sort of a shock.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Sad, but I don't remember. Probably my friend Lynn or my sister.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes! I wanted a little girl to dress up and put bows & braids in her hair. I kept referring to little Lindsay. My second sonogram, he had those little legs spread extra wide.

9. DUE DATE? Easter Sunday 1990

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Morning and Noon and Midnight and any time in between. Violently ill. Have to stand in the shower due to lack of any bodily control, sick. After the 1st trimester, the pregnancy was wonderful.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Buffalo chicken wings and french fries. (until I puked them up one day on the way home from work and singed my throat from the hot sauce)

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Baby kicking at midnight while I was trying to do homework. Having to pee every five minutes.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy.

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Yes, but I am glad now that it was a boy. I would not want a daughter in today's' society.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? Thirty five pounds. I lost it all and more after about three months. However, I've doubled that over the last 19 years. DAMN!DAMN!DAMN! Thank goodness I was pretty skinny before!

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER & WAS IT SUPPOSE TO BE A SURPRISE? Yes. It was suppose to be a surprise. My my cousins came over to take me to "lunch" . Cousins that I saw once every 5 years. You would think that they could've at least put the gifts in the trunk instead of the back seat.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Bleeding/spotting early on. AND VIOLENT MORNING SICKNESS! Luckily, there was no problems.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Fort Lauderdale, Florida. CAB was born in the same hospital I was born in.

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 16. I went into the hospital for a stress test and they induced me. It was 11 hours until I made it to 10 cm and another 4 hours pushing. Then they prepped me for a C section. They literally pulled him out of me with forceps. Due to the fact that I was on Medicaid, there was no epidural. I got a little Demerol, but mostly, it was all natural! OUCH!!! I do not recommend it.

20. DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? I drove myself. It was only suppose to be a stress test.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? My sister as there for the first 4-5 hours and then my BFF Lynn was there for the rest of it. Now, you can have everyone and a monkey's uncle. The baby daddy and I were no longer together, but that is a ~~story~~ nightmare for another time.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? All Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? see # 19

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 9 pounds and 8.5 ozs

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 4:45 am Wednesday

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Cody Austin

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 19, today .

Happy Salty Birthday!

2009-04-13T08:00:00.003-04:00

_______________________________________

“Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age.”

-Victor Hugo
_______________________________________

Salty, my husband, my best friend,

You make my world a better place. I love you!

Games Women Play

2009-04-08T11:42:00.006-04:00

Just got this in an e-mail and we were rolling in the office & thought I'd share.

I can just see this happening at a bloggy get together after a few too many cocktails.

At first, it doesn't seem so funny, but the laughter is infectious.

Thanks Rhonda from Classic Minis!
I needed a good laugh today!

Quick Hello

2009-04-06T23:48:00.000-04:00

Hey, Peeps!!

Just a quick note to say HI! and I am back from vacation and will be back in the bloggy saddle again soon.

Thanks for all the well wishes and suggestions. We had a great time and are now exhausted.

I need a vacation from my vacation and a serious foot massage.

See you soon!

Savannah on my mind

2009-04-02T20:04:00.004-04:00

Well peeps, we are back from Las Vegas and on to the second phase of our vacation.

I would love to sit and tell you all about Vegas, but I am just writing a quick note to let you know that I haven't forgotten about everyone and hope to be posting (and commenting) on a regular basis soon.

Right now, I am sitting in a little bed and breakfast in Savannah.
This is the anniversary part of our journey, as we were married here four short years ago. (Well, to tell the honest truth, we had a courthouse wedding in NC and a wedding at a bed & breakfast here in Savannah.) I would love to insert a little photo here, but seeing as this is not my computer, my resources are very limited.

The city is full of Victorian era homes and architecture so I am in heaven right about now.

After a little sightseeing and photo taking tomorrow (it's ~~raining~~ storming right now, so we'll have to see about photos) we are headed to Charleston and Folly Beach for a little Salty birthday celebration.

So, when we finally get home Monday, I will start sorting through pix and giving you all the low down on our trip.

Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Vegas Again?

2009-03-30T13:25:00.014-04:00

I know we were just here a few short months ago, but Salty had another convention here and I thought I would tagalong again. Since we can't go away for our anniversary at the end of the month (April), we thought this was a good opportunity to celebrate our anniversary and celebrate Salty's 40th at the same time.

And for all of my RL Friends, I know I said I hated Vegas (hate is such a strong word and now here I am eating crow - and it tastes bad going down, let me tell you). The part I hated was the traffic (horrible on the Strip) and the smoke and the crowds. I don't know if it was the hotel we stayed in, the fact that I don't have to worry about what trouble Cab is going to get into, or what, but it seems that this trip has been so much better. The casino doesn't reek of smoke and even thought it is still crowded, it such a nicer environment.

First, we're staying at the Venetian Hotel. Not to knock the NewYork NewYork, but this hotel is quite amazing. For about the same price, the room is double the size and quite spectacular. Sorry about the photos, I forgot my camera and have to make do for now with my phone.

*sigh* that is what happens when you try to cram a mini girls' night 14 hours before your flight leaves and you haven't packed. (I DID say I was a procrastinator, right?)

standing in the "living room" area looking up to the "bedroom"

view of the pool area from the room

bathroom sink area with double sinks (Salty is in heaven) & that is only 1/2 of the bathroom!!

But the attention to detail is amazing. AND, there are 3 flat screen TVs in the room! Notice above the sink on the left. A bathroom TV. Who knew people actually live this way. I've been staying Holiday Inn style for so many years, this is a big change. (not knocking Holiday Inn, but this sure is nice for a change.)

We arrived Saturday and spent the better part of 2 hours getting our rental car. The line for Dollar was down around the corner and every other car place had no lines. We soon found out that everyone else was charging $300-400/wk to Dollars' $125. No wonder the line was atrocious. Since we booked the trip through the American Express concierge (did you know you could do this?) we called them up and had them research another rental and book another car. What do you know, Enterprise ended up matching the price and when we went to pick up the car in the lot, they ended up upgrading us to the next level car. (only mid-size from compact, don't get your panties in a twist).

After checking out the hotel and roaming the grounds, (they have amazing pool, gardens and spa area on the 4th floor (see the photo above for the aerial shot) and another secluded pool on the 10th floor. We decided to try and get tickets for Ray Ramano/Kevin James show at the Mirage. Since the show was sold out, we were told to come back an hour before the show to see if there were any no show tickets available. We got our stand by number and waited.

I decided that I wanted a drink and while I was in line, Salty was standing at a high top waiting for me. I looked over and he was talking to some guy that looked a bit like Adam Sandler. (yes, THAT Adam Sandler). I gave Salty a look, but he just smiled at me and continued talking to the guy. It really did look a lot like Adam, but this guy appeared better looking and I decided, no, just a look-a-like. (sort of like my Heath Ledger encounter in NYC the day before he died last year) I convince myself that it can't possibly be a real life CELEBRITY. I paid for my drink and turned around and realized, that it really was MY husband talking to ADAM SANDLER ! and he was walking away!!!!! (ummm hello, husband, did you think of saying could you stick around to meet my wife????) LOL

We didn't get tickets for the show though, they ran out at standby # 12 and we were # 13.

Damn unlucky 13, anyway.

Does this mean we shouldn't play the tables???

We are planning to go to Red Rock Canyon today.

AFTER I go buy a camera.

Got to go pick up Salty from his convention.

I have been Twittering a bit (although I don't really know what the heck I am doing.)
You can follow me there - I think it is cbink90.

Ciao peeps!

Binks(from the Venetian)

Who is stealing my time?

2009-03-26T23:48:00.000-04:00

I swear, someone has been stealing time out of my days.
In fact, I feel like they've been stealing entire days.
Something is missing from my short term memory banks. (but I can't be positive)

I wonder if I will be seeing Denny from Grey's Anatomy soon.

I wanted to thank everyone for their great suggestions about my little problem from my last post. I would love to go above his head and tell the main office or my boss's boss about the infraction of company policy.

There is only one small, little - itty bitty - teeny, tiny problem.

He IS the boss's boss / head honcho/ company owner!!!

I virus checked and deleted ~~and cried~~ and unregistered and re-installed ~~and kicked~~ and scanned and cleaned and scrubbed and polished that damn PC until it is so farking squeaky clean, you could let your grandma eat off the hard drive. I'll let you know how long that lasts.

Now, I was going to write a long ass post about what the hell I've been doing for the last ~~few days~~ ~~week~~ month, but if you've been following along, I can't remember so much.

Last weekend I went to Orlando to celebrate my brother's birthday and my sister, brother, niece and I went to Sea World. (if I have time, will post some pix).

I must go pack for our trip to Vegas this weekend. Ciao.

Can I twitter my bad day away?

2009-03-18T13:04:00.018-04:00

****Warning: This post contains seriously strong and possibly offensive language. ****

I was once told I had a twitter vibe blog.
I may return to my twitter vibe roots. Soon.
(speaking of roots, I need a serious highlighting)
Not that I understand twitter's appeal. I can't even get mine to work. * sigh*
.................................................

I am having a seriously bad day.

I have a big project due and I'm now on a wild tangent to fix my boss's computer.

You see, the BMOC (or big man on campus) has a teeeeny tiiinnnyy problem with surfing. Well, I guess the surfing is not the problem, it is the where he's surfing.

So, my entire day is shot with updating, scanning, deleting, rebooting and cleaning. AARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
Currently, I am ~~24 damn sh!t fark me~~ 85 in the queue. A queue that I am waiting for because stupidass Norton forgot to add a little "please re-send activation code" to their renewal page. (people do have auto delete spam filters, douchbags)

And the powers that be wonder why I can't get anything accomplished.

(maybe, it's because I am constantly teaching you the same 5 steps to uploading a photo or where the add signature item is in Outlook. And please, can you figure out your Facebook account on your own time?)

So, anyone know how to tactfully notify your employer that you are well aware of their "surfing" habits and ~~that you are damn sick and tired of cleaning up their porn polluted PCs~~ would like to suggest curbing their visitation of certain sites?

Octopussy birth video

2009-03-15T15:33:00.005-04:00

Although I have never commented about the Octomom (I like Julie's name for her - Octopussy - much better) and her dilemma, I was recently sent this video and thought I would share. Thanks to the Mimila for that.

Isn't Jimmy Kimmel funny? I laughed out loud.

PSM - if its too good to be true.....

2009-03-13T15:08:00.010-04:00

I received a little email from the Florida Division of Consumer Services and thought a little Public Service Message (PSM) was in order.

Not that I think that the bunch of you would fall for anything so obvious.

I am posting this for those who may stumble here by accident and are ~~unbeleivably greedy~~ desperate for money.

And, my Daddy always told me, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." (but apparantly this stuff works, or you wouldn't be receiving those 27 million emails every day.)

...............................................................................................
With the promise of getting a piece of the stimulus package pie, scammers will try to lure you into giving them personal information by promising to help you get a tax rebate.

Email, online pop-ups, snail mail or by telephone, they will ask for a little personal information pay a “small fee” (what is a small fee when you will be getting thousands?)

Or maybe, they will tell you because of the Stimulus Package, you are now eligible for a grant and they can help you as long as you just provide them with a little personal financial information or visit this website and fill out some form. (hey dude, you contacted me, how the hell did you know that I was eligible if you didn't already have that information?)

Most of theses websites and emails will have "testimonials" from people who swear that they were awarded $10,000 and they are normal people just like you and me. (who you calling normal?)

Kind of like those informercials that just by following the XYZ method, you too can make a gazillion dollars and only work 2.5 hours per week. (Can anyone say actor?)

So, beware of this new "Stimulus Package scam", as well as the "just won the UK lottery", "I am dying of cancer and have no heirs" (but picked you randomly from who knows where and since I get about 50 of these per day, I have one super lucky email address and am planning on vacationing on Tahiti for the next 20 years), or maybe the "I work for the Iraqi government and need help smuggling millions out of my country".

All either want your identity or to separate you and your hard earned dollars from your wallet.

My personal favorite and one I have been directly involved in (but not swindled by). The old, I want to buy an item from you, but I only have this one cashier's check/money order which happens to be quite a bit more than the item I'm buying. Could you just deposit it and then send me the difference? I'll let you keep a chunk just for doing me this this little "favor".

Then, 6 weeks later, you get a little notice from the bank that the check bounced and now you are out a bundle and your signed, Jimi Hendrix, concert poster is now long gone and living in Belize. (no offense to those living in Belize, I mean no disrespect - just sort of popped into my head)

And for those of you that think I am just a negative, doubting, killjoy?

I have this land.... I'm selling........In Florida..........Great Deal..........Really cheap............

Busy, busy, busy

2009-03-10T19:03:00.006-04:00

Wow, it seems like a long time since I have been here. I've been super busy at work and have been dead tired when I get home. I've had no real time to myself (although I have been cramming in some "Lost" time) and that has been a real drag.

I can't promise to make more time and all that stuff, I'll just do my best and try to make the rounds when I can squeeze in some time.

I've also decided to drop a few items off of my Reader list.

Apparently, I offended someone and so, I was ignored and blackballed in their little circle. (I guess they take my ~~sometimes~~ usually smarmy and/or snarky comments a little too seriously) Those were easy to un-follow.

The others, I just wasn't reading so much and although, they were a great read, I just don't have the time right now.

Please, don't take it personally.

What remains are those bloggy friends that I have come to adore, make my day, and give feedback (and who is kidding who? isn't that what its all about?)

And you all know who you are.

Just letting you all know that I didn't drop off the face of the earth and I miss my bloggy friends.

Hope to see you soon!

Australia

2009-03-07T01:54:00.003-05:00

Salty and I rented "Australia" tonight and I just had to let you know what a great movie it was. I was expecting a ho-hum, strange Baz Lurhman production and boy was I surprised.

The movie is set in the late 30's and tells the story of a proper English wife that travels to the Outback to retrieve her philandering husband.

Her notions of Australia and her cheating husband are turned on edge.

Although the character development is a bit thin, the story is a bit corny and predictable, and the length a bit long (2:45) there were many times I was on the edge of my seat, unsure of where the plot was headed. This is a love story set with hard knocks and a go get 'em spirit. Lots of action, race tensions, love lost and war. Add the sweeping vistas and scenery of Australia and the charm of a half aborigine - half white young boy (who will steal your heart), and this was a hit for me.

I rate this a two hankie movie, so have a few tissues at hand if you are a crier like me.

200 and we have a winner! FINALLY!

2009-03-06T17:55:00.015-05:00

Wow! I can hardly believe I actually got to 200 posts! I am seriously surprised I am here. It seems like its been a long time since I've been able to get here and I feel like the weeks have flown by. I have been totally out of it.

I missed everyone.
A LOT!

Now, some of you have forgotten my little giveaway from here and I completely understand. That whole idea was terribly stressful. Not the giving away stuff, because that is FUN!FUN!FUN! but the whole way I structured everything. WAY too much work! I think Ree, the Pioneer Woman has the right idea. Cut it off quick and pick from the entries!

There is always next time..............

So, here we are, ready to finally pick our winner. I want to thank everyone for playing along and be so patient. Next time, rattle my chain a little.

I put all the entries (about 200) in a bowl and while I was at lunch today at work, I had a completely neutral party pick the winner. (And she is totally neutral. She works for my husband, and she probably doesn't know or care to know about my half-assed blogging career. I'm not sure she even knows what a blog is!)

AND THE WINNER IS............

JillJillBoBill!!!!!

YAY JILL!!!!

My husband was so cute. When he asked who won and I showed him the little slip of paper and he said "Jilljillbobill"? I think he is secretly reading my blog. (Hi, Dear!)

Pimping and Lotion - the final countdown

2009-02-28T17:31:00.010-05:00

We are at # 199 and this is the last post before the big party. (Seems rather lackluster and anti-climactic due to my failure to post anything of substance here lately)
Final entries are through midnight EST on Wednesday, March 4.
So, there is still time to enter the giveaway.

Do you all remember where I said I wasn't above pimping out my blog?
Well, the time has come to introduce my first ever review....
Of course, this can't be some traditional review with a short paragraph about Product A and how wonderful and helpful and miraculous it's performance. Oh no, we are going to do the full on highly scientific version. Let us just see how truly wonderful (or mediocre) the product really is.

We start off with a little e-mail from my buddy Pete. It went something like this: My name is Pete **** ; we have a new lotion ...blah blah blah ....... The lotion ....blah blah blah.....skin............. deeply hydrated...blah.....prevents irritation and dryness.

(THEN THE GOOD PART)

I’d be happy to send you a tester bottle of SkinMD lotion to try ......

SWEET!!!

Being the naturally pessimistic girl that I am, my first thought is: this has got to be a scam of some sort.

My second thought is: did I somewhere in my infinite wisdom post something about the absolute desert that covers my body? My serious skin issues and problems with keeping this leather well conditioned? (Was I drunk and sharing too much information that day?)

How the heck did Pete know I have a serious issue with boot dandruff (and that is a seriously gross photo, so click if you think you can handle it)

What the what??? (Hi, Shelle)

So, I cautiously agree to try this lotion and my bottle arrived about a month or so ago. (I am SURE that I mentioned on this here blog that I am a procrastinator , so Pete should not be disappointed or surprised that it has taken this long to get around to my scientific experiments.)

Don't worry, Pete, I won't be trying the sulfuric acid test at home.

I am going to try this stuff for a week and let you know exactly what I think.

p.s. I'm sure Pete was looking for a different kind of review.

p.s.s. Who knew you could take a measly little lotion review and stretch into a rather boring two posts? Shut up Catherine!

p.s.s.s. Next is the Eden Fantasys review and a giveaway too!!! Don't want to miss that!

Would you kiss those lips?

2009-02-27T14:41:00.000-05:00

Supposedly an ad from around 1919 - right before prohibition.

Seriously, would you stop drinking?

I would especially like to call attention to the lovely on the left with her hand raised. Quite the looker in her day!

I would like to thank Rhonda from Classic Minis, for this!!

************************************************
Foto Phriday Phun with Candid Carrie. Check it out. It's Phun!

2009-02-26T15:56:00.002-05:00

***** UPDATE *****

I am a FINALIST in

Shelle at Blokthoughts' "Don't You Hate it " contest !!!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
GO VOTE!!!!!

You have until midnight, so time is of the essence, people!

If you vote for me, you get an extra entry into my giveaway that is ending this weekend!! (who said bribery doesn't work???)

Come back, okay??

