'Tis the Season

I've gotten three seed catalogs in the mail this week. Funny how that happens right when the doldrums of winter starts to set in.

This is also the week for making resolutions. As always I have great plans for budgeting and household organization. I've already set up a new Quicken file for 2006. Now I have to keep up with it which is the hardest part.

I reached my upload limit for the month on my Flickr account. Hmm....guess I didn't know there was a limit. Oh well, only a few days to go before the new month. For the free account the limit is 40 a month in case you didn't know and I'm too cheap to pay for an upgraded account.

My parental units fled for God's waiting room this morning (a.k.a. Florida.) The last time I talked to them it was a little after noon and they were south of Nashville. My dad thinks he's the Skipper so when you see comments from the Skipper, that's him. Shhh, don't tell him I told you. In fact, I think he picked up that name from a post I did about his new toy, I mean boat.

Das Booty

I'm beat. Between running around from party to party to baking and sewing all last week I am now officially beat. I feel like I could sleep for days. But before I do that, allow me to share my booty with you.
Listing things from left to right-
-a canvas boating bag (apparently someone wants us to go boating with them)
-an organizational cube thingy for my fabric that is out of control
-a special edition of the movie Office Space (an inspirational classic)
-the Carpenters Christmas CD (someone was listening!)
-a Moleskine 2006 Day Planner
-a Williams Sonoma Baking Book
-a 4 pack of Method Body Wash(I love Method.)
-Socks with pressure points printed on them
-a Bob Evans gift card
-an Origami Page-A-Day calendar
-cold hard cash
-lots of other cool things as well as the booty of all booty this year.....



A DEEP FREEZER!!!!!!
I have wanted one of these so bad, for so long that I think my husband got sick of hearing about it and finally broke down and bought me one. I am stoked. This is going to bring my meal planning, budgeting, gardening and baking to a whole new level. My husband is happy because he knows he'll always have steak on hand. I'm happy because I can now stock up on really great deals. O' the possibilities!!!

Happy Chrismahaunakwannzakah!

As my gift to you, I will share with you something I stole directly off of not martha- pimp my nutcracker. Hours of enjoyment for all.......

On The Turn Table At My House

I am an insomniac. I have a really hard time going to sleep and an even harder time staying asleep. The only way I can go to sleep is to have a TV or radio on and unfortunately my husband can't go to sleep with any sound at all. So to reach a happy compromise I purchased an AM/FM/clock/radio/CD player with earbuds and I don't understand how I got along without it. I have also taken up the same habit I used to do when I was a kid and I couldn't sleep- cruise up and down the AM dial to see what stations I could get. You would be amazed at the strange and wonderful programming that goes on in the middle of the night. Did you know there is a Trucking Network? A bunch of high powered stations change over to this format during the night and it's really quite interesting. Even the commercials cater to truckers. (WJR from Detroit changes to this format if anybody local is really interested.)

Lately I have been hooked on a local "nostalgia" station, WFNT 1470am out of Flint. Yeah, they play a lot of stuff like Frank and Bing but just about every third song is something I've never heard before or some one hit wonder song that I've maybe heard once in my life. (If anybody is scared to know this about me then don't fear, my musical tastes change more often that I change the oil in my car.) I've always appreciated and enjoyed this music, it's just that I'm really appreciating the stuff I've never heard before. For example, I can't get this song out of my head. I've heard it before but it's such a beautiful, simple song that I can't believe I haven't heard it more often.

So because of this renewed love of swing and "nostalgia" music, I plucked the above Christmas CD out of the discount bin on a midnight run to Wally World the other night. It's very good and falls into the catagory of my love for Christmas music. See? There was a point to all of this.

Ready Made Fun

I want to make these snowglobes from Ready Made Magazine. Anybody have any old baby food jars?

Seperated At Birth?

The Hiltons vs. the ladies of Ab Fab.
*sigh*
Gawd do I miss Ab Fab.

3 Hours of My Life I'll Never Get Back

My husband dragged me to the early show of King Kong today. Let's just say that I am way too knit-picky to sit in a theater and watch crap being spoon fed to me. I pay too much attention to detail, I actually listen to what they are saying so that later when they say the exact opposite I question it, and the cheesy, weepy lines that would never be said in real life really bug me. (I actually said "WTF???" out loud when the final line was said. It truly made no sense.) I guess I perfer to watch a movie at home so that I can yell at the ridiculousness of it or turn it off if it sucks too bad. (That and the surround sound doesn't hurt.) My husband has to continuously remind me that "it's only a movie" because I will bitch for hours if he lets me.