-------------------------------------------------------------------

TMI Meme

I found this somewhere in the blogosphere and don't remember where. (so, sue me)

I'm still not recovered from my pity party so this will have to do.

-.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
1. Have you ever skipped school? Who me?? Never. (looks around cautiously for lightning)

2. What is your favorite naughty word? It would have to be DUMBASS! I am so not above the word F*ck or its many variations.

3. Have you ever been arrested? Huge fear of mine, so no. I am sure I've done things that could get me arrested, but I try to keep illegal activity to a minimum. Hey, various sexual positions are illegal in more than one state. It could happen.

4. Do you and your spouse have a code that you use when you want sex? We have a pillow. One side says "tonight", the other side says "not tonight". Where the hell is that pillow anyway? Also, a tongue in the ear is a clue.

5. Do you have special names for....ahem...you know, either cute ones that your kids use or nasty ones that you and your spouse use?
Don't think anything an 18 year old would call it would be cute.

6. How many drinks does it take to get you sloshed? Buzzed - 2 drinks. Sloshed - roughly 27 to be fall down, slur your words, can't remember your name drunk. Or a 64 oz margarita I had in Puerto Rico.

7. Do you always wash your hands after you go potty or are you one of those gross people who comes out of the toilet in a public restroom and fixes their hair then leaves without washing? Ewwww, wash. Those people that just do their business and leave without washing just creep me out. (and I am not a germ-o-phobe, like some)

8. When was the last time you played the clitar, dialed 9 on a rotary phone or spanked your monkey? I am not good with musical instruments. Who has rotary phones anymore? My monkey is generally well behaved and does not require corporal punishment. Wait, was this some sort of sexual question? I am confused.

9. What's your favorite smell that others would consider weird? New car smell. You'd think I was male.

10. What's your favorite adult beverage? Bailey's or Pina Colada. Although, I hear Duck Farts are da bomb. hehehehe

11. Favorite old school cartoon? It should be the Flintstones since I work at the rock pit. But I think it was the Jetsons.

12. If you won the lottery what is the first thing you would do with the money? (If you say donate to charity you're a liar. I said the FIRST thing you'd do.) Buy a new house and all new furniture and then buy my sister a new car.

13. Have you ever fed a dog peanut butter just to see what would happen? No, do cats count?

14. Favorite blond joke? I am officially offended.

15. Have you ever undressed Barbie and Ken and made them do it? Not recently. After the last time, they've sort of stayed away.

16. Did you know gullible isn't in the dictionary? Sounds like a legal term. Did you check the legal dictionary?

17. Shittiest car you've ever had? $200 - 1972 Chevy Impala with a smashed in front end, one missing headlight, cracked windshield and a smashed in passenger door that you had to kick open from the inside. Oh yeah, and an irridescent paint job courtesy of the sprinklers.

18. Most risque place you've ever done it? I will have to plead the 5th, but use your imagination.

19. Most old embarrassing ass song that you just LOVE no matter what anyone thinks? Glenn Miller Orchestra - In the Mood. I've said it before, I was born 30 years too late.

20. Ever puked out a car window? Only when I was pregnant. But I've gotten in trouble for my friends puking out the window and the parental units thought it was me.

Anybody that wants to play along with this meme, please let me know and link me up if you can.

Don't you hate it when

2009-02-25T18:10:00.008-05:00

Shelle at Blokthoughts is having her "Don't You Hate it Mondays" contest today. And since I have been so busy (this is an easy post - I have so many DYHIW posts)and was one of her first followers and contributors to this particular contest, I feel like I would be letting her down if I did not contribute. I also want to win a piece of Emily's awesome artwork, but that is really not my motivation.

Really?? Motivated?? Did I just say that??

Don't you just hate it when you are out shopping with your husband and he is walking at the speed of light and you've been shopping all day and can't keep up with him.

Then, you are trudging through an extremely busy, crowded furniture store, when they are having a giant clearance sale and looking at an item that is tucked behind a huge sofa.

When aforementioned husband takes off with the salesman and you turn quickly to run after him, because you forgot your cell phone, and don't want to loose him.

And when turning quickly, you forget the ginormous sofa has a whole chaise lounge thing right behind you and you go ass over teakettle, like Dick van Dyke, over the chaise and land solidly on the hard wooden floor.

And 12 people turn around and look at you, snickering, but do nothing to help you up.

And now, your damn husband is long gone too.

Plus, you are now positive that the some smartass security guard has surely posted that fall on you tube.

Fark, I hate when that happens.

Are you still here?

Go read the other DYHIW stories. And don't forget to vote.

----------------------------------------------------------

# 196

I swear I am ending the giveaway this week. Even if I have to post nothing but the post numbers. Who knew it would take so dang long to put up the final 10 posts to 200.

You can enter here ♥

I would like to give a special shout out to Georgie at Decisionally Challeged for being a great bloggy buddy.

Thanks Georgie!!!

Who Knew (and other useless information)

2009-02-19T02:13:00.015-05:00

# 195

.........................................................

Who knew and other useless information
*** Warning: I am not a doctor or claim to be a medical professional. The following is for informational purposes only. No animals or spam were harmed in the making of this post. Laughing is strongly recommended. (and apparently good for building a strong core)***

Now, I am no computer genius, guru or wizard, but I wanted to share a little Internet Explorer trick that I've been using for a few years. It drives me crazy when I see Salty type out the whole URL in the address bar, when the shortcut works just great.

If you just type the main name in the explorer address bar and hit Ctrl+Enter, it will paste the 'http://www.' at the front and the '.com' at the end.

How did it work for you?

Good.
You will now save approximately 7,938 seconds annually.
Think of how much more blogging you will get done!

.........................................................

In other news.....
I have been spouting this rhetoric for many years and now, studies show that I am right!

Germ-o-phobes, listen up.

It seems that a little dirt is good for you.

I found this article in the New York Times, which basically says, when millions of bacteria, viruses and worms enter the body, they promote the development of a healthy immune system. Basically the more germs we let our body process, the stronger our immune system. It goes on to talk a lot about worms, but worms are kinda creepy. (I'm not reading - LA LA LA LA LA LA)

And then, it says, the overuse of antibacterial everything has led to the increase in antibiotic resistant, disease causing bacteria.
DaDa! I always say that!!!

Dirt....... its what's for dinner.

.........................................................

Not into mudpies??
Are you from Hawaii?
Do you love all things Spam?
Are you looking to cut down your grocery budget and start planning meals using that famous canned meat product?

A 12 oz. can costs about $3.00, quite the bargain.
Pork, ham and spices in a lovely salt water and sodium nitrate broth. Yum!

And if you use Google mail, your spam folder conveniently lists all the spam recipes that one could ever ask for. (look up at the top)

Ginger Spam Salad, Spam Swiss Pie and even Creamy Spam Broccoli Casserole!

Don't those sound divine??

More cheeky, silly Monty Python mockumentary spam:

Spam! I think I would rather eat dried up boogers from the floor of the local kindergarten class.

*varp* (sorry, Catherine)

..........................................................

Last, I would like to shout out to my bloggie friends a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to Tiffany at Stuck-in-the-sticks and Sheri at Chrouser Chronicles.

N00b tag

2009-02-18T08:36:00.011-05:00

# 194

I was tagged by Amy from Frantic Mom and More and since I am all about supporting the little guy (and n00b), I will post her little meme. (Really, I have been too lazy to blog and this was an easy way out - sue me)

So, a big thanks to Amy for bailing me out. And Amy, can you please read Georgie's post about the "no reply" monster. Some things are just best left as private conversations.

Look mom, two links today!! But I can't promise that I will follow any more rules.

THE RULES:

Step 1: respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
No problem - but if everyone adds one more, this thing is going to be like 198,875,765 questions long. For the sake of time, not gonna happen.

Step 2: tag - eight other un-tagged people
I like most of my bloggy friends - so I am pseudo techno tagging those who want to participate (are the bloggy police coming to get me for breaking the rules?

1) What are you wearing right now? blue silky nightie that my husband says is a mu-mu. But it is short. Can mu-mus be short?

2) How many lovers have you had in your lifetime?

bwaahaahaaahaaahaa - just thought I would throw that in to make everyone uncomfortable.

My answer would blow my cover as a nice, normal, married woman.

Ok, three.
My husband, my baby daddy and that Sting look-a-like in Mexico.

Maybe.

The Mexican thing is really a fantasy I had.

Maybe.

RL friends - SHUT UP!!!

3) Do you nap a lot? NAP? I barely sleep.

4) Who is the last person you hugged? My hubby.

5) What websites to you visit when you go online? Blogger, Facebook, Google.

6) What was the last item you bought? Baseboards

7) What is the last thing you ate? Cereal for dinner last night. What? I had a big lunch.

8) If you woke up tomorrow and were a boy, what is the first thing you would do and why? All you others are just liars about peeing outside. You know the first thing you would do is jack off. Who you trying to kid?

9) Has a celebrity's hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle? I once took a boyfriend's Playboy to get that Playmate, tussled, just had sex look. It didn't work out for me. Story of my friggin' life.

10) What is your most embarrassing moment? the other day when I ate it is the furniture store by pulling a Dick van Dyke move over the sofa. I am sure there is a security tape video of it on You Tube. I am afraid to look.

11) What was the last movie you watched? Ghost Town - it was cute. I am a movie fanatic.

12) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments, or interruptions what would you do? I'd sleep in, blog, go shopping, see a movie, blog, sleep, blog, play video games, blog. Are we seeing a pattern here?

13) What is one indulgence that you cannot live without? Hello??? Cable and computer.
OK - the computer because you can get the internet for free.

Weekend Update

2009-02-16T11:15:00.022-05:00

Enter my 200th post mini giveaway HERE

___________________________________

# 193

(seven more & I pick a winner -and not the booger variety)

I am exhausted.

And, I didn't get much de-cluttering done this weekend. But, we did accomplish a few things this weekend which means the whole house situation is looking up.

After leaving work, we spent Friday night looking for furniture and had dinner at Cheesecake Factory.
It was friggin' crowded!
I guess people had the idea to do an early Valentine's celebration and avoid the crowds.
Ummmm..... not so much.

Weekend Plan # 1 - shot to hell.
Which means my super secret VD evening plan is now shot too. (somehow, secret VD evening plan just sounds so wrong. Like some sort of sexual terrorist attack.)

Saturday morning we were suppose to paint mouldings we bought Friday night. Oh wait, we didn't buy those Friday night. I guess that is off the schedule. And Salty had a wild hair to buy a TV stand for the new media room. And everyone knows, wild hairs need to be addressed immediately. (I am sure it's a medical thing, but you would have to ask Jill, she's the nurse)

We never even got around to buying the moulding until Saturday night and we had chase it down at two different Lowe's. Fun times and soooo romantic.........

We did end up getting take out sushi and a dulce de leche cheesecake. (and if you've never had the caramel-y, creamy goodness that is Cuban dulce de leche, you are missing out!)

We finally got busy Sunday morning.

(Not that kind of busy, get your mind out of the gutter and FOCUS!! )

We got the moulding painted, and part of it installed. All the laundry washed, dried and put away. Floors vacuumed and dishes washed & kitchen cleaned.

Now, 200 linear feet of moulding more and the the downstairs will be complete.

Except the bathroom remodel....... and speakers...... and touch up painting.....and toe kicks........and furniture moving ........and de-cluttering...... and organizing........... and staining............

Damn, we are not even close to being done.

How was your weekend?? Just wondering, does your husband change all your plans and ruin perfectly good weekends too?

Foto Friday Friends + Friday Fill Ins

2009-02-13T01:46:00.010-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

OK - The pity party is over.
I am pulling from my bag of tricks, a favorite Valentine's Day video.

Shoot on over to Candid Carrie's place for more Friday Foto Fun!.

________________________________________

1. It seems like as soon as I catch up, I'm further behind.

2. Flush when you're done, please?

3. If I thought you would get a life I'd stop nagging you!

4. Lifetime is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means ~~chocolate~~ time spent with my husband.

6. My friends and family give me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm not looking forward to picking up moulding and supplies for baseboards and crown installation, tomorrow my plans include working on the house and a romantic evening with my hubby and Sunday, I want to move furniture and de-clutter! (oh wait, did I say that last week? Not a damn thing got moved or de-cluttered.)

Friday Fill-Ins by Janet

The disappearance of Binks -#191

2009-02-12T08:40:00.005-05:00

I have been getting crap from my two devoted blog stalkers / non commenters about the severe drought here at Binksday for the last couple of weeks.

It is not really my desire to share this, but maybe if I just get it out there, my long missing bloggy mojo will return.

**Warning** this post may contain material that is not the usual sarcastic humor regularly scheduled on this blog. If you are looking for laughs today, you may want to leave now, before you get sucked into the vortex.

___________________________________

Depression is a nasty taskmaster.

I tell him everyday that I have so much to be blessed for and he just needs to go away, but he has other ideas. (and yes, my depression taskmaster is a he. No woman would wish this on anyone. Add on PMS.... depression is a farking double whammy)

I really have no reason for this bout of the blues. Yet, I can't seem to loosen his grip.

My husband and I both have jobs and can pay our mortgage.

I have a home that is in a safe neighborhood and it is generally sound. (at least this month)

My family is in good health, today.

I love my husband (most of the time) and he adores me too. (I can't generally speak for him, but I am sure 'most of the time' would fit him too. Hey, nobody's perfect.)

I have friends that care about me both IRL & Bloggy. (you guys still remember me, right?)

I don't usually whine about it.
In fact, I rarely talk about it.
Depression, he's very tricky, when life's fractures widen even a fraction, the big D sticks his caustic finger in and poisons your being.

He cripples me and limits what I can and cannot do.
His corrosive attitude invades my speech and actions until I don't even like myself.

Depression.
He sucks.

I think it all started with the anticipation of my birthday. Not wanting to get older and all that that encompasses. Now that it has come and gone, I am already feeling a bit better. The fact that my son, can't or won't get a job and expects me to support him for God knows how long, coupled with the fact that the two men in my life don't see eye to eye. Then, one of my good friends is going through chemo for Stage IV ovarian cancer. I haven't spent nearly enough time with her since her surgery and treatments. I love her dearly, but sometimes, she just drives me crazy. It makes me feel like a bad friend and a bad person. Mix it all up with a good size portion of many feelings of inadequacy. You've got quite a depression cocktail. (unlike a frozen cocktail, which may make me feel much better)

All in all, I don't think these are the cause of the blues, they just add to the weight pressing down on my life.

I'm not really looking for the magic pill or solutions for my problems, I just wanted to get it down and out of my head.

I would like to publicly thank MissMel for her support and time last week helping me deal. Love you chica!

And to everyone who actually made it all the way down here, thanks for listening and caring. It really means the world to me.

Foto Friday Friends + Friday Fill Ins

2009-02-06T01:15:00.011-05:00

# 190

♥ Friends ♥

It is always fun to find new photos that you've never seen. Even if it is from 5 years ago. (Some party at Webber's house - of course).

They've been my buddies since high school and I didn't even need Facebook to find them.

Thanks girls for being there through the years.

This was Friday Foto Fun with your host Candid Carrie.
For more photo fun, go visit her site.

_______________________________________

Friday Fill-Ins by Janet

1. Please don't tell anyone my real age.

2. Can you let me sleep in in the morning?

3. The color red makes me want to eat!

4. I have a craving for solitude.

5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it at my 21st birthday and spend more time with my dad.

6. Eyes are the window to the soul.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cake , tomorrow my plans include cleaning and laundry or blogging and surfing, and Sunday, I want to move all the furniture around in my house de-clutter!

Thanks Janet, that was fun!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

200 posts and I'm having a party!

2009-02-05T18:57:00.010-05:00

# 189

Well friends, it is hard to believe that we've come this far. I am nearing my 200th post and having my very first giveaway. Now, I am not the Pioneer Woman with her six figure blogging income, just a normal girl with a normal, mostly sarcastic, sometimes humorous blog. If you've even noticed, I don't even have ads. (But my curiosity is starting to get the better of me and may just add those sometime in the future. ) In other words, I won't be giving away a big screen TV or Kitchenaid mixer. More along the lines of borderline pathetic, but totally free.

Side note: I have, however, been contacted to pimp out my blog and for free stuff, I'll dress in a purple velvet zoot suit and pimp away. (more on the pimping later. And sorry Moog, with 6 O's, there are no whores involved.)

But, I digress.

You see, in honor of my 200th post, I am giving away a little something in appreciation to my bloggy friends.
Who doesn't love a little something when it's free.

This is my favorite Bath & Bodyworks scent and who doesn't love vanilla? And if you don't, re-gift away. No hard feelings.

Here is what it includes:

Here are the rules:

1) Leave a comment here for one entry. You must comment here to be eligible. (you don't have to have a blog, but make sure to leave an email address with your comment or send me an email (see profile)

2) If you comment here and enter, I will count up all your comments from the beginning of the year until today and they will count as an extra entry. (see all you lurkers and non-commenters, it pays to leave a little comment ♥)

3) If you are a follower or become a follower, you get another entry.

4) One additional entry for comments left at each post from this one up to and including # 200. After I post # 200, I will have a totally neutral party pick a name.

Sorry, but I can't ship overseas.
So, if you live in the US or Canada, you are good to go. Any questions?
(And Laetitia - you are included if you want a shot)

Good Luck!

Who Knew

2009-02-04T10:26:00.006-05:00

PART II

More who knew info:

Google has a new information number that is TOTALLY FREE!!
You can get information about businesses from your cell or home phone and they'll even dial it for you - TOTALLY FREE!

OR They'll even send you a text message to your cell phone with the information.

1-800-GOOG-411

In this economy, who needs to pay $2.00 - $5.00 plus 20% govt taxes to get information?

Just spreading the wealth, my peeps.

Who Knew

2009-02-03T19:33:00.007-05:00

Have you ever owned, rented or borrowed a car and when arriving at the gas station wondered which side the gas filler is on?

Have you ever stuck your head out the window?

Tried to see in the side mirrors?

Gotten out of the car?

Driven up to the pump, only to get back in your car and relocate to another pump because you forgot what side it was on?

Here is a little known, trick to save you the embarrassment of looking like a complete doofus.

If you look at your gas gauge, you will see a small icon of a gas pump?

See the little arrow that is pointing to the left?
That means your filler is located on the left side of the car.
If it is pointing to the right, the filler is on the right.

Now, I can't guarantee that you will find this on your 1974 Plymouth Fury or your 1982 Ford Escort.

I'm not sure if this is true in England, Russia, Sao Paolo or Morrocco. (so get off my back all of you international peeps) But most modern cars driven in the US have this indicator.

Did you know??

Did you go out and check your car? Did you?

Makes a Mother Proud

2009-01-30T12:46:00.005-05:00

I've been cleaning out my computer e-mails and found this gem.

So, I'm just leaving you with a little Friday funny.

Mental Pauses

2009-01-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back from Chicago and all the freezing weather. There was a foot or snow on the ground when we landed.

I was telling Salty that the last time I saw snow, I was 16.
So, that was a loooooong time ago.

But then, he reminded me of the time we went skiing in Tahoe - 1993.
So, maybe not sooo loooong ago.

And then he reminded me of our trip to the mountains of NC in 2005, when they went snow boarding.

Oh right.

Do you think it is the start of Alzheimers or just plain mental pause?

Brrrrrr!

2009-01-26T00:00:00.003-05:00

I am still in Chicago and wanted to share a few pix of me freezing my butt off.
Don't laugh, this is so cold to my Florida blood.
(I can still hear you)

In front of the Water Tower Bldg.

In front of the John Hancock building

See you all soon!

Chi-town

2009-01-24T01:37:00.007-05:00

Well, with all the good tidings, prayers, and waves of goodbye, we landing safely in Chicago.
Can I just say it is farking COLD!!! Twenty eight degrees today.
I know, some of you live in this (or colder) all the time, but seriously, how the hell do you do it?
If I had to remove my coat, scarf and gloves one more time, I was gonna scream!
And what is up with the heat being on so hot that it feels like I went from the freezer straight into hell? No wonder you people are always sick.
Hot - cold - hot - cold - cold - colder -farking frozen.

I am sooooooo looking forward to tomorrow's high of 11.
Woooohooooo.
I think I'll stay in and take a massage.
But, please, oh please, can I have some Sawyer look-a-like to rub my back?
With my luck, I'll get a "Susan" massage creep.

_______________________________________________________

Tonight we had a nice dinner at a strange little latin fusion type restaurant and it was very hip and cool. It had some strange marionette art on the wall.
Oh, I wish I had my camera.
It was very, very strange.

And then..... we saw........ ♪WICKED♫!
I ♥ heart ♥ me some Wicked.
I think I may even "puffy heart" it.
(puffy heart is a trademark of Candid Carrie)

Missed you, my BBFF, Shelle!

So goodnight peeps, I've got to get my sleep.
I've got some freezing to do tomorrow.

Interview HER and then we're Lost

2009-01-21T12:55:00.011-05:00

Remember that InterviewME from the other day?

Well, Jill and Laetitia have agreed to the ~~punishment~~ interview.
Just kidding, they are very serious interviews with the questions that you all want to know.

And, since I have no post today, you must go read the super cool interview with JILL.

I have some mad interview skilz, right???

And, can I just say, you won't be seeing much of me tonight, either.

Anyone else as addicted as I am??

Karma, Karma go away....

2009-01-20T15:00:00.002-05:00

I promise I'll be good today.

It seems that I have pissed off the gods and karma has returned to take a large bite out of my ass. Not that my ass couldn't use a little reduction, but when karma starts chomping, I run for the hills.

I really don't know what the h-e-double hockey sticks I did to deserve it.

The first thing that karma should teach us is the realization of what we did wrong. Right?

First we had the DVR problems and then, Salty's manufacturing machine (the one he got like, a month ago) has some grinding motor issue, and the kitchen explosion, can't forget that. And now? The Wii does not work.

Does that mean I don't have to exercise?

I'm getting sort of freaked out that I have to get on a plane and fly to the frozen north. Please, someone, send me some good karma. I'll take prayers, blessings, karma, tidings, and whatever good sh*t you can send.

And while your at it, can you wish some warmer weather into the Chicago area this weekend?

Thanks! You guys are the best!!

_______________________________________________________

I leave you with a little something funny:

The importance of checking your child's homework

Here is the mother's note:

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told Sarah how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had. Then I found one more in the back room, and several people were fighting over who would get it. Sarah's picture does NOT show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

Interview ME

2009-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lisa from Adventures in Jujuboo had this interview and in the interest of becoming less sarcastic and more human but hopefully less pessimistic and still sort of humorous (is that even possible?) I agreed to be interviewed.

If you want to play along, leave a comment saying 'Interview ME' and I will email you 5 questions. Or, send me an email to cbink90 (at)gmail (dot) com.

Here are the questions that Lisa asked:

Question #1: Lets pretend I am a tourist to Ft. Lauderdale. Besides, the beach, where is the one place I MUST go visit while I am in your town.

Well, Lisa, that is a very good question. It all depends exactly what kind of person you are. Lots of people visit just to go to Sawgrass Mills Mall. Personally, I HATE shopping there, but if you are a designer name type of person, I suppose there are great bargains to be had. If you like to party, drink and gamble, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is lots of fun or South Beach is crazy and fun with a lot of characters. If you are a nature lover, Sawgrass Recreation Park to take an airboat ride and see the Everglades is a must. There is also Fern Forest Nature Trail. There are also the obligatory museums and historical places to see. (I highly recommend the airboat ride, if you've never been on one or seen an alligator up close, it will be quite the experience.)

Question #2: I love nicknames and I love to find out the meanings behind them and how people got them. So, how is the world did you get the nickname Binks and why do you call Salty, Salty?
Binks comes from my last name and it all started in high school by one of the surfer dudes we hung out with. I wish I could say Salty got his name due to his personality (I guess you could say he is a little Salty), but it is a twist on his last name too.

Question #3: I am obsessed with 80s music. I simply cannot get enough of that stuff! What song from that era holds the most significance or brings back the best memory for you? Tell me the song and the reason.

I would have to say Keep on Loving You from REO Speedwagon. I had an 8 track tape in my Pinto (exploding model, if anyone remembers) and only had 2 cartridges - "Hi Infidelity" and Led Zeppelin IV. Since I was the only one of my friends to actually have a car, I did all the driving. So, needless to say, we heard those 2 albums A LOT! Hearing that song always brings me back to 1981, going surfing and hanging out with my friends, MTV (when they actually played music videos). I am sure, at the time, I was singing it to my crush of the moment, Bill.

Unfortunately, whenever I hear this song, I can't get it out of my head for weeks!

Question #4: I agree with you in that the southern Florida area is like paradise. Always warm and sunny (except this past week- cold, cold, and cold). It is hard to come up with somewhere to vacation when you already live in paradise. But, where in the world would you love to spend a vacation?

I would love to see Ireland in the spring or summer. My boss & his wife are Irish and go all the time. It looks fabulous. I am partial to Savannah (were I got married), London, Italy and Vancouver, too. Summer vacationing preferred. (Everyone knows how much I dislike being cold.)

Question #5: I am dreading the day I wake up and my adorable 7 and 9-year-old daughters are 14 and 16. What is the hardest thing about raising a teenager? Is it easier or harder than you thought it was going to be.

The hardest thing about teenagers is the desire to smack the crap out of them for their sassy mouths. It was harder than I anticipated. I thought my sweet, quiet, loving son was going to be such an easy teenager, but turned into quite an a$$. I am only praying that he finds his way and doesn't languish like his father (not Salty).

Thanks Lisa for not making me cry.

That was not too painful.

See everyone, I really am normal.

Well, some of the time......

Sunday morning drama and the lessons learned

2009-01-18T19:01:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone, I just had a little public service announcement to share.

This morning, Salty was making me breakfast, bless his heart. He had the coffee and bacon all ready and was making grits and eggs. The grits, he realized after pouring them in the boiling water had lots of little black specks in them and the specks were actually moving.

Infested with little, itty bitty, tiny piss ants. Yuck! (although, I have had several little incidents in the ant eating department, and they actually aren't that bad.)

Lesson # 1: when closing your grits to store in the cupboard, make sure you close the Tupperware lid tight!

So, that pan got dumped down the drain and Salty put another pot of water on for the next batch of instant grits. Instead of heating up the front burner of our glasstop range, he accidentally heated up the back burner.
Unfortunately, there was a Pyrex glass cake dish on the back burner which heated up rather quickly.

I was in the den and heard an enormous explosion of glass. I thought the glass top stove exploded and ran to make sure that Salty was safe. (seriously, I was worried about Salty, not the stove)

What happened was: after he realized his burner choice error, he turned off the burner. A few minutes later, the Pyrex dish exploded into 32 million pieces.

Lesson # 2: DO NOT under any circumstances heat Pyrex baking dishes on top of your glasstop stoves or any direct heating sources.
Read here for more information from consumer affairs.

This has been a Binks public service announcement (and thank goodness, no one was hurt).

Excuse me, I have some glassware to dispose of.

This is a test, only a test

2009-01-17T23:50:00.004-05:00

SUBJECT: A FUN TEST

So, I received this little ditty in an e-mail and thought you all would be interested.

I know, some people freeze during tests, but this one is very easy.

Not one math problem involved.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Write your answers on a piece of paper, and NO cheating!! The answers are at the bottom. (you may not need paper, there are only 9 questions)

(comments are mine)

1. Which is your favorite color out of: red , black, blue, chartreuse , or yellow?

2. Your first initial?

3. Your month of birth?

4. Which color do you like more, black or white ?

5. Name of a person of the same sex as yours. (this does not mean the person you are having sex with, but a person of the same gender) - sheesh, this is getting ~~hard~~ difficult, I mean, this test is getting difficult! This is a FUN test, get your farking mind out of the gutter - Deb.

6. Your favorite number?

7. Do you like Flying or Driving more?

8. Do you like a lake or the ocean more?

9. Write down a wish .

When you're done, scroll down. (Don't cheat!)

Answers:

1. If you choose:

Red : You are alert and your life is full of love.
Black : You are a very negative ass person and need an attitude adjustment. (Seriously, who the fark picks black as a favorite color? That is just dark.......... damn. )
Blue : You are spontaneous and love kisses and affection from the ones you love. You are a serious brown noser and are constantly seeking attention and recognition.
Chartreuse: Your soul is relaxed and you are laid back. (and you do need to come out of the closet)
Yellow : You are a sick, twisted but very happy person and have a serious mean streak. Your family secretly wants you to seek therapy.

2. If you're initial is:
A-K : You have a lot of love and friendships in your life. Some, however, are totally shallow and should be ended immediately.
L-T : You try to enjoy your life to the maximum & your love life is soon to blossom.
U-Z : Your parents were sadists that wanted to saddle their kid with a name like Zeus; to be taunted and tortured daily by normal folks from group L-T. Your future love life looks bleak.

3. If you were born in:
Jan-Mar: The year will go very well for you and you will discover that you fall in love with someone totally unexpected. This may ruin the perfectly good relationship that you already have. Choose wisely.
April-June: You will have a strong love relationship that will not last long but the memories will last forever.
July-Sep: You will be granted seven years of horrible relationships, starting immediately. In fact, the next person you speak too will ream you a new one....... for no good reason at all. (Damn, glad I am not you right now)
Oct-Dec: Your love life will not be great, but eventually you will find your soul mate. The bad news, you may have to wait until your next life.

4. If you chose:
Black: Your life will take on a different direction, it will seem hard at the time but will be the best thing f or you, and you will be glad for the change.
White: You will have a friend who completely confides in you and would do anything for you, but you may not realize it. You are definitely not a risk taker and obviously, a little racist.

5. This person is your best friend. Or maybe the last person you saw or spoke to. Perhaps, it is your partner or child. Really, it could be anyone.
Disregard this question.

6. This is how many friends you will have in your lifetime. This does not include friends that are now enemies, childhood friends that you never knew what their last name was and/or work aquaintences (everyone knows they are not really your friends and talk behind your back at every opportunity, especially about your work attire and breath.)

7. If you chose:
Flying: You like adventure.
Driving: You are a chickensh*t. Who would choose spending 10 hours driving when you could be there already?

8. If you chose:
Lake : You are loyal to your friends and your lover and are very reserved.
Ocean: You are spontaneous and like to please people. You've never seen the movie "Jaws" and are quite the daredevil.

9. If you made a wish:

Are you kidding?

Did you think that at the end they were going to say 'if you send this to 27 of your closest friends in the next 2.4 seconds, your wish will come true'?

Really? I guess I can call the wish fairy and see if she can stop by. Or maybe, my fairy godmother can help.
Good luck with that................

*disclaimer - this is not the actual email that I received. It has been altered and is in no way accurate, true or scientific in any way, shape or form. No doctors or scientists, of any kind, have been consulted for this test. There has been no intention to discriminate or otherwise disparage any group, religion, gender, creed or person, known or unknown. Have a nice farking day!

I want my... I want my...I want my DVR

2009-01-17T16:50:00.004-05:00

Can't you just hear Sting singing right now??

Some of you already know that I have been helping my husband with his business. He is getting ready for a tradeshow in Chicago and we have hit the final stages of preparation.

Which means, I actually have some time to do other things than work. (notice how I've caught up on my reading and commenting everyone? Almost caught up with everyone but Pioneer Woman - she won't notice, she has those other 12,000 comments for motivation.)

And I can finally catch up on my "shows". I love my DVR. Yes, I said it. I absolutely LOVE it. It has all my shows tucked away in its little computer brain and knows just when they are on. When the new season starts, it just starts taping right where the old season left off. All the shows that I have long forgotten about....... it remembers and faithfully records them for my viewing pleasure.

So, last week, after a long, tiring day, I crept into the den to catch up on a show or two (or four) and much to my surprise, my lovely DVR decided it was now on strike. I frantically called the cable company at 2 am to demand satisfaction. They poked, they prodded, they re-started. But my faithful little DVR was dead. Gone was the last season of Smallville that I'd been saving, gone were all the Lost episodes I was going to re-watch before the new season starts (thanks for the reminder Georgie), gone were my Brothers and Sisters, Ghost Whisperer, ER, Lipstick Jungle, Grey's Anatomy episodes that were suppose to be taped and ready for me.

DAMN! I am farking mad!!! (Farking was an actual word verification I used today and I decided it is my new substitute swear word - SNAP!)
I actually had to RUSH home on Thursday to watch TV!

Like living in the dark ages, really.

My whole TV watching life is over as I know it. That damn thing took years to train. Its almost like I have to house train a new puppy. What is a girl to do?

Waaaahhhhhhhh!!!!

I want my DVR back!!!!!!

*sniff*sniff* I just needed a moment.

Since, I can't remember anything else that was on my must watch list, I am taking suggestions.

Anyone?

.

Another visit to Paradise

2009-01-16T01:00:00.003-05:00

It seems like everywhere there is a freeze, a blizzard or the wind chill is about 80 below. So, just imagine that you went to lunch with us the other day. Although the beach was super crowded with tourists (notice the out of state plates), it was really a great day, so I didn't mind the traffic so much. With all the extra hours we're putting in, it was nice to break away and enjoy a few hours of the day.
Even the Goodyear blimp was out for a spin.

And what is a day like that without some frozen tropical rum type drink?

Some days I am thankful for my Florida winter.

This was Fun Foto Finish Friday with your host, fabulously, funny, Candid Carrie.

Go see what Friday Fun is happening over there!

Blingity bling

2009-01-15T19:00:00.001-05:00

Just a little note to thank Sheri from Chrouser Chronicles for this nice little award. Always nice to be recognized by your comrades.

Thank goodness I am not a male. It might give some guys nightmares with that measuring tape and all.

Of course, as with all blogger awards, there are rules that have to be followed (if I really feel like it)

Rule 1 - Say a nice thing to a man in your life.

Rule 2 - List at least 6 ways you measure success in your life.

Rule 3 - Assign 5 other worthy blogs

#1 - I told my imaginary friend, Keanu Reeves, that I think he is really hot and to stop by for some possible sexual favors. I think it might really happen this time.
Now, how do I get rid of the spouse??

# 2 - Six ways to measure success in your life - hmmmm, that one is a little more difficult.

I consider it a success if:

I wake up every morning able to get out of bed and get to work before 10 am.

I am able to eat less than my body weight in food on a daily basis.

I have at least one actual e-mail in my box instead of 17,000 Viagra ads.

I have money in my bank account at the end of the month and don't have to pay a service charge.

My son is not calling me from the police station. (not that it has ever happened yet)

# 3 - I am too busy (and by busy, I mean lazy) to do the other linky thing. I say, you all measure up. (Otherwise, I would not be ~~wasting my time~~ stalking you. So, if you think you truly measure up or even if you don't measure up but just want some more blingity bling for your bloggety blog, this award is up for grabs for the first five commenters who claim it (and anyone else who really wants to have it, bribes are always good).

And just a side note: You should go to Sheri's (here) and read her perfectly sane and sweet answers to see how it is really done.

Ciao!

DMV Hell

2009-01-13T18:27:00.005-05:00

Last week I had to go to the DMV for work.

DMV HELL, to be more exact. Does anyone watch that CW "Reaper" show? Where the Reaper has to go to the DMV to deposit the escaped souls.
I guess I am not the only one who feels this way.

10:30 AM: Wait in line for the "receptionist". She looks at all your paperwork and maybe lets you advance to the next level of Hell.

After sorting through my pile of papers, determines that they are in order, hands me a number 25 and tells me to sit and wait for my number to be called.

10:40 AM: The employee in window # 5 is calling for Bo Derek. "BO DEREK...... calling BO DEREK.........anyone here a BO DEREK?"
"BO DEREK - Otherwise known as a TEN.... anyone here a TEN?"

10:45 AM: A man, a woman and a small child sit down in the chairs next to me. The little one thinks she is Dorothy with her ruby red slippers and is twirling around. The man is harsh and keeps yelling at the kid and giving her the evil eye. (Dude, she is being quiet, not bothering anyone and keeping herself entertained -chill)

10:55 AM: The man in window # 5 is now singing "....lips like strawberry wine, she's 16, she's beautiful....."

The mother gives the girl a candy to keep her occupied. Two minutes later, the kid is SCREAMING for more candy. Apparently, she only had one piece of candy and now the kid is demanding MORE. "WANT MORE CANNY" "MORE CANNY NOW!!" (Note to parents with small children, do not bribe them to be quiet with candy and only have one piece in your purse - they will demand more. Seriously, don't people use pacifiers anymore and why isn't that 3 year old down for her nap?)

10:57 AM: I think I am starting to develop a migrane. Twitter my plight to the universe. No response.