Speaking of Peter Jackson, my husband recently signed a petition to get Peter Jackson to make a version of the Hobbit. Apparently he is too tied up with other projects right now. So we looked up his profile on the IMDB to see what he's working on. Guess what his next project is? The Lovely Bones. Now, did anybody read this book? I did and it's a pretty depressing novel and it's told from the viewpoint of a preteen that was killed by her next door neighbor. (It says this on the first page so I'm not giving anything away.) It's the story of how her family and friends cope after she's gone. WTF??? Peter Jackson?? Err.....I don't get it. It just seems to me that a lot of great talent is being wasted on what is probably going to be a chick flick.

Speaking of The Lord of The Rings, do you know what a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is? I asked my husband this the other day because if Star Trek freaks are called Trekkies, what are Lord of the Rings freaks called because that would be him. He looked it up and found out that he is a Ringer. Good to know. So what are Star Wars freaks called? Star Warriors? No way. Can't be. Starlets? Ha, ha, ha....

Finally.

I've been saying for years that Tootsie Roll should sell bags of only the vanilla ones so I don't have to waste my time in the bulk food section picking them all out.

I Love This Guy

I've never watched "Fear Factor" before, but the promos featuring this guy made me tape last night's show. You see, he is missing three toes and he kept sticking his foot out of the water to flash (or rather, flex) everybody the "Peace" sign. Depending on how long you've known me, you'll laugh your ass off, too. At first he was telling people it was from an alligator attack, then later he came clean and said he had been in a motorcycle accident.

And because I hate inside jokes, allow me to explain how funny this is to me. I only have eight toes- I'm missing the two that this guy has as well as a big chunk (including the ball) of my foot. My foot almost looks like a reverse image of this guy's. The ironic part is I tell people it was a shark attack because it makes me sound tough. But I always come clean and tell them about that nasty run-in I had with a riding lawnmower when I was a kid. I think this explains why I laugh in the face of vanity. Especially when someone says "My feet are soooo ugly, I've got the ugliest feet in the woooorld....." and a lot of people say this, trust me. Oh yeah? Well, let's compare feet and I bet I'll win that contest. Ok, so I've only played that card maybe twice in my life but I tell you what, it made some very vain people shut up and rethink their low self image.

Grossness over.

To Keep or Not to Keep?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am the biggest tightwad around. (Well, besides my father but that's a whole 'nother story.) So I'm in Target today and my, oh, my, but what do I see? These gorgeous gnome flannel pajamas. I literally gasped when I saw them because a.) I like the funny pjs and b.) I. Love. Gnomes. So I park my shopping cart next to them and I notice that they have only one pair in my size. I snatch them up. Then I notice they are $27. A giant UGH because I can't remember the last time I spent $27 on anything to wear and I still want them. But they are flannel and I get really hot when I sleep in flannel. Oh well, I tell myself, they are too cute to pass up. I'll look like a clown, I say, but then again, who will see them? So what's the point, I tell myself. I bought them anyway......

So they sit on my couch, waiting for me to wear them but I'm afraid to take the tags off in case I want take them back. I have all of these inner issues about spending that kind of dough on pj's, of which I will probably never be able to sleep in. My mother says to keep them and wear them as "lounge wear". My husband says to wrap them up for Christmas and say they are from him.

I know $27 isn't much to a lot of people. But like I said before, I'm a tightwad and I don't see the point of wasting money on stuff like this. But they are so darn cool! UGH. My inner cheapness is busting through. $27 is half of a one way ticket to Florida. Or, enough gas for a pretty good road trip. Or, half of my water bill. What to do?

It's About Time

"Real news. Compelling stories. Always positive."-HappyNews.com

Holly the Trendsetter

Look at the big display at the Hobby Lobby store in Lansing today. Copper galore! And it took me forever to take this picture because a lot of people were stopping and looking at it. Holly, you're such a trendsetter. Who'd have thunk copper would be coming back. Isn't that how it always goes though? You like something no one else likes and then everybody starts liking it.

While in Lansing we planned on stopping by L & L Hawaiian Barbeque and it has already closed down! I was soooo dissappointed. I even brought my latest issue of Hawaii Magazine with me because the people there were so nice and there is a write up about them is this month's issue, it being a little odd to have a Hawaiian fast food chain in the middle of Michigan and all.