11:00 AM: Finally my number is called (thank the good Lord I don't have to deal with the singing male DMV hellion in window # 5) The employee looks through my papers and determines that he can't accept my IRS paper that says I paid my large truck highway usage tax. I must have an 'original' with a stamp on it from the IRS.
Ummmmm.... the the "receptionist" checked with the supervisor who said it was ok. I paid the fee on the internet.
Where am I suppose to get the paper? The tag expired two days ago and I have 3 more days or incur a $250 late fee. (yep, you read that right, $250!)

"Well", he says, "you could just change the gross vehicle weight by one pound and then you don't have to pay the fee." WHAT!!!???!!!!??? Why the f@*k didn't they say that the last time I was there when I got all the company truck tags but this ONE?

"Now, I can't accept all the insurance information you have provided, I need this super secret, special form that is now required as of January 1 for proof of insurance." "Can you call the insurance company and have them fax one to us. I am sure they should have it, it is now a requirement for the state." (then why the heck wasn't it included with the registration, buttheads?)

11:15 AM: Go back and sit down, call my secretary to call insurance agent and explain problem. Agent never heard of super secret, special DMV paper but assures us that she can help.

11:35 AM: Insurance company faxes paperwork to DMV but it is incorrect and does not include the exact quote that the state requires. Calling insurance agent again, they have to get permission from the company to write special quote on paper. (Can anyone say, government bullsh*t? Nice try.)

11:45 AM: I can no longer read my internet on the phone because my eyes are crossed from reading all those little letters. Twitter fails to connect and iPhone is nearing the getting thrown across the room stage in a fit of rage. (Deep cleansing breaths everybody...... iPhone saved from destruction)

12:00 PM: Insurance agent and all employees not answering the phone and appear to have all gone to lunch. (Unaware that if I do not leave here soon, someone MUST die.) Besides, one of the lights is now flickering rapidly and I am sure that DMV Satan is mocking me and is announcing his/her arrival.

Person somewhere behind me has cell phone ring of royal trumpet blowing. Make mental note to NEVER have that ring tone as it is the most annoying ring on earth.

12:15 PM: Call secretary again and yell at her to get agent on phone or else. I leave several nasty messages on several voicemails regarding the ball droppage.

12:30 PM: Agent calls and asks what information I need and what do they need to do. Explain for the 10th time what I need. 50th time that royal trumpet phone goes off. Decide that owner must be drug dealer. Decide to keep mouth shut for fear of retaliation.

12:35 PM: The man in window # 5 is now singing something about 99 Luft Balloons. Girl in giant leg brace sits down next to me. Leg brace girl is moaning and groaning in pain. I think I see a hospital bracelet. (Is it really that important to renew your tag now? It doesn't look as if you will be driving any time soon. - Plus, I really don't want to listen to you moan in pain every five seconds.)

12:45 PM: Agent is faxing papers over now. The guy behind me is talking LOUDLY on his cell phone. Something about his boss is a jerk and cheating on his wife and didn't invite him to the New Year's party. (Hello? The entire room can HEAR you - do you think you should really be shouting your boss's FULL NAME across the DMV?)

12:55 PM: Moaning girl's number is called. More freaking trumpets. Someone else is whistling. Decide I cannot take it anymore, smile nicely at DMV hellion and ask for help.

1:00 PM: Finally, paper is faxed and transaction is processing.

1:20 PM: Walk into bright, sunny day and think seriously of liquid lunch.

The moral of this story?

Avoid the DMV at all costs.

Government buraucracy is annoying and government should be disbanded due to stupidity.

Always send assistants to DMV Hell.

I-I-I-I-I

2009-01-09T21:00:00.001-05:00

***WARNING***
This post may be considered in bad taste and slightly PG-13 for language, violence and bodily functions. Proceed at your own risk.
You have been warned.

_______________________________________
You still here? My warning didn't throw you off. I bet you were one of the ones that enlarged the photo of that poor man's bare butt. Sorry, no bare asses here for you to see. Move along........

Soxy Deb at Postcards got this last year, fell off the roof, disappeared and when she showed up after many a long day off (and I think most of us were serious slackers this holiday season. And by most of us, I mean me, of course.)
Well, anyway, she posted this little meme and it seemed like fun. (And really, memes are all about me, so what is not to like)

But seriously, I have been sooooooo busy. And memes are so fun and breezy.

Salty has a trade show at the end of the month and we have been rushing around like crazy people trying to get all the loose ends tied up. Okay, I lie. We haven't gotten around to having any loose ends yet.
~~We've~~ Salty has procrastinated and just did not get around to all the paperwork, brochures, flight plans, booth fixtures, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah - even I'm bored. So it is crunch time. I friggin' hate this trade show. Right after Christmas, always another rush to the finish line - so close to the last one, dead of stinkin' winter, I got to go freeze my tail off in Chicago.

Ahhhh, but I digress.

So I kindly ask Deb to provide me with a letter, as provided in the rules and ~~ask her sweetly~~ /~~forbid her~~ threaten to kick her butt if she gives me one of those hard letters like Q or Z or V. So, clearly she retaliates at my jesting and gives me the letter I. Sheesh, you don't think she plays favorites with Jill & Georgie do you? They got "G" and "R" . I'm starting to feel like the high school girl in headgear. (oh, that was you? Sorry, no offense, but you were kind of shunned by the popular, goodlooking kids, which was exactly my point.)

Well, she didn't know what an emotional wreck I am and that I am so busy that I'm only been getting @ 3-5 hours of sleep every night. Basically working two jobs and dealing with a raging teenager (one who is grating on my last nerve and am about to pack him up in a doggie crate and ship him up to Maryville, TN to go live with his father.

So, she gets some slack even though she gave me a super hard letter that I really don't have time to think about. But, after several days of pondering (well, not really pondering, because who can ponder on so little sleep?) I have come up with the following:

Now this is representative of the letter "I" and I get the ice cream cone, but is that suppose to be and insect?? Ain't no bug I know that looks like that.

1. Ice Cream - Oh yeah, that one was easy. Butter Pecan would be my fav. (although, I am not one to turn down most any flavor. However, pistachio? Not so much.

2) Iced Coffee. A la Dunkin Donuts **mocha choca lotta** with whipped cream (because that Starbucks crap tastes like you just licked an ashtray - hmmmm maybe that is why all the smokers I know like it so much. And just for the record, the pumpkin spiced latte that everyone was raving for? I couldn't even choke it down. It had a giant oil slick on the top. Gross!)

3) Irish Cream - Bailey's which would be one of my favorite drinks (Cat you can comment and validate that) and it brings back such memories of doing shots in Germany and walking back to the base, drunk off my rear. Good times, I tell ya. Good Times.

4) Iphone - although, I did not need one, did not want one, had no use for one, I LOVE IT!!! The apps, the maps, the GPS. Shazam and Flickster are my favs of the moment. And all because my techoweenie hubby HAD to have it.

5) Interior Design - my college degree (although I am not currently working in the field) (and by currently, I mean for the last 15 years) but I love HGTV and it is on constantly in my house.

6) Italy - my most favoritest vacation ever. I was young and fancy free. If you are new, you could read a few stories here and here.

7) Ice - as in diamonds. I only have one, but am coveting more (hint, hint Mr. Salty - I'm thinking there is a birthday coming up here)

8) Iron - something I don't have enough of and when I take it, it makes me feel better.

9) I Dream of Jeannie - totally blows Georgie's "Gilligans Island" out of the water. It was so cool - Jeannie lived in that totally posh little bottle. AND Major Nelson lived in Cocoa Beach (yep, THAT is in FLORIDA!!!) And he was so cute. Didn't you totally have a crush on Major Nelson?
(hehehe - like how I stole your answer, Georgie and totally turned that around??)

10) intestinal gas - something I have a problem with. Maybe.
(TMI? Just go and blame Deb - it was all her doing with this damn letter.)
However, it is a constant topic of discussion between my sister and I and a constant thorn in Salty's side. He is not that typical burping, farting, scratching his testicles kinda guy. It all sort of embarrassas him and grosses him out, which is exactly why I LOVE to share with him so much. I am nice like that.
(I think he has been hanging around me too much, he downloaded the Fart Machine on his Iphone and thinks it is hilarious)

So there you have it my peeps, the letter game. The letter I compliments of Soxy Deb.

The rules are: you have to list 10 of your favorite things, but they have to start with a certain letter (assigned to you by the blog owner - which now, would be me). If you want to play along, just leave a comment and let me know!

Now, that took WAAAAYYYYY too long. I gotta go to my other job. The one with no paycheck. Ahem, no cash paycheck anyway.

Free Fall or Free for all - you decide

2009-01-06T19:16:00.002-05:00

*** WARNING ***
This post may include PG-13 material and or photos of naked buttocks and/or the suggestion of genitarea.

The headline reads: Skier Suffers "Exposure"

It appears that a 48 year old, male skier was left pantless and dangling from a ski lift in Vail, Colorado today.

Apparently, some "cock"amamie story about the folding seat malfunctioning and the man fell through, his ski was thrust into the chairlift mechanism and jammed.

The man was left dangling (in more ways than one, if you know what I mean) for more than 15 minutes. (The other skiers were kind enough to document the incident for our ~~enjoyment~~ information and/or possible litigation evidence)

The lodge personnel withdrew and disentangled all ..... without injury to the man (although, in my book, total em"bare"r"ass"ment counts as injury).

Another reason not to ski.

I'll bet the resort's emergency personnel don't see much of that out on the mountain.
Broken bones, yes.
Frozen popsicle, not so much.

And I thought my day was bad. I think dangling naked,by one foot, in 20 degree weather, is the winner of the "I had a bad day contest".

And how was your day???

-information & photo source: the Smoking Gun

2008 - what the heck happened?

2009-01-05T18:22:00.000-05:00

It seems that everyone in the blogoshere is making all these serious and upstanding New Year's resolutions and doing the whole "2008 in review".

I’m running a little late with my 2008 farewell.

People, I can barely remember what I had for dinner last night.

(what the hell did I have for dinner last night?)
Can I blame it on holiday zaniness and stress?

The only thing I can remember doing last year was construction, airplanes and starting this blog. (and the never ending, insufferable "work".)

(you can view a little 1,000 picture slideshow of our kitchen remodel here if you are curious.)

The great thing about 2008 was re-connecting with old friends and family and meeting so many wonderful new people.

I heard today on Today that you had better luck making and sticking to resolutions if you did not make them on New Year's. There is too much stigma and failure of the New Year's Resolution. So, I am waiting until my head is clearer and the craziness has died down.

What I would like to do is: lose 20 pounds and keep it off; be nicer to people in general; keep up the connections I've made; try not to procrastinate so much.

Those are not resolutions, they are just general ideas for living better, eating better and being a better person. Without all the pressure and guilt of failing.

Wow, this went a whole different turn than I planned. It looks like I got all serious and upstanding after all.

A little profound wisdom

2009-01-05T17:12:00.005-05:00

Remember
the moments of the
past

Look forward
to the promise
of the future

But, above all,
Celebrate the
Present

for it is most precious

-Kathy Davis

And the Oscar goes to....

2008-12-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

Before the new year rolls around and I am starting off the new year in terrible form, I have some housecleaning to do.

Tiffany tagged me for this sweet little award.

She was passing it on to those who stuck by her "even when I'm not up to blogging par" (her words). Boy, I feel like that all the time. All of you still following along, this award is for you. I can't pick just six.

So here goes (in no particular order):
Shelle
Jess
Georgie
Jill
Deb
Vodka Mom
Lisa
Susan
Laetitia
Alyson
Debbie

I hope I didn't forget anyone. Back at ya Tiff! Thanks so much! Sorry it took so long to get to it.

Then, I got tagged with this from Lisa at Jujuboo

The "rules" are:
*List six things that make you happy.
*Pass the award on to 5 other bloggers
*Link back to the person who gave you the award.
*Link to the people you are passing it on to and leave them a comment to let them know.

6 things that make me happy:
1. The ocean and the wind in my hair.
2. Friends
3. Sleeping In
4. Traveling
5. my DVR & skipping over commercials
6. my sister's remission

The bloggers I am passing this on to are:
Susan
Jill
Tiffany
Jess

Thanks bunches Lisa, I love the fact that you are just a hop, skip and a jump across the alley. We need to have lunch the next Wannado excursion. (BTW - I think someone else tagged me for this and I did not immediately Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V it into a draft. I am truly sorry for my poor manners. Please remind me so that I can thank you properly!)

Finally, Jess tagged me with a meme called Flickr 6 of 6. The point is to go to page six photo six of your Flickr photostream and then post it.

I don't have a Flickr account and since my photos are now strewn across the computer, I will find the sixth photo folder with six or more photos and post that.

Two years ago at the Lazy Bear Lodge in Valle Crucis, NC.
Thank goodness, you can't see my giant rear.

Now to catch up on my Reader
(the lying son of a .......)

Back to life, back to reality....

2008-12-30T23:53:00.000-05:00

So, the presents are all opened and the Christmas leftovers are all eaten and it is back to the old grindstone. It was fabulous having the 5 days off. Sorta makes you want to quit your job.

We spent the weekend at my sister's new condo. Of course, due to the fact that my Christmas shopping was abruptly cut short, I only had a few things purchased for my sister. Those items were left on the kitchen counter 2 1/2 hours from our final destination. Somewhere between these lame shots of Christmas morning and Friday when we left, I also ~~lost~~ misplaced my camera.

lame photos before the mysterious camera disappearance of 2008

Add that, to the fact, that my mother decided, three days before Christmas, to buy herself a new flat screen TV. The exact same TV I'd purchased the week before as her Christmas present from my sister and I. EVEN THOUGH MY SISTER TOLD HER BEFORE SHE BOUGHT IT THAT WE WERE GIVING IT TO HER FOR CHRISTMAS!!!! (And you guys thought I was just being a little emotional about her.)

Barbs cooked a fabulous brisket and dinner and my oldest brother stopped by for a visit. (No pictures, due to the lost camera and Barbs' camera is broken. ) We also got to visit with my niece and her boyfriend and my pilot nephew. The kids are growing up and I just don't see them too much anymore.

Damn, I feel old.

We did bring the Wii up to Barbs' and hooked it up. My sister and I went through all the games and tried them out. We were laughing like school girls until 4 am. There is a air hockey game on the Wii Play disc that had us in hysterics because we are both such spazzes we kept hitting the puck in our own goal. After playing that a few thousand times (and laughing so hard we woke up Salty, sleeping on the couch) we started playing a goat racing game. Holy crap, we were off on another fit of laughing and we could not stop. I haven't laughed that hard in such a long time. I am sure my mother and husband thought we'd lost our minds. And we both were stone sober.

Before we left on Sunday, we went out and got Barbs a new camera and I will be returning the computer stuff (which she also bought before Christmas) and the TV.

Now, if I can just get Salty to reconnect the Wii at home, I'll be all set.

Anyone up for a Wii discussion???

A Very Wii Christmas

2008-12-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

We spent Christmas Eve at the MIL's with Lancelot's (Salty's brother) family. Cab even decided to join us. (I guess he knows what side his bread is buttered on, if he wants to get Christmas gifts.) We exchanged gifts with everyone and Lancelot's family got us a Wii Play game. MIL insists on buying everyone a thousand $6-10 items and she is always good for a watch. And even though we beg her not to buy clothes for us, several clothing items find their way into the gift bag. She is so sweet and works so hard to please everyone. I think next year I will suggest a family "Southwest" gift card. It would be a better fit. We had a nice time visiting and should make some plans for more visits during the year. We didn't get home until after 1 am and we all decided to sleep in a little and get up at 10 am.

Cab came and woke me up at 9, he couldn't wait to open presents. You would think that he is 8 and not 18. We bought a Wii and Wii Fit for our fat selves and a Zelda game. Salty got me the Wii DDR and Cab got us some Wii rechargable battery packs and accessories. I think Nintendo and the gaming manufacturers got a big chunk of this family's Christmas money. Now, if I can only get on a schedule and actually use it.

The rest of the day was spent lazing about. I took Cab to is paternal relatives house for Christmas dinner. Salty and I ended up eating pre-grilled hamburgers and chips and just chilling. That was, until we started Wii'ing.

And how was your day?

The eves before the Eve

2008-12-24T15:10:00.001-05:00

It was crazy trying to get everything ready and I was really hoping to have all my shopping done and bake some peanut butter and gingerbread cookies and make some pecan pralines on Tuesday night to take for Christmas Eve.

Salty decided that we were going to move furniture all night and get the TV all hooked up in the newly finished den. When he gets a wild hair, people, the world stops.

Needless to say, there was no last minute shopping for me. By the time we got the 10,000 pound wall unit moved and the TV installed, it was 11:00 and I still needed to wrap ALL the presents. I would just like to take a moment now and ask, why the hell does the woman always get stuck wrapping all the gifts? I did make him hook up the Wii console while I was wrapping. You know, since the TV had to be re-wired to all the components, anyway. (shhhh....I ~~played~~ explored a little Wii before I went to bed.)

Did everyone get all their pre-Christmas, holiday rushing completed? I swear, next year I am starting before Halloween. Can you all remind me?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T09:59:00.009-05:00

Just because I love snowmen....

It is amazing to me how quickly I have found such wonderful friends here in my little bloggy world, thanks for all your comment love and support. Thanks too, to all those who are already near and dear to my heart that have supported me here. I look forward to getting to know you all better in the coming year.

From my family to yours, many Christmas blessings and wishes for a safe and happy Holiday & New Year!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Rush

2008-12-23T18:07:00.019-05:00

I, like a million other people, are doing the mad dash to the Christmas finish line. As most of you know, we have been remodeling the house for the last six months and there is no end in sight. Boxes, furniture, tools and various other crap have been moved from here to there and back again.

Needless to say, I have not been much in the Christmas spirit and with all the traveling and house stuff, not many Christmas items have crossed off my list. I think, I may have finished most of my Christmas shopping and whoever is not purchased, will be receiving cash. The older kids probably prefer that anyway.

I did clean off my kitchen island (which has been harboring lost tools, screws and mail) and bought a little tree at Target. All the decorations are at the warehouse, so I got a little box of ornaments. Of course, there were no hangers, so I improvised. I just tied each little ball on the tree with some leftover tulle that I had with my sewing stuff. (Yeah, I sew - NOT)

I thought it turned out nice and may be a permanant kitchen tree in the future.

This is the tree when I first started. It was pre-lit and I just started adding the little Christmas balls with tulle.

This is the little guy all tulled up.

The photos really are not that great, but I think it turned out super cute.

This is a close up of the ornaments (are you bored yet?) I completely threw this together on Sunday morning in about 2 hours (including searching for something to attach the ornaments and the red garland that I pilfered from my wrapping paper box)
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I wish I had time to write a funny little ditty, but I must finish shopping, wrapping, and ~~drinking~~ baking, tonight.

Now, I have no internet at home, so I will see you all in a few days!

LAZY, LAZY, LAZY

2008-12-19T12:15:00.004-05:00

I have been seriously swamped this week at work (and a frantic voting war over at Shelle's yesterday, did not help).

And because I am swamped (and by saying swamped, I also mean LAZY) and because her post today is all about ME, I am sending you over to my buddy Debbie's place, Suburb Sanity. She was offering sage advice to questions and I queried earlier this week.

Seriously funny stuff.

What the heck are you waiting for?

Go, Now!

Secret Santa Arrives!

2008-12-18T15:28:00.012-05:00

My Secret Santa finally came in the mail today! YAY!!!

The postman came in to the office to deliver the mail (which he never does because our mailbox is down the street).

I tore open the box and here is what I found.

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A really cute butterfly garland (which I will put on the pre-lit 2' tree that I finally buy to put on my kitchen counter (the only place there is not some sort of wood/paint can/tool/box/furniture).
Some peppermint chocolate - YUMMY!
There was also some winter vanilla body butter that smells divine! And a whole package of incense - perfect for out bellydance sessions.

Thanks so much Mariah, I know it must have been tough to get this all together with all the turmoil & drama that you deal with in your life.

I especially want to thank Georgie and Georgie and Amy Bo Bamey for pulling the whole thing off. Thanks guys! You Rock!

Thanks

2008-12-18T03:15:00.000-05:00

So, Shelle at Blok Thoughts gave me the heads up that I was a finalist in her "Don't You Hate It When" Contest.
Finally, all my hard work paid off.
Well, it hasn't paid up yet but.......

I got right on the horn and ~~asked~~ begged for votes. Everyone in my contact list got an email. So, I apologize in advance to my physician, plumber, 85 year old aunt, and anyone else that has no clue what the hell a blog is.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that voted and supported me. I feel like the popular girl at homecoming about to be voted homecoming queen.

Susan from Life Is Too Short Not to Share even wrote a whole post just about supporting me and asking all her peeps to vote for me.
Thanks Susan, that was freaking amazing! For that, Susan gets extra brownie points from me. BTW, she is freaking hilarious and if you love total honesty with a flair for the swear, she is definitely your gal.

But, I had to thank everyone else from Cat, Webber, Cab, Babs, Barbs (those non-blogger buds) to (in no particular order)
J'Ollie
Georgie
Jess
JillJillBoBill
Lisa - Jujuboo
Soxy Deb from Postcards
Debbie at Suburb Sanity
Tiffany from Serendipity.
and they were the ones that emailed my to let me know of their support.
Thanks to everyone else at work and bloggyland for all your help. I will update tomorrow to see how it all goes down.

Just a note, if you are not visiting these very talented writers, they all come very highly recommended by me.

It is now 3:14 and my day must end. Thanks again!

Don't You Hate It When...

2008-12-16T09:01:00.012-05:00

*** UPDATE ***
I AM A FINALIST AND NEED ALL MY PEEPS TO GO VOTE FOR ME. PLEASE!!!
YOU CAN VOTE UNTIL TOMORROW.

go here http://blokthoughtsnmore.blogspot.com/ and vote for binks (look at the poll in the upper right corner)

Don't ask questions, Don't pass go just Go and Vote.

Thanks bunches!

I was so excited to hear that Shelle at Blok Thoughts was hosting her Don't you hate it contest again. I knew it was coming up and didn't prepare, so now I am rushing to get it posted and entered. You could win a totally cool homemade purse. Go check it out and play along. If you're not playing, go cast a vote.

Of course, I would expect that vote to be for me.

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**Warning - This post may be a little PG-13**

Don't you hate it when you are having a party and running around like crazy getting things ready.

Of course, you are running late and your husband has disappeared and is no help at all.

It is 20 minutes until your guests arrive and you jump in the shower to start getting ready.

When you're done, you notice there are no clean towels in the linen closet but notice your husband left you a nice folded towel on the counter.

You grab the towel and whip it around your body, only to realize, that your husband spent the last few hours in the bathroom shaving his entire body (including the nether regions) and he left all the hair remnants folded nicely in the towel.

Now, your entire body is covered with man fur and pubes, you feel like you've been tarred and feathered and then the doorbell rings .

I hate when that happens.

(this post has been courtesy of the further adventures of Leather Clam and her bald Captain)

Foto Friday Fiesta

2008-12-12T08:49:00.007-05:00

How I long for Christmas Past - when a toy truck could make your child a happy camper.

Hug your little ones, they grow up so fast!

This was Friday Foto Fun with your host Candid Carrie.

Go see what's Friday Fun is happening over there!

Have a great weekend!

A Rough Week

2008-12-11T14:00:00.003-05:00

It has been a seriously rough week for me.

First, I was out doing a little shopping last night. I went into Barnes and Noble and there was some lady standing in the middle of the doorway with a suitcase and 200 department store bags. Blocking the whole entrance and looking a little dazed. Of course, I try to breeze on by, completely ignoring her when she decides to engage me in a conversation about mall security and how they done her wrong.

Excuse me? Did I appear interested? Did I make eye contact, encouraging you to befriend me?

It seems, that I am a crazy magnet.

Not twenty minutes before, another lady in Marshall's is having a serious conversation with me about Christmas ornaments and how her house is decorated with all these funny animals and asking me all kinds of questions about my Christmas decorations and what I do for Christmas.
My response? nada, nothing, zilch. I continued to look ~~longingly~~ casually at the Christmas decorations while she followed me through the aisles like a lost puppy. I finally lost her in the dresses and escaped. Obviously, my lack of a response was not a solid clue.

And today while driving to work, I got stuck behind a garbage truck that was spewing garbage juice all over my newly detailed car. EWWWW!

I have been seriously swamped at work. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but all of a sudden, I can't get a damn thing done. Then my boss called me this morning (at home) and tells me we are having a management meeting tomorrow at 10 am. Since I am the management meeting facilitator, that means I have to have to crunch all the numbers and get all the materials ready. I had to crunch 7 months of numbers in an 8 hour time frame and then print 7,000 pages of number, notes, charts and tables.

I barely got everything crunched and entered in my 12 hour day and I get to go in 2 hours early to print everything. Wooooohoooo! (please, someone, shoot me now)

Plus, remember the guy in my office that smells horrible? He hired his brother (who stinks even worse) and they have now decided that I am their best bud and stand in my office doorway to chat. They are known as Captain Stinkypants and his brother Corporal Stinkypants. They make me want to hurl. Just thinking about the stench makes me puke a little in my mouth. Ick!

To top it all off, my cat caught a mouse and presented it to us in our bathroom. Hello!?! My cat is an inside cat!! That means that mouse was IN MY HOUSE!!!
Thank God that Salty found it first or I might have had a heart attack and croaked right then and there.
Where the hell is Lynn the piggy bank painter when you need a mouse flinger???

Now I am off to bed for my early morning jaunt into the office. Anyone else having a bad day or week?
You know, misery loves company.

Even my computer is giving me a hard time. Posted this last night in the wee hours and it never posted. Damn computers.

Once Upon A Time.....

2008-12-10T16:18:00.007-05:00

Once upon a time in land far away, called Ohio, there lived a bitter young ~~woman~~ witch and her young son. One day,on a blind date, she met handsome young man who looked like Tyrone Powers (a very popular movie star, way back in the olden times).
She immediately placed a spell on the Tyrone look-a-like and he was smitten. Soon after they met, the couple married and the man kept busy getting a college degree and working full time.
The witch was very anxious to ~~escape her past~~ get away from her family and all the witch haters in their small town. Because the wicked witch was sick of the cold weather and snow, she ~~persuaded~~ cast a spell on her husband, and they moved to Florida.

Fifteen years later, the wicked witch and the handsome man now had a large family. Unfortunately, the witch would not allow the L word spoken in her house (and I don't mean lesbian). Hugs and/or kisses were strickly forbidden and affection in any form was highly disapproved of. Also,the witch was evil and mean to her children, never buying them toys or treats and forcing them to spend their days outside in the hot sun, only letting them drink water from the garden hose (which on a hot day can reach a scalding temperature - at least to a young child). Then, the witch decided to join the women's movement and forced her husband and children to fend for themselves.

After approximately 30 years of marriage, when most of the children were grown up (or at least, old enough to drive) the witch's enchantment began to wear off the handsome man. He was starting to emerge from the black cloud and enjoy life.

One day, the wicked witch caught the man speaking to another woman and she went into a jealous tizzy and turned the handsome man into a toad (or divorcee, you decide).

The toad was now free to love his children without fear that the witch could harm him with her evil magic. He rescued his youngest child from the evil witch and they went to live with B, a nice lady from Pennsylvania.
They moved into B's nice house with her two daughters and her son. And they all lived happily ever after for many years.

However, one day the man's friend was choking on some meat and the man ran over and performed the Heimlich Maneuver and saved his choking friend.

What a hero!

Unfortunately, the handsome hero later died from injuries sustained from his heroic effort.

The man's child was forced to reconcile with her mother, the witch, and all the children lost touch.

Many years past until one day the children all joined Facebook and found each other again.

The moral of this story? Do not join Facebook if you have long lost peeps that you want to stay long and lost. Anybody else have any FB finds?

This has a been a semi-autobiographical story and explains why I am traveling AGAIN this weekend to visit the girls that were once part of my family. Since I haven't seen them in about 15 years or more, I am a little nervous. But extremely excited. (not digging that 4 hour drive to Tampa though)

Honest

2008-12-10T02:03:00.000-05:00

Well, if you've been following along and read this, you know this past weekend I was a repairing,sanding, painting fool. Saturday, we spent approximately 12 hours in Lowes picking out moulding and paint colors and tools and blahblahblah, you get the point. And maybe it wasn't 12 hours, but it sure as heck felt like it. AND I still wasn't feeling back to my normal ~~vivacious~~ ~~animated~~ snarky self which made it that much more tiresome. Well, we spent two days on this damn room and it still isn't done. I think there is no hope for a Christmas tree this year.

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AND - Soxy Deb from Postcards gave me this award

Thanks Deb! I'm glad you got a good laugh from the Leather Clam (beware that link may be a little shocking) - we all did too and yes, she was full of honest little nuggets. (just for you Deb, that nugget comment)

Now you guys know the drill, there are lots of rules and linky dink stuff and here are the rules that you agree to when you accept this award:

"When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.

Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. (hey wait - this is an honesty award, shouldn't there be something about real or honest of something?? - oh well, I didn't make the rules)

Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'.

List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

Seven blogs with brilliant design or content and I guess I will throw in honest because I think leaving that out of the rules was stupid. Or maybe it is like that game of telephone where the message gets all garbled in the end.

Shelle's Plush Moments : her photos are truly brilliant and awe inspiring and Blokthoughts is a laugh riot. You must find her bathroom post from months ago.

JillJillBoBill : she cracks me up with all her typing flubs and flashing stories.

Susan :H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S, she can swear like a sailor, is a blog snob and is stingy with her email address.

Alyson at New England Living: she is really cool and I love all the old stuff about New England and anyone that can quote Monty Python is uber cool.
Georgie : I mean how honest can you get with that confessional. She shuns these award posts but that is okay, she is super cool and funny anyway.

Okay - that was only five, but I am weary of the linky love thing and am trying to get this out before my head crashes into my keyboard and I accidentally post some gobboldygook.

I am deathly afraid of going to the doctor.

I miss my ex MIL and wish I could talk to her more often.

I have a hard time getting to work on time because I really don't want to go anymore.

I feel like God has led me to connect with the people from my past for a reason and that kind of scares me.

I constantly worry about the well being of Cab. Even though I am so over his attitude and his crap.

I curse way too much and drop the "F bomb" often for the shock effect.

I really, really love music from the 40's

I secretly believe in reincarnation

I love my husband, but sometimes wish for my single lifestyle again.

I am glad that this honest thing is over.

Now go my friends and spread the scrap.

Disney Mis-Adventures

2008-12-08T03:05:00.003-05:00

I think I should change my blog to Travelling with Binks. I think it has a certain ring to it, no?

Now, if you read my last post, you know that after turkey day, we were on our way to Disney World. Mr. Potter rented a car while he was visiting, so we drove up to the MILs to pick him up, or rather, drop off my car.

Everything started out nice and friendly and the brothers, Salty & Potter, had lots to discuss and catch up on. Then, some subject of family came up and ......dun-dun-dun.... big surprise, Salty gets his knickers in a twist and goes into defensive mode. When this happens, I am usually all kid gloves and tippytoes. Potter, being the older (and middle) brother continues to try and get his point across and make the little brother see his point of view. Have you ever heard the expression "butting heads"? I think that these brothers invented it. (And butting heads in my mind becomes big butt heads.) Technically, I agreed with Potter but keeping those kid gloves on, had to talk the Salt down. With the peace temporarily restored, we drove the next 3 hours in silence. Yeah, that isn't true, but it was relatively (like how I did that?) calm.

We arrived at our hotel, The Coronado Springs Resort and found our room.

This is what a moderate Disney hotel looks like:

King size bed? Check

Television? Check

Desk/Table? Check

Refridgerator? Check

Feels like Holiday Inn? Check

Price is comparable to Holiday Inn? hahahahahahahahahahahaha

It was around 8:30 pm and we never had dinner, so we met Lancelot & family to get some grub. Lance made reservation at the on site restaurant, Maya Grill. I love me some Mexican food but a 9:30 reservation? This resort seemed a little on the dead side. Really? 9:30?

Disney's description? "Soaring columns divide the space into smaller dining areas. Mexican tile floors, subdued lighting and a centrally located fountain add to the atmosphere."

When we arrived, the place was a morgue. Maybe 4 or 5 other tables, and nary a fountain in sight. The staff was just hanging out chatting and the menu was not very Mexican, Aztec, Spanish or Latin unless you were making a meal out of appetizers, the only ethnic choices on the menu. (if you are so inclined to see the menu, you can find it here)

After dinner, we decided to turn in early to get an early start to the next day. We were able to get into the park an hour earlier than the rest of the yahoos, and I was unsure of what the crowd would be. The bed was supposed to be a Sealy Posturpedic. I would call it a foam coated brick and the pillows were stuffed with 2 ounces of cotton balls. Flat and lumpy, just how I like 'em. The TV was a 19 inch with a broken remote. Or was it? It didn't work when we went to bed but when we woke up in the middle of the night (3:45) it was functioning just fine. Next morning at 7 am? not working (do I have a vacation, remote ghost or what?) We got out early (I was running late and we missed the first bus) enough to get to the park on time. We went to Disney Hollywood Studios.

(I really don't know who those peeps are, my camera is just a piece-o-crap and just focuses on whatever it wants.) We got in at 8 and rushed back to the newest ride, Toy Story Mania . The ride line was a 70 minute wait and the FastPass line had 200 people in it. The park was officially open for 6 minutes. Where the hell did these people come from?? We got in line for a FastPass and our ride time was for 10:50 am. We then walked to the other side of the park to ride the Tower of Terror. We only waited about 10-15 minutes and WEEEEE!!! It was a fun ! Off to the Rockin'RollerCoaster and some Aerosmith jams. Wait time? 70-80 minutes. Ummmm - no thanks. We opted for coffee and a ginormous cinnamon bun. We went and waited for our FastPass time to arrive for the Toy Story ride. Here is a photo of my nephew and some fat chick posing with a green army man. (why oh why do I turn sideways for photos - mental note... no side photos and next time, skip the cinnamon bun)

I loved the plastic pads on his feet.

Salty brothers - can you guess who the oldest is? The ride was lots of 3-D fun for the whole family. You sit in a moving car and cruise by several target screens and try to shoot the items with your little pop gun. The car keeps score for you and although I was not the high score in the group, I came in a very respectable 2nd. The rest of the day was walking back and forth across the park to check the wait times on the Aerosmith ride. Lancelot and his family decided to wait the two hours for the 38 second ride. So, Salty, Potter and I did other stuff.

I will tell you that the park was mobbed. Here is a photo from around 6:30 pm. Again, I apologize for the photo, but you can surely see the throng.

We decided to go visit the holiday display. I saw this display about 8 years ago but now it was giant and the lights are sycronized with the music and they had snow. (okay, it was soap bubbles made to look like snow.)

The hotel sucketh and the park was waaaayyy too crowded for my liking, but, all in all, we had a nice visit.

sidenote # 1: Why, with the state of the economy and all, were there,at least, 10,000 people in the park at about $80 bucks a pop.
sidenote # 2: I found out my SIL (Mrs. Potter) is a blog reader!!
Who knew.
And just in case they are reading, a big shoutout to Jen & Ed!

Thanksgiving - Thanks for nothing

2008-12-07T10:11:00.008-05:00

Howdy boys and girls, yes I know I have been away for a while, but that is a another story.

Today we are going to discuss my Thanksgiving and Disney getaway.

Although you all are thinking what a wonderful life of leisure that I live, let me tell you, it is a lot of work and it makes a body tired.

Exhausted, in fact.

Our Thanksgiving was very quiet. Cab went to his friend's house (I guess he thinks that as a legal adult, he no longer is required to spend holidays with his family. - this of course will pay off big at Christmas - can anyone say lump of coal?) and Salty and I went to the MIL's house. I offered to bring some stuff but she insisted that she would fix everything because her step daughter has dietary issues and she was going to make sure everything was ok for the step-daughter to eat.

Guess what???

The step-daughter didn't even show!!

Which means, not only did I not get to eat my favorite sweet potato souffle', but the rest of the meal was void of any sugar, carbs or flavor.

Well, not really, but you get my point.

So, it was just the MIL,S-FIL, Salty, myself and Salty's other brother, Mr. Potter. We did have a nice time visiting with Mr. Potter, he lives in a land far, far away and we don't get to see him much. It would have been nice to see Mrs. Potter, but that is a story for another blog.

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Friday afternoon, we drove to Orlando to visit Salty's other brother, Lancelot. (Friday morning the flooring guy came and finished the floor in the office - we just couldn't get it done and we are damn sick of not being able to move.) Since I have been a travelling fool for that last few months, it was not really my desire to pack up again. (Especially when my house is a complete wreck and I would like to have some sort of Christmas display sometime before Christmas and really want to finish the office now that that flooring is complete. )

But Mr Potter wanted to see the other brother and we agreed to go with.....

Everyone still following along? Any questions?? Do you still even remember me??? I will be back later, we are in the midst of sanding and painting and Salty is calling my name.

Ciao for now!

Christmas Meme

2008-11-29T14:30:00.010-05:00

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Someone e-mailed me this Christmas meme and I thought if was fitting in this the mad rush to December 25. Of course, I left off the part about sending it off to 28 friends in the next 30 seconds or your eyebrows will fall out. I'm nice like that.....

CHRISTMAS MEME

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both, and lets not forget the bag it came in

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Artificial - I am allergic to pine and those needles, who needs to deal with that?

3. When do you put up the tree? take the tree down?

Put it up sometime after Thanksgiving and take it down hopefully before my birthday (Feb)

4. Do you like eggnog?

ummmm...... Yes with lots of spiced rum..... hello

5. Favorite gift received as a child?

Malibu Barbie, Skipper & Ken

6. Hardest person to buy for?

Mother in law (what do you get the woman who has a collection of everything wanted or known to mankind?)

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

It fell apart about 4 years ago - so not anymore

8. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mail (late) email some

9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

Re-gifted sweater set from 1955 (it still had the tags and closet stains)

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Christmas Vacation and Christmas Story

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

I start browsing in October but never get started with the buying until about 12/20 - my SSS is seriously late too.

12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

No, but my mother has re-gifted a present she gave to me. She took it back, wrapped it again and gave it to someone else. Does that count?

13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sweet potato cassarole. Then my almost stepsisters reminded me of Bourbon Slush. I totally forgot about Bourbon Slush. It was seriously yummy. But I was a mere 17 year old so any alcohol was yummy back then. It could've been my youth.

14. Lights on the tree?

Is that a serious question? There are people with no lights on their tree? That seems like it would be against the law.

15. Favorite Christmas song?

Silent Night

16. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

I love to travel because then I can skip the decorating, which I never have time for anyway. And it appears from the last month, I am quite the traveller.

17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?

If there are 8 plus Rudolph I can. Oh, you wanted me to do it now?

Dasher,Dancer,Prancer,Vixen,Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen . Easy, peasy - its not like you were asking me about the dwarves - those are hard.

18. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

19. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas day?

Christmas Day - who would open the presents Christmas Eve? That is just torture for poor little kids. Here open your toys and then get your ass in bed. Besides, doesn't Santa come on Christmas Eve? If you are up opening presents, when does he come.

20. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

the days are short and the ~~elves~~ theives are out.

21. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Ornaments collected over the years and currently have a strong snowman thing.

22. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Smoked turkey

23. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Wii and a new laptop.

So, if you choose to participate in this the Christmas meme, let me know and I will link you up. I would try Mr. Linky but don't have time to figure it all out.

~~BTW - I am now riding the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Wooooohoooo!~~ **UPDATE** that was a total lie, the line was 2 hours long, as if.

Ciao!

WHO IS PLAYING?

1) Georgie

2)Tiff
3)Life on the Goo Goo Ga Ga
4)corgidogmama
(can't link to the actual post, cuz I did not see it posted yet -12/1)
5)Brenda the Queen of Good Intentions.
6)SoxyDeb she's sick, so her post is coming.

7) Laetitia from Malta Magic

Off again

2008-11-28T17:00:00.002-05:00

Well, my suitcase has been sitting out since my last adventure and my cats have been fighting over who gets to sleep on it. But today I am dusting it off and we are driving to Orlando again.

Phoebe enjoying the suitcase bed.

We are meeting Salty's brother & his family at Disney. Salty and I, and his other brother from D.C. are off tonight. Maybe, if I am lucky, I will get some sort of decent photos.

See ya soon!

Simple Times - FX4

2008-11-28T09:52:00.005-05:00

Since Thanksgiving is now over, and we are now in the turn towards the holiday season, I figured I would post a happy memory from Christmas past.

A time when it was just Cab and I against the world and since he was little, his Christmas list was just toys and books with an emphasis on Power Rangers.

In this pic, we are at some friends' house and he got a karate gi. He immediately put it on and amazed us with his karate forms. (all of which he learned from the aforementioned Power Rangers). He still has those things boxed away in the warehouse somewhere. Any collectors?

FX4 Brought to you by Candid Carrie

check her out for lots of Friday fun!

Another tag and you're out!

2008-11-26T18:43:00.005-05:00

Susan at Life is too short tagged me and since she is so nice (and funny too) I will reward her with a tag post.
Cat you can pass this right by as you know all about my bad habits)

This was hard for Susan because she shares that she is a very organized person. I am the polar opposite of what she calls "chaotically organized". This is something I am diabolically oppose to - my life just runs better if things are astray. But hey, that is just me. You live your life your way, I'll live my life my way (the better way, if you ask me).

Here's the game - it's called "BAG TAG" and here's what is required :

1. Dump the contents of your handbag in a pile.

2. Take a photo of your handbag and the contents.

3. Be brave and explain to your fellow bloggers what lurks inside the handbag.

It has been a crazy, busy week and today was an extremely bad day and I just don't want to talk about it so I figured this would take my mind off things.

I was not afraid to show off my purse because, you see, I recently changed to my holiday "pit" bag. This means find a very, very small purse that fits snugly into your armpit close to your body. This is so the jolly, holiday ~~elves~~ thieves cannot rip it so easily from your arm and take off like a bat out of hell. What were we doing again? Oh, yes. Bag Tag.

In my new holiday "pit bag" from the makers of Nine West (I am sure from about 8 seasons ago) you will find:
(1) Wallet (usually I change this too a much smaller wallet with precious few credit cards and such - the same reason for the pit bag. If I do "lose" it, (and I use the term "lost" as in, torn from my being against my will) I will not have to call 27 jillion people to cancel credit cards.

(2) iPhone -
(3) pen - why I carry a pen is beyond me, I don't carry a checkbook. I know, it is to write down the license plate of the car that the thief that just stole my purse jumped into (I know - poor grammar, but I am in a hurry. I have to get to Italian class)

(4) snack baggie with half used gift cards. Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowe's and Winn-Dixie

(5)Some kind of lipstick thingy that I rarely use. (Once in the morning is all I have time for)

(6) 6 packets of Splenda (can anyone say addicted?)

(7) Gum -

Trust me - my normal purse still has 10,000 receipts from like 1992 and assorted tickets (like my son's HS graduation in May) and about $20 in loose change, among other things. As my husband says, I am a f'ing slob. In some areas, I will have to concur.

Here's the rest of the rules:

4. Tag others who might want to embarrass themselves.

Everyone and their brother has done this one (at least a lot of those in my Google Reader list) so I will just ask those who have not yet played and feel like embarrassing themselves go ahead and play. Just email me and I will add a linky to this post. But you must ask, otherwise, no linky.

5. Answer these questions:

What's the most important thing in your handbag?: The pen, of course. But I'd like to obtain one of Susan's get out of jail free cards. That may come in handy for one of the answers later.

What's the most embarrassing thing in your handbag?: The old out of style pit bag. Pretty hideous.
What's the smallest thing in your handbag? splenda or a coin in my wallet.

Is there anything illegal in your handbag? Not this one. hahahahahahaha

So consider yourself tagged and those with out blogs, feel free to participate and email me all the stuff above for me to post.

Sunny Sunday

2008-11-23T23:30:00.002-05:00

Well hello boys and girls, I am finally caught up in my reader. I am not so happy with the Google Reader as it has been skipping some very interesting and funny stuff. And I'm all about the fun. (so excuse me if I missed a post, I swear it is not my fault)
So, I am not sure if I should just go back to my old method of just visiting and commenting instead of trusting Google to provide me with my blog manna. What do you guys use?

I am really not inspired by anything today and should probably write about the glorious sunny warm day.

OK, you twisted my arm, but just a little.

We drove down to the beach today and on the way, we filled up my tank. Gas was $1.98/gal. WOOHOO!!!

We had lunch at the Casablanca Cafe a 1920's Mediterannean Revival style house that has been converted to a quaint cafe and piano bar. Being right across the street from the beach, it has great views.

I have eaten here for dinner several times and the food has always been excellent. (I especially love the upstairs balcony at night)

For lunch?
Meh. (now an actual word in the dictionary, by the way)

But you can't beat the view, so I think I may give it another chance so day in the future.

This is the beach right across from the restaurant. Great view, right?? For all of y'all in those cold, cold places: can't you just feel the ocean breeze in your hair?

The really funny part? Look closely at that lamp post. Do you see the evergreen wrap around the post and the red bow at the top? This is Christmas decorating - City of Fort Lauderdale style.

That is pretty much all there is to tell, the rest was just boring errands and cleaning and stuff.

And how was your Sunday???

Peace Out

(MsMel, I have not heard from you for a while. Are you still around? How is that FTLK? Busy with all the choir stuff, I am sure. Just a little shout out to let you know I was thinking of you. Leave me a comment - don't make me come up there.)

I forgot to tell you, you should go visit 5 minutes for Mom they are giving away tons of great stuff.

Support the Troops

2008-11-22T01:30:00.010-05:00

Our J'Ollie Home has a great idea for sending some love to our troops.

Also today, a friend sent an email regarding a project that Xerox is doing to send cards to the troops. You can find out more here.

It would only take a few additional minutes out of your day to say "Thanks" to those amazing men and women that protect our country!

Leather Clam and her Bald Captain - a continuation of a crazy GWO

2008-11-21T23:40:00.005-05:00

I have been hesitant to post this and finally decided to just dive right in. Please don't be offended. It was the true happenings of our girl's weekend. You will note, my voice is mostly silent. I was laughing way to hard to speak.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

There is only 90 items left in my reader and I am getting caught up with life. Here is the continuation of TMI (too much information - way too much information).

****WARNING - R RATED ****

Now, I just want to warn you that this particular post may be a ~~little~~ extremely "off-color". So, if you are easily offended or a tad prude, you may want to "move along - nothing to see here".

I won't be mad, really, I understand.
But the whole weekend was non-stop laughter......
------------------------------------------------------------------

After the park closed and we were soaked from some Popeye ride, we went back to the hotel and got changed up for Webber's birthday dinner. We went to the The Palm restaurant. I've eaten there before and it was so loud (think Friday's on steroids) you had to yell to hear your dinner companions. It was not too loud this night, but the food was not so great and the bill was.... let's just say you could fed a small, third world country for that amount.

Then we headed over to Citywalk and went to the Red Coconut Club. I was fully expecting the younger girls to be wild and crazy, especially LC, she readily admits to being a "wild child".
Very disappointing....sucky band, sucky music and sucky crowd. (although we were quite amused when the lesbian duo - not that there is anything wrong with that - picked up an entire bridal shower).

Eventually, we went back to the hotel where the conversation went from kids and work to husbands, sex and shaving.

I think it all started when Webber and LC (her SIL) started discussing how hairy their husbands were (they're brothers) and moved to chest hair trimming.
Webber (to LC), "does he shave his back?"
LC, "yes, he has." Webber,"I never noticed."
LC,"how would you notice he shaves his @ss?" Webber,"WHAT?!?!?" "Really? He shaves that?"
Then, LC mentioned that Superspouse was also guilty of shaving "down there - his Guido hair". Webber was amazed, she just deals with the forest her husband sports. LC then went into a lengthy explanation on how Superspouse sits in the bathroom and moves his "junk" around to shear his nuts.
Someone else asked "if you have no an.us hair, was it still possible to get dingle berries?
Of course, everyone was crying at this point.

I told Webber her not to be so shocked. I would be really surprised to see anyone under the age of 30 with any sort of "down there" hair at all. I am sure that landing strips don't mean a long asphalt road at the airport to those kids, they of anal floss fame.
LC then shared how she is a germ-o-phobe and how body hair freaks her out. And here is how LC became "LC": First, she revealed that she shaves her "papper" (her word) bald every day and has since she was in high school. More amazement from Webber. "Every day?"
Yep, every day - bald. Webber,"how?" LC, "oh it's easy, I don't even look any more. It is just *swipe*swipe*swipe motion*. My papper is tough. A tough clam."
Now, when you think tough skin, you think leather and viola'- the leather clam.
And that my friends is the story of Leather Clam and her bald Captain.

Sunday morning, I woke to more conversations of pappers and shaving and sex. LC informed us that her papper was the smallest papper in history and is smaller than her 5yo daughter. It was so small, in fact that she once had to show it to her friends because they didn't believe her. She would gladly show us, as long as we didn't mind the "pad".

Ummmm..... thanks, I think I'll pass.

The discussion soon devolved to positions or shall we say rear positions. LC , again, had no problems sharing all her experiences (that girl is an open book). Webber was amazed. "You are a germ-o-phobe but you' ll put your tongue there? Really?" All this talk brought us right back to the kids and the pool. Blumpkin anyone?

I think I heard every slang word for every possible configuration known to mankind that weekend. Not that it will mean anything to this vanilla girl.

Do you guys have any friends or family that continues to "share" TMI?

Or, if you feel so inclined, you can share your TMI here - just this once.

BTW - I know some "words" are spelled and/or hyphenated incorrectly, it is to keep the pervs at bay.

Foto Friday Friends

2008-11-21T11:49:00.005-05:00

Friends and weekends away. Need I say more?

Go visit
Candid Carrie for more Friday photo fun.

Girls Weekend Out - Hard Rock Style

2008-11-19T23:13:00.018-05:00

Trying to recoup from all my travelin' and thought I better get this all down before my pre-menopausal brain sends it off to the vault, never to be retrieved.

We planned a GWO to celebrate Webber's birthday. (I can't really divulge any more details because that would just be rude)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEBBER!!!!!

The weekend started out benign enough with Cat, Webber and I meeting at LC's house. LC's husband was pulling the SuperSpouse act and got bagels and mimosas ready for us. Now the relationship between this group is confusing and convoluted but there are friends, in-laws and bosses involved (many times over). We were all aware of the spousal act, but enjoyed the fruits of his labor anyway. The girls started with the mimosas immediately and after a little face stuffing, we were out the door.

Because I am always know to be the designated driver and virtual teetotaller I got the pleasure of driving LC's ~~batmobile~~ ~~SUV~~ gigantic black tank with the stinging tailpipe.

(Me- DD AGAIN!! -
holy crap, when did
I get those byebye arms?)

Webber -
(back seat driving
cuz I was taking the picture)

On the road we had a lot of laughs and lots of complaining about husbands and kids and life.

The girls were still pounding out the mimosas while I kept my eye out for the cops.

I swear, there were no less than 300 cops on the lookout that day and about a jillion people pulled over, so you all can understand my concern. (BTW, who gets arrested when the driver is sober but the rest of the occupants are twisted?)

LC had me so flustered with her OCD jumping around and blaring the music it was hard to concentrate the task at hand. She was extremely funny (and wild and insane) and we got a little foreshadow on what the weekend was to hold.

After three short hours and one pit stop and at least 10 "are we there yets?" We arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel . The place was a ghost town. (no, everyone, not literally - no ghost stories this time). Smiling Sara was there to meet us and after checking in, we made our way to the ~~room~~ unloading zone (27 miles from the front desk, mind you). We dropped our bags, drank a few cocktails and walked over to the park. (Through the super secret, no tresspassing zone because these girls were just itching for some jail time).

Webber and I were able to talk Sara into riding the Hulk (the other two wimped out).

Cat, Webber, LC, Binks & Sara

Oh boy, during that day of rides and rollercoasters did we learn a lot about LC and her bodily functions. That skinny little biatch ate half a chicken, rice and beans and a salad for lunch and later announced her necessity to drop the kids off at the pool. I was a bit buzzed from the drinks and the G forces imparted on my ancient brain and was on TMI overload.

TMI to be continued............

Busy,Busy, Busy

2008-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

This past week has been a whirlwind.
After getting back from Vegas late Monday night (and trying to get through at least some of my 120+ Reader list) and working Tuesday (I went in LATE due to jet lag but was really trying to whittle down that damn list).

Tuesday night I was too tired for dance class (4 hours of sleep and 5 days of non-stop walking will do that to a person) and Amina asked if I wanted to go see a Lord of the Dance type show. Sure, she had extra tickets and all I had to do was sit, right? The show was called Celtic Thunder and there was nary an Irish dancer in sight. (and if nary gives you the impression that there were dancers of any kind, you would be wrong. )

Wednesday night was Italian class.

Thursday, Amina and I went to see Tran-siberian Orchestra . Boths shows were good, but not necessarily my cup of tea. What do you want for free tickets?

Friday was packing up for our girls' weekend to Orlando.

Needless to say, my Reader is now about 125 and I am just returning from our girl's weekend.
Sorry if I missed some of your posts, my phone reader and the computer reader are not on speaking terms right now and I think a few things got lost. Working on a weekend report.

Stay turned......

What happens in Vegas.......

2008-11-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

..... is just plain strange.

If you've never experienced the craziness here, I prepared a little preview for your viewing pleasure.

I know people go to Vegas to get married, but people really go to get married.
On Saturday alone, I saw at least 10 brides and grooms walking the streets in all their wedding finery. These are just a few I got.

And where else would you expect to see a slot machine graveyard in a parking garage?

Or a rodeo convention with bulls at a swanky hotel?

IF Pioneer Woman can post pictures of bulls, why can't I?

And twenty million flashing, twinkly and blaring lights.

Even Mickey D's is in on the action.

Overall, I found everything to be a little too bright, a little too loud, way too smokey (sorry all you smokers out there - but I had to wash all my clothes because my luggage smelled like an ashtray) and extremely overwhelming.

And unless you LOVE Chris Angel, I would skip that show.
Not recommended.

And leave your 18 year old at home or you may experience this.

Las Vegas - take two

2008-11-14T03:27:00.018-05:00

As most of you know, I went to Las Vegas. And while I was twittering or IMing or something, I mentioned that fact.

Shelle at Blok Thoughts replied that she lived near by. (who knew?)

Since we've been chatting and such for many months and since she was my first real bloggy friend, we agreed to a meeting.

I was soooo excited.
My husband, of course, thought I had lost my mind. Why would I want to meet and hang out with someone I didn't know? He just doesn't "get" it.

Thankfully he was tied up in meetings and a business dinner one night and I had the perfect opportunity to plan to meet Shelle and hang out.

She and her husband MSM (and that is such a true description) drove down to Vegas. (Thanks so much for that, you crazy kids)

People - she is just like her blog.
Funny & sweet & cute with a little zany thrown in for good measure. We walked what seemed to be 30 miles to another casino to have dinner. We laughed and talked like the old friends that we are.
She and her Mountain Sport Man totally charmed the pants off of my sister and I. (don't get thinking anything kinky, just an expression. We all kept our pants on the entire time!)

After dinner, we took a taxi (I insisted) back to our hotel and Shelle and MSM met Salty. Even though he was gambling and had way too many cocktails for the evening, he was able to see that those two were not some bloggy serial killers but nice, normal folks.

Even though Shelle may not know a green bean from asparagus, I know I made a real friend that night and look forward to our next meeting.

If you haven't read her version of our meeting, you can read all about it here . (and you really should be reading her, she is amazing!)

Strange happenings in Las Vegas

2008-11-14T02:08:00.010-05:00

First and foremost, I must admit. I am a total slacker.
A procrastinator. It's pathetic.

A vacation followed by a whirlwind week packed full, followed by a girl's weekend, and I am about to go insane.
It's not that I didn't miss you, I did. But, hey, I'm back. Just in time to pack up and go away for the weekend.

But now, I am so overwhelmed, I don't know where to start.

(I know Cat - "Quit your whining" - I hear you)

So, here we go.........

I really wanted to tell lots of fun stories of drunken parties and torrid happenings.

Things that happen in Vegas, stay in Vegas stories.

Vegas Virgin stories of hedonism and debauchery.

Damn, all I got was lots of strange people, blisters, and an empty wallet.

(I should've listened about those money sucking slots)

I do however, have a few interesting stories.

When we arrived in LV and finally got to the hotel (New York, New York) there was a line a mile long to check in, so we planted Salty and Cab in the line and my sister and I went to explore. It's been a long time since Barbs (as Shelle has decided to call her)has been near a casino so I went to show her the all new electronic, non coin dropping variety that line the entire floor of the hotel lobby/casino. It sucked in her dollars and spit out a little receipt.
Her's said $8 from her initial dollar bill. Mine was being bitchy and never gave me a receipt. Perhaps it was the fact that my machine was far hungrier.
I digress.

The hotel check in line - that's where we are going.

Here is Barbs winning!

So Barbs and I join the boys at the front desk where they've finally scored a clerk.

I said to Cab, "Doesn't she (the clerk) look like Momo? (his paternal grandmother) He nods. She does sort of look like his grandmother.
I then told him his great aunt Deborah lives in Las Vegas and wouln't be funny if that was her.

Nah, what are the chances?

Las Vegas is a big place. I don't even know where she works or even if she works.

Cab has never met her and the last time I saw her was over 20 years ago.

Funny, the clerks name is Debbie.

What a coincidence.

I tell Cab to ask her what her maiden name is. He, of course, refuses.
He can act like a complete and utter idiot at all times, but is embarrassed to ask a hotel clerk her maiden name, go figure.

Of course, there is a problem with the reservation, and we are trying to lighten up Salty's mood, which is heading south fast. Joking with the clerk and asking questions about Vegas and the hotel. Then, I notice the little letters underneath Debbie's name tag. You know, how they put where you're originally from?

Seguin, TX. (Where the Momo was from).

Ok, too much of a coincidence now.

I ask her, "Does that say you are from Seguin?"

"yes, why?"

"You are really from Seguin? Is your maiden name Villanova?"

"yes, how did you know?"

"this is Momo's grandson and your cousin(he who shall not be named)'s son, Cab"

"NO WAY!!!"

Of course, then I rattle off the names of her 12 brothers and sisters and she finally believes me.

So, story number one:
We travel for the first time. 2,600 miles, to Sin City (pop. 538,653 - 30% hispanic) where there are 39 million visitors per year and hundreds of hotels and the clerk that checks us into our hotel is related to my son.

Too bad we couldn't play those odds.

bye bye crazy city of 1,000 lights (& weirdos)

2008-11-10T17:18:00.003-05:00

Well, our vacation in Vegas is over and we are on our way home. I have over 75 items in my reader and have computer withdrawls. Can someone get me a blanket? I've got the shakes?
Talk to you guys soon!

We're in Vegas, Baby

2008-11-06T20:38:00.002-05:00

Well, if you weren't following along, we are in Las Vegas for Salty 's convention and a little mini vacation.
I have no Internet connection, so it has been hard to post. I am actually typing this on my iPhone (which is very difficult) to let you guys know that I didn't fall off the face of the earth.
Right now I am waiting for Shelle & her husband to meet us for dinner. Yep, that Shelle!
I would so link her up, but I can barely type on here without all the linky love falderall. But, you guys all know her anyway!
I am so psyched, I never knew she lived so close!
Hi Shelle, by the time you read this, you will be safe at home thinking.....
well, whatever your thinking, I hope it is all good!

So we are staying at the New York, New York and all we've done is eat, drink and play the penny & nickel slots.
(such lightweights we are). And, of course, we shopped!

We are planning to visit the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon before we go home too.

Don't forget about me. I will be home soon to read all my backed up Reader posts and leave totally outdated comments for all to scratch their heads about! Sorry if this is jumbled up and confusing, their is no cut & paste on this crazy phone and I have been 1 finger typing. (See how devoted I am?). Ciao for now!
Binks

Halloween Party '08

2008-11-02T13:19:00.002-05:00

We went to Webber's for a Halloween Party.

This woman is Martha Stewart Junior. She has crazy decorations everywhere and a million candles and tons of food. Everyone drinks and eats and then it is trick or treating time. This year the Beekeeper and I just did one "dead" end street and then let went back to Party Central for more cocktails and quiet. Got to see more Trick or Treaters that way.

There seem to be a lot of Dorothy & her ruby slipper costumes this year. I was surprised that there were no McCain-Obama costumes. The funniest was a young boy about 12-13 that was dressed like Reno 911 with super short shorts. Somehow, I never got a photo of that. Very Clever.
I think the only scary costumes we saw were from our party! Webber was wielding a nasty pitchfork that she kept hitting and stabbing people with. I have some nasty bruises in my little bee throat. She seemed to think the beekeeper would save me, but he wasn't messing with her. She is freakishly strong and after a few cocktails, ornery as well.

All in all, we had a fun time and the kids got lots of candy. Lucky for me, I have no little ones to tempt me with a boatload of candy.

I am NOT a vampire, blood is not funny.

2008-11-01T13:19:00.005-04:00

This poor kid would never last in a vampire family. I wonder how he did with all that Halloween blood.

He is awfully cute and funny.

Will post more photos from our little party last night when my head stops spinning.

Foto Finish Friday

2008-10-31T08:15:00.007-04:00

Witches and ghosts and ghouls, oh my.

Thanks to Candid Carrie for all the Friday Fun.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pi** Me Off Thursday

2008-10-30T09:13:00.004-04:00

This will be a quick PMO because I am late for work. lol
Halloween centric because, well duh!

Halloween PMOs:

From Halloween

1) Procrastinating until October 30 to think of and/or buy a Halloween costume. I always mean to go and find something great, but always end up the day before. AND tonight I have a 2 hour hair appointment, not sure what is happening this year.

2) People who have their houses all decorated for Halloween and all the lights are on, but they don't answer the door for trick or treaters. What is up with that?

From Halloween

3) People who jump out when you approach the door and scare the living crap out of you. Especially when you have little kids. (Come on Shelle, you gotta be with me on this one)

4) Getting a hole in your goody bag. (and your sister following behind you picking up all the good stuff that falls out, but not telling you or returning lost candy to your possession.)

From Halloween

5) Brats that dump the whole bowl in their bag because you went inside for another cocktail. (I will hunt you down and retrieve my Reese's, you brats)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween.

Louisiana hag

2008-10-28T23:45:00.006-04:00

Art-n-Sewl is having a Spook-A-Rama contest. Lots of scary stories and Halloween fun.

Another scary story for your Halloween hauntings.

_______________________________________________

In the mid 80's, while on a trip to Mexico, I bought lots of cheap Mexican souvenirs for all my friends. One was a genuine leather whip to give as a "gag". The whip was never gifted and I became the whip keeper.

A few years later, when I was living in a tiny, tin can of a trailer in a tiny Louisiana town with my boyfriend, Chris, that whip somehow found its way into the decor or our new digs, the valance decoration over our bedroom window.

My story really begins early one morning after Chris went off to work. I woke up early around 7 am, used the bathroom, and since I was then living a life of leisure, I wanted more sleep.

I crawled back into bed and closed my eyes, my arms on the pillow overhead. Right away, I felt a pressure on top of me. It felt like someone was sitting on me and pinning my arms down, trying to suffocate me.

I half expected Chris to be playing a trick on me, coming home early and sneaking up on me.

I opened my eyes but there was nothing there. I could not move a muscle or scream. In fact, the only things I could move were my eyes. I willed my body to flee, to scream, anything. It felt as if, whatever evil was holding me down, was trying to enter my body, to possess my being. I was terrified. My eyes darted about the room looking for something or someone to help me, I finally started saying the Lord’s Prayer over and over in my mind until it was gone. I immediately jumped up and ran from the room. Twenty five years later, I would learn that this is called "riding the hag".

About 2 months later, the exact same experience happened. This time, as I was looking around the room, my eye caught a glimpse of that Mexican whip hanging over my head.
After reciting the Lord’s Prayer in my mind, this entity loosened its grip.

I immediately removed the whip and stuffed it in the garbage can outside, determined that it was the cause of my torment.
Chris found it and thought his brother might want it. Against my better judgement, I agreed to hold it, but not in the bedroom.

I was not bothered again in this location.

Later that same year, after moving back to Florida, I started having these experiences again. Three or four, over a week’s time. Always in the same room, always while I was alone, always terrifying. I learned that Chris’s brother had put the whip in the closet of his bedroom, where we were temporarily staying. We left that house and these experiences stopped.

In fact, in over 20 years, I have never again experienced the horror and fear of "riding the hag".

Have you ever "ridden the hag"? Scary stuff.

_____________________________________

I promise, this is the last scary story!

Happy Halloween!

Spook-A-Rama - Scary Asheville

2008-10-27T23:45:00.000-04:00

Art-n-Sewl is having a Spook-A-Rama contest. Lots of scary stories and Halloween fun. Since I was going to post these scary stories for Halloween, I thought to myself, self why not kill 2 crows with one stone. So here is another entry for your little contest.

_______________________________________
It started out a regular vacation.
Todd and I decided to take a trip to celebrate our first New Year’s as a married couple. We drove to Asheville to spend the weekend at the Grove Park Inn in Ashville. The Inn, opened in 1913, has a long history, history that I knew little about, until after my stay.

Our room was on the third floor (the first 2 floors are the lobby) of the original Hotel the same level as the Palm Court and right next to it.

It was the Friday before New Years. After returning to the room, Todd was watching some news program and fell asleep right away while I tried to read. Since this was winter, the heat was on and rooms were kept extremely toasty. Too toasty for my peri-menopausal self and I was forced to sleep on top of the covers and soon, I too fell asleep.

I woke up some time in the middle of the night because the TV was blaring some type of heated political discussion. I searched around the bed and night stands to find the remote (which is usually in my husband’s death grip). Nothing. Sorted through the bedding and I cannot find the remote. I tried to wake the sleeping husband but had no luck. Too lazy to get up and turn off the TV, I rolled over and put my head under the pillow and tried to fall back asleep.

Soon, the political show becomes the Andy Griffith show. That seemed a strange transition from political arguing to Opie. No sooner than I think this, the political show is on again. That’s weird, am I leaning on the remote and accidentally changed the channel? Another ruffling of bed linens - no remote. Under the pillow I go. All of a sudden Andy Griffith again and the room is now icy cold. The TV starts flipping between the two shows, playing each one for about 2-3 minutes. Of course, I am now under the covers (1) I am freaked out and (2) it is now 10 degrees in the room.

I refuse to open my eyes because I really don’t want to see a ghost, no matter how intrigued I may be. This channel changing went on for at least 30 minutes because I heard the beginning and end of the AG show. I finally was able to fall asleep (or went unconscious from the fear). I woke up extremely early (before Todd, which is extremely rare) because I was roasting under the 10 pounds of blankets I was under. I look around and where is the remote? Laying 5 feet away from the bed, right in the middle of the room, perfectly placed almost dead center. How did it get from Todd’s hand, over my body, to the direct middle of the room? I was the last one to sleep, woke up in the middle of the night and first up in the morning.

Needless to say, I slept under a pillow the rest of our stay and would not be left alone in the room.

What started out as a regular run of the mill vacation turned out to be a nightmare and one of my scariest experiences.
_______________________________________

You can read about the pink lady ghost of the Grove Park Inn here and why the Palm Court is relevant.

Don't You Hate It When...

2008-10-27T00:34:00.002-04:00

In an unabashed attempt to place myself in the running for the super sweet Ipod shuffle over at Shelle's little party, I am posting two - count 'em 2 Don't you hate its.

Don't you hate it when you are traveling in a foreign country (let's say Italy again, just for fun) and you are trying to figure out the public transportation system. And in that particular country, you get on the bus at the front ( just like in America) but everyone gets off in the rear.
You forget this fact and are standing right at the back door and the next stop is a very popular stop and practically the whole entire bus rushes out the back door, pushing you out too. Then, you are frantically trying to get back on the bus, pushing through the throng of exiting people (so that you are not left alone on the side of the road, while your friends are still on the bus). And you finally slip through the back doors just as they are closing, but your giant canvas bag strapped to your shoulder is stuck on the outside of the bus. And the bus pulls away. You are basically trapped in the exit stairwell with your bag hanging outside the door and your face plastered against the door window, as you drive all over Rome, for about 30 minutes until the bus reaches its destination. I hate when that happens. (MsMel - this jogging any memories?)

Don't you just hate it when you pick up lunch at your favorite Cuban restaurant and get the daily special. Grilled chicken with a side of rice and black beans and some sweet plantains. Everything is super delicious as always. You are just finishing up your last few bites and feel something strange and wiry and crunchy in your mouth. And you pull this out of your mouth? A big wiry strand of steel wool. I hate when that happens too.

Now, go right now and vote for me. Here is the link again. Shelle at Blok Thoughts . Make sure you leave your email address so it will count.

Are you still here? Go. Now. Skidaddle.

(but come back later, please, I'm gonna tell a spooky Halloween Story)

And just for clarification, that bus story is all mine and all true. MsMel just happened to be a fortunate observer of my very blonde moment.

My sex addled week

2008-10-25T23:15:00.003-04:00

Interesting items from the week.

First off, my stepsister MM went to a carnival in Tampa.
She posted this on Facebook and it was just too good to pass up.
This was a family carnival, mind you. The kind with kiddie rides and funnel cakes.
Hey mister, I think I'll take a ride on that Big O train, but only if the hunky pizza guy is driving.
__________________________________

Then, I intercepted an email from my assistant. Went something like this:

Assistant: Hi babe, just wanted to let you know Andy and his girlfriend are going to Gainesville next weekend. They just called and I wanted to give you the heads up.

Husband: What? you want to give me head?

Why do I always end up intercepting those kinds of email? A little TMI from the people I work with, you know.
_____________________________________

Then, yesterday after my Foto Finish Friday, my friend, Cat, could not handle the flowers, so she sends me an email.

Stop with the crap it's Halloween....................flowers?...dork !

With her email, she sent a photo and told me I must post it. So here it is -
How is that for a costume? Although I think the rear end would be a little too ~~revealing~~ drafty, don't you think?
(For those of you wondering, that is NOT my husband)

It seems like my week had a little theme going on, huh?

And how was your week?

ABCs of stealing

2008-10-25T10:58:00.008-04:00

Well, this is not really a textbook on thievery so if you're looking for clues on how to five finger discount anything but memes from other people's blogs, you are barking up the wrong tree.

But this was cute and everyone on my blog roll is doing it, so why not join the party?

A is for age: Your kidding right? And at the very beginning? My brain says that I am 25. My body says I am 60. Real Age says that I am 80. You do the math and let me know.

B is for burger of choice: Chili's cheeseburger with extra pickle.

C is for the car I drive: 2006 Toyota Camry or 1999 Ford Explorer deathmobile (Salty's car) rarely 2007 Vespa - it scares the crap out of me because cars don't pay attention. People are too busy texting or tweeting or talking and driving . (who me?)

D is for your dog's name: The first and last : Honey (she was a hand me down from my niece who went to college. Lets just say my brother is not an animal person.) I do not miss the dog walking.

E is for essential item you use every day: I am going with JJBB for this one. Cause of great concern because the men in my house leave 1 square on the roll with nary a replenishment roll in sight. Gotta be on my toes at all times.

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: LOST *sigh* and so missing it.

G is for favorite game: Mistress of the night. Oh wait, is that TMI? Those in my RL know the truth.

H is for home state: Florida where hot is hot and and sand sticks to your sweat.

K is for instruments you play: The piano. If you can say the 2 finger plinking is playing. I am surprised no one mentioned a certain flute.

J is for favorite juice: Pineapple with coconut rum.(ok - I swiped that from Jill but I drink Hypnotiq with mine)

K is for whose bum you'd like to kick: My son's - just in general so that he will wake up.

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Lunch yesterday - Lefty's chicken philly.

M is for your favorite Muppet: Animal - he is a crazy mofo (again, who made this thing up? you couldn't find anything more interesting for M than a Muppet? When was the last time you heard about a muppet? I bet the 18 yo would be stumped.)

N is for number of piercings: 4 - left ear one, right ear three (I met some girl in Europe who had her whole ear pierced all the way up and thought it looked cool, when I got to the 3rd piercing the pain was so intense, I abandoned the idea)

O is for overnight hospital stays: kidney stone, giant baby birth, appendix, (and what is with all the appendix ops? )

P is for people you were with today: Studly (the guy I sleep with)

Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Blog, watch TV and read (but not necessarily in that order)

R is for biggest regret: Wasting time on my baby daddy. Can anyone say LOSER?

S is for status: Married finally. (bye bye single motherhood and celibacy- kiss my lily white behind)

T is for time you woke up today: 9 or 9:30 - I am really not a morning person the better question would be what time you went to bed.

U is for what you consider unique about yourself:

V is for vegetable you love: Green beans cooked the Binks way.

W is for worst habit: OCD hair pulling disease. Procrastination. Tardiness

X is for x-rays you've had: shoulder, ankle, coccyx (when I fell down the stairs) titmashers. (this is October, breast cancer awareness month and no one on here has mentioned mammograms. WTF?)

Y is for yummy food you ate today: nothing yet, but I intend to overeat with zeal, as usual

Z is for zodiac: Aquarius (are we still in the age of Aquarius? Now do the math with that and the A answer and get my true age. Any takers?)

Now, I am trying to write that scary story, to win the spook-o-rama contest over at Art-n-Sewl so I will see ya later.

Foto Finish Friday

2008-10-24T00:26:00.001-04:00

Today is FotoFinishFriday with our host the inimitable and overworked Candid Carrie, loads of fun, lots of comments, a bloggy dreamland, really.

I love orchids, L-O-V-E them. However, I K-I-L-L them. (I have a severe black thumb) So when we were travelling in NC and went to the Biltmore Estate, I jumped at the opportunity to at least have some great photos.
These were taken around New Years Day at the Biltmore greenhouse. (That macro setting on your camera works great!)

Pi** me off Thursday

2008-10-23T18:52:00.010-04:00

Hey peeps. Miss me??? Yeah, I thought not.

I know MsMel did, she sent me an email. Basically it said "WTF? Where is my morning blog reading? You better get off your lazy butt and start posting before I totally disown you as a friend. "
(okay, she didn't say totally - I added that. Well, she really didn't say any of that, but her email had that flavor)

Way back when, I started this whole thing so that I had something to do late at night, when I had insomnia. (which I could link to that post, but I really have no desire to get involved with the whole linky thing because it takes too damn long.)

Guess what? I can't stay awake!
(wow, I just had the strangest sense of deja vu - did I tell y'all about this already? if so, I am claiming mental pause)

Besides, nothing interesting happened to me this week. So here is a run down of my boring week thus far. Oh wait. ....
This was supposed to be my Piss me off Thursday post. (see, I am just out of sorts)

OK - 5 things that have been pi**ing me off (most of them toiletry related):

1) Deodorant waxy build up. The package says invisible solid. Does that mean it is invisible in your arm pit? Does that mean it does not transfer to your little black dress (or BIG black dress, in my case) ? Because, it so does. Big white trails down both sides of my t-shirts, tank tops, dresses. But really, my biggest beef is that it leaves a waxy build up in my arm pits. Is it just me? Do others have this same problem?? Is there some waxy deodorant arm pit gunk remover? Did I miss it on the drugstore shelf? Soap? not even close. Alcohol doesn't work and burns like a *!?!!*$$*&!! (insert your favorite swear /curse word). I have taken to digging it out with my fingernails, but my manicurist is complaining. (yeah, like I have a manicurist)
Please, someone, I need help! (well, that goes without saying, but help with the deodorant problem, specifically)

2) Grey hairs - self frickin' explanatory. Don't they piss you off, too? (no comments from the peanut gallery)

3) The cost of a haircut and highlights costs like a gazillion dollars.

4) Why the damn razor goes dull so quickly? I mean, really, I only shave my legs twice a month. Those things are a fortune. It works out to about $5 per shave. Why does three, little, thin, sharpened pieces of metal cost so much? I can buy a whole, metal toaster with electronics and wires and a plug for $6.

5) Little hairs on the bar of soap! Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh! PMO and sends me right out of my mind.

Would you like to join along? What are your pet peeves? See the little comment section? Now is your chance.

Free to be you and me

2008-10-21T08:46:00.005-04:00

The Today Show today had on Marlo Thomas (That Girl - if ya'll are old enough to remember that) and she was talking about her album and subsequent book "Free to be you and me" .

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

They are celebrating its 35th anniversary with a new, expanded edition book.

My mom bought this album for me when it first came out. I was 9 years old and many of the themes were so different for the times. Things like boys can have dolls and girls can do anything they desire from being mommies to lawyers, doctors, politicians and everything in between.

I have yet to find anyone who ever even heard of the thing, let alone remember any of the songs.

Just wondering.

BTW - had the second belly dance class and I am BEAT! gotta go sleep.

Ciao.

Picture Roulette

2008-10-21T08:25:00.007-04:00

Deb over at Postcards from the Edge is playing a little "Picture Roulette" and invited everyone to play along.

You pick the 5th picture out of the 5th folder in your picture files and then tell the story behind the picture.

I don't really think there is a story. Cab was playing out in the courtyard and had that bandanna and I thought he looked cute. I think he was around 18 months old and apparently not in a smiling mood.

Go on - play along.

Thanks Deb - that was fun.

Now I am late for work. (so what's new?)

More freak me out events

2008-10-20T00:17:00.007-04:00

Post # 2 in the great 2008 Halloween freak-out.

My next experience involves the same house as
here. The house was a split tri-level house with the main living & dining room and the original master bedroom and bath for the house on the middle floor.

Now my dad's girlfriend MsB was a music and piano teacher and in one corner of the living room was a baby grand piano. If you sat at the piano and played, you faced the corner and the living room window. However, your back faced the rest of the room and dining room.

Well, many days I would be the first one home from school and would practice my piano. One day, I was doing just that when I heard footsteps on the wooden staircase. I half expected my dad to be there listening to me practice (which he sometimes did and because he was sort of a traveling salesman, it was not unusual for him to pop home in the afternoon). Much to my surprise, there was no one there. Then, I heard footsteps upstairs and thought someone had just walked up the stairs and I'd just "missed" them. So, I went to see who was home.

I checked everywhere and there was no one home.

I just brushed it off as nothing and went back to the piano. I practiced for some time but could not shake the "being watched" feeling and it was making me a little nervous. When I heard rustling sounds coming from our bedroom, I high tailed it into my dad's room (in the new construction) and locked the door.

After that, although I practiced often in the afternoon with no incident, I would never stay alone in that part of the house at night. Also, if I was sitting at the piano and ever felt the "being watched" feeling, I was so outa there.

Recently, after learning a little more about this kind of stuff, they say that that feeling is caused by strong electromagnetic fields. But over 25 years ago, there were no computers and very few electronics found in this area of the house, plus this room had a 15' pitched ceiling with no attic. I am inclined to refute that theory, in this case.

It seemed that all the strange activity in the house was confined to this half of the house. I never even whispered my fears or experiences to my family, but recently, I've heard stories from D#1 about scary things that happened to her in the house. But these experiences just whet my appitite to find answers the these things unexplained.

Don't You Hate It When...

2008-10-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

Don't you hate it when

The manager for a certain maintenance department decides to sit and chat with you for 30 minutes when they've worked outside all day long and they smell like crap? No, they smell like a combination of crap, wet camel and rotton eggs. The person the whole office has monikered Captain Stinkypants.

And then to make matters worse, they stand like this?

I think I puked a little in my mouth.

You should be thankful this thing has no scratch and sniff. Trust me.

Disclaimer: this is a re-enactment, this photo does not actually contain Captain Stinkypants. Do not try this at home.

This was a Don't You Hate It - Monday, sponsored by Shelle at Blok Thoughts come play and enter to win an IPOD SHUFFLE!!!
(and check out her blog too, she is a hoot!)

Lazy Sunday

2008-10-19T09:44:00.015-04:00

Our day started out here at our sometimes breakfast place on the beach.

The beach was not very crowded because it was overcast and off and on light showers. Nice and windy to keep the sweat and stick away.

Then we took a little ride down Las Olas Boulevard , sort of a ritzy, tourist area. The first bridge to the beach was built on this road.

So I took some photos with my phone to show a little bit of where I grew up.

We drove around and looked at the houses for sale. But of course the ones in this area are all 800k and up so it was more look and dream then actually look to buy.
From there it was Tarjey & home to watch a movie. Salty bought the latest Indiana Jones flick.
Meh. A little too hokey with the whole alien thing.
I guess I should talk to cousin George about that. Ha!

My paranormal night (the beginning)

2008-10-18T12:40:00.012-04:00

Everyone in the blogdom is talking about Halloween and all that it entails. So, here I am jumping on that bandwagon (or maybe haywagon). But in true rogue fashion, they actually have nothing to do with Halloween and everything to do with creepy, scary, weird, unbelievable, freaky. Pick your definition of choice.

Let me start this with a little backstory information:

When I was 16, my mother threw me out of the house. Not because I was some crazy, out-of-control teenage, but because I would not divulge the details of a visit I had with my (also thrown out of the house) father.

So at 12 am one night after work, I came home to locked doors (a la -the actual locks were changed) and my mother opened the door and basically helped me move all my earthly possessions onto the front yard, handed me the phone (no cell phones way back then) and told me to call my father to pick me up. She then closed and locked the door, turned off the porch light and left me and my belongings out in the dark, all alone, in the middle of the night. And this is how I came to live with my Dad, his girlfriend and her three kids.

Fast forward to months later when I was sharing a room with daughter # 1 (who just happened to be my age). Large room with a private bathroom and on the complete other side of the house as the rest of the bedrooms.

All seems benign and hunky dory, until one night I wake up out of a dead sleep to the sound of music. The creepy music from the jewelery box that is sitting on the dresser. The one where D#1 keeps her stuff that she used every day.

So, I am laying in the dark (which, BTW, I am afraid of, for this very reason) listening to that music box play "Raindrops keep falling on my head" for what seems like several minutes. I am sure, it was only seconds, but I am scared sh*tless and wait for it to stop. By now, my eyes are squeezed shut and my head is under the covers (because, that thin piece of cloth is really going to stop a threat).

Wind up music box, can't play for more than a minute or so, right? Wrong.

The damn thing just keeps playing that song over and over again in it's plinky little way.

So I cautiously peek out at the clock radio to see just how long this thing will play. 2:56 am

My heart is pounding and I am sure not going to look around to see what (if anything) is there. Plink dinky a dinky dink a dink.

I start nudging D#1 to wake up. Nothing. More nudging and insistent whispering, "wake up" . I am trying not to attract too much attention to myself, as I am now shaking D#1. Finally she wakes, and wants to know what the heck is going on.

"sssshhhhhh, listen"

Now, she is scared and we are both clinging to each other in a death grip.

She says, "turn the light on"

" uuhhh no way"

So, she leans over and turns the light on. There sits the closed jewelry box and nothing else. NOTHING! and the music plinks the final notes of its song.

Clock radio: 3:08 am - 12 minutes of spooky, creepy music box playing.

Jewelry box: closed

I was too afraid to move and ended up under the covers the rest of the night. I later tried to get that jewelry box to play for more that a minute after winding it up but had no luck.

What could it have been? I have no answers but consider this the first encounter with the unknown.

What do you think?

Foto Finish Friday

2008-10-17T00:24:00.009-04:00

Venice, Italy - photo by Nate Gross

I love the water and the colors and the fact that it is in Italy. The picture was taken by nephew & I think he has a great eye.

FotoFinishFriday is Fun - join in at Candid Carrie,
you know you want to.

Can you believe it is Friday again??? These weeks are just flying by and I am so damn far behind in all by posting and reading and snarky commenting. Don't worry, those sarcastic bits are coming to a blog near you.

Bling for da binks

2008-10-16T00:01:00.029-04:00

Here I am again humbled by my friends. Offering some kudos that the jibberish that leaks from my brain has entertained someone other than myself.

Thanks peeps! It means more than you know.

The first is from my new blogger buddy Jill jill bo bill . She is almost as clever as I am. (well, really, she is WAAAY more clever and funny. And everything she writes has, you know, a point.) You should totally go visit her.

So, I thank her for this award. However, it requires that I follow more rules (hard for this rogue, biatch)

Here they are: This award requires that I list 6 things that make me happy and pass it on to 6 people. (and if I had 6 things that piss me off, I will fulfill my PMO Thursday obligation and obviously that will plunge me to the gateway to hell with the whole 666 configuration)
I may have to rethink.
Ok, just going to do the first 2 and save myself the aggravation. Now don't you church going people get your panties in a knot. I was jez joking and I totally don't want to mess with that.

See what those awards do to me? Send into a blathering tizzy.

(second attempt) here we go - six things that make me happy:

The ocean

when my kid gives me a spontaneous kiss or hug

when I can sleep more that 8 hours in one stretch

sitting in my cozy jammies watching movies, eating popcorn and candy all day long on a rainy day

books

the possibility that I may someday have a maid

And here are my six choices:
Marie6 at Malta Magic
Lynn at After the Dust Settles
Bridgitt
Cat from OldMcDonaldsFarm
Vodka Mom at I Need A Martini Mom
-------------------------------------
Then, an extra special award from Shelle at Blok Thoughts

because we are truly two peas in a pod with the same sense of humor (although mine is probably much less pristine). But she is my first bloggy friend so I heart her. Thanks Shelle!

I am suppose to pass this on to 4 friends and one from another country...

so here is my linky love:
(no not kinky love, L I N K Y!!!! - Steve get your mind outta the gutter dude)

I am passing it back to Shelle at Blok Thoughts
Then to Jess at Never a Dull Moment
And also Jill jill bo bill
And Tiff at Making Room for Serendipity
and the of course Marie6 at Malta Magic

wshooo - finally done with all the linky stuff. that ahref stuff is enough to drive you to drink. How do you all keep up with it all? Vodka Mom, can you pour me a drink?

----------------------------------------------
And I am now famous, just thought you might want to know.

A post to call my own

*disclaimer: I just realized I only made 5 choices but can-not-link and Cat? she has a blog in her, she just doesn't realize it yet.

Now, to go post my Friday Foto - that is gonna take me forever!

Ciao

Where the heck did that wind come from and other randomness

2008-10-15T02:47:00.013-04:00

So, remember a really long time ago when I said that one of the reasons that I started this thing was to keep myself busy when I couldn't sleep at night?

Now you know where I've been.

Sleeping.

I've been so busy at work and feeling kinda ho-hum and the new TV season started. I wish I could say that we are working on the house, but it is still no mans land downstairs. (Can anyone say "disaster"?)

Plus I ~~have~~ had 2 giant zits on my nose, and I just can't bear for you to see my like that.

I just woke up at 2 am from a long evening nap. So, because I am semi -delirious, this is going to be random with the hope of actually having a point.

The wind was blowing so hard today, it was buffeting the car all across the highway. It was haard to stay in the ~~right~~ correct lane. Not sure if that means there is a hurricane coming or a cold front.
That seems like such a funny saying here. A cold front - like it is going to be any cooler than 80 degrees any time in the near future.

I downloaded a voice recorder app for the phone because, I thought it would be so easy to just talk into the phone all the ideas that are jumbled up in my head and the bring it back and just type it all down. With all my clever little comments and notations . I am continually "writing" and "editing" posts in my head all day long. This would be an easy way to "capture" that craziness.
Guess what? I tried that. And got stage fright.
Huh???
Audience of one?
It appears, my dear bloggy friends, that I cannot even talk to myself!!!!! I get all nervous and the uuummms and stuttering begin. I should post one of those here. It might be good for a laugh. Do you think I should go into rehearsals???

Monday I went to my first dance class in a long time. (and if you saw the size of my gut and rear, you could guess exactly how long it has been)
Hey, that may be another reason that I am so tired. The teacher had us stretching and twisting and bending (all that I am used to doing is sitting, typing, sleeping) so it was pretty rough. At one point she was like, "bend over and touch the floor, now, keep your knees straight and touch your head to your knees".
Ummm, lady...... when I bend over, and try to touch my head to my knees, my stomach ~~sort of~~ gets in the way. But I can touch my stomach to my thighs, does that count??? But it is BELLY dance, so a big fat, gelatinous, belly should be a good thing, right?

Not so much.

But I took a picture of the teacher (even though she is a slave driver) because she is just so pretty. I wish I could look like that when I am in my mid-forties. (oh wait....)

It is a little blurry because she was dancing around.

But in all reality, I support her because she is my friend. My pretty, skinny, crazy with the dance skilz, friend. And if anyone is interested in ~~totally embarrassing yourself~~ working out, and lives in the Davie/Hollywood/ Pembroke Pines area, drop me a line and I can give you the info. Oh, and she totally does parties and events and stuff. (blatant advertising) Thanks for the photo Amina I know you wouldn't mind me snatching it for some totally free publicity. (can I get a free dance lesson? I do have 12 whole readers)

I totally say "totally" totally too much. Do you guys mind? Does it totally drive you mad? Do I totally sound like a valley girl? Is there even such a thing anymore? Dude..... totally.

Captain Stinkypants was back in the office today. (and no, that is not a small child with a dirty diaper - it is a grown man that obviously never heard the word cologne or deodorant). He is nasally challenged.

He was all getting all up close and personal with my assistant- leaning in. Armpit just about level with all olfactory senses. I walked by and about fainted. Whooo-eeee! I am thanking the gods that I have my own office. I could see her eyes watering.

When he left, I rushed right out to share my magic "vacation" lotion.

dum da da dum - Binks to the rescue.

Now it is 3:45 am and the Saltmeister is complaining about how my typing is waking him up and what the hell am I doing up a 3:30 blogging and no wonder I can't get up in the morning. But my blog reader is full of posts and I miss all my bloggy friends and *yawn* I better go - ciao.

Before I go, I just wanted to give an extra special shout out to all those Leif Garrett fan club members. You know who you are.

I was made for dancing, a-a-a-all night long.......... (oh, I crack myself up)

Don't You Hate It When...

2008-10-12T23:58:00.014-04:00

So here we are again at the Monday "Don't You Hate It When" ~~game~~ contest hosted by the amazing Shelle over at Blok Thoughts. If you ~~play~~ enter, you could win prizes!

Even if you don't win, you are guaranteed to get a laugh.

Don't you hate it when:

you are pregnant and you eat a whole boat load of fiery, hot chicken wings (your favorite) for lunch at work and then...

when you leave work, you go to get in your car and a bus goes by and the smell of fumes makes you want to puke....

but you hold it together, get in your car and start the engine

then quickly open the door and vomit in the parking lot and then....

as you are driving home, you have to pull over like 20 times to puke in people's yards and then your throat burns for over 3 months from the hot sauce.

I hate that.

Or

Don't you hate it when:

You go on a double date with your best friend and she drinks waaaayy too much, and you end up having to hold her hair while she pukes out the window. And puke gets all over the guy's new car and her and you.

Then they drop you off at home and your Mom accuses you of underage drinking (and you didn't even drink) and puking in the driveway and puts you on restriction?

I hate that, too!

(okay, so that last one happened about 25+ years ago, but that restriction still smarts & BTW Shelle specifically asked for the puke stories, so blame her.)

What are you waiting for? Go, read, laugh, enter.