WTF Friday v.12.09.05

People, this is what your hard earned tax money is going to. (Not the picture, the link further ahead.) They showed a clip on Good Morning America the other day and afterwards all of the hosts really didn't know what to say. I think one of them mumbled "what was that all about..." or something like that and then they quickly cut to a commercial. I finally found a link to it. Here is what your hard earned tax dollar is going to. Skip to 5:40 if you want to see W. talking to someone on his own level and wasting time on things he shouldn't.

Speaking of canine family members, why is it that just about every blog I read has gone Animal Planet on me? I'm not complaining or picking on anyone, I just find it funny because I have had a pet my whole life and never blogged or talked about them, yet a whole bunch of bloggers I read suddenly get an animal and that's all I hear about. And it's not just dogs, either. One blog I read talked about her hedgehog so much she started it's own blog. Some have gone completely Animal Planet on me while others are only leaning in that direction. Something else that I think is interesting is that as soon as I mention to anyone that I'm thinking about rescuing a dog from the pound they all laugh at me and say it's because I want a baby. I wonder how true that rings with all the bloggers I read.....

So, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you my cat Venus. (see pic above. I tried to find one that showed off her pea soup colored eyes) Venus is the first pet my husband and I have gotten together. My friend Amy was trying to downsize her home zoo and after seeing my husband go crazy over Venus she asked if we'd like to take her knowing exactly where she'd be living. At first it was an adjustment, especially because she only understood Arabic and we didn't know any. But soon we were on the same page and all is well. She has been attached to my hip since I've been home. And I bet she's the only cat that has her own set of Fiestaware water bowls. Speaking of being home....

Did I mention that I got a job? The lady next door (who my parents have known since 1962) is getting up there in age and needs a little help remembering her pills, etc. Her kids are paying me fat cash to go over there for 2 hours a day to help her with things. So far it's working out great and I'm getting hooked on The Price is Right in the process.

Wife of the Year

In one of those weird, bizarre conversations you have with your spouse that you can't even begin to explain to other people, my husband and I decided (or maybe it was just me) that I must be gunning for the "Wife of the Year" award. Since I've been off work I've definately taken over the cooking, cleaning and household chores when before it was more of an equally shared thing. After making homemade sushi, fresh guacamole, vegetable soup from scratch (with cheesy biscuits) and lomi lomi salmon all in one afternoon, I decided I must be gunning for the "Wife of the Year" Award. Then it dawned on me- I should go look that up and see what the requirements might actually be just because it'd be interesting to know.

Guess what? There really is no such thing. I mean, I found a few sites mocking Jessica Simpson's Rolling Stone cover but that's about it. So tell me, what do you think would be the requirements to qualify for "Wife of the Year"? I'm just curious what people's idea of "Wife of the Year" would be. I know what my husband wishes it would be, but I'd like to hear from you first.

Why, Looky Here...

I made the cover of the Today/Food Section in today's Flint Journal. You can read the article HERE. For those of you who don't know, my initials are ATM.

I'm hoping this picture convinces my husband that I desperately need a new hair style. My hair is so long and pulled back that it makes me look bald. But hey, at least my nails look good!

Does Anybody Else See This?

Not long after I moved to my current residence, this blue screen started popping up on one of my cable stations. I realized that I was getting 2 NBC stations- one from Detroit and one from Bay City. They put this screen up on the Detroit station anytime they are showing the same thing.

OK.....then they started doing it to the Detroit Fox station, too. They put this up even when, according to the TV Guide channel, they are showing different shows. I'm praying they don't do this to the PBS stations. I'm lucky to get 3 of them and if they started blocking those then I'm in big trouble.

What gives? Does anybody else see "the other blue screen of death" on their cable systems? I've never seen it until recently and it kind of scares me that the government doesn't allow me to watch two different NBC stations.

Boggle Tournament 2005

Last night my husband and I hosted our first annual Boggle Tournament at our home. What started out as a joke has become a semi-competition among our friends. We had about 8 people in our teeny, tiny kitchen but it was fun and well worth it. I miss getting together with people to play board games so I think we may turn it into a bi-monthly thing. Anybody want to join in on the fun?

Here's the last minute spread we came up with-

I had to take a picture because it looked so cool with all of my Fiestaware! And as you can see we had no room but the stove to put it on!

Santa School

As seen on HGTV last week, the World's Oldest Santa School is right here in Michigan. Midland to be exact and it's not very far from here. One of the field trips the students get to take is a trip to Bronner's, the World's Largest Christmas Store. Funny how that works out, them being so close together like that....

And for your Christmas pleasure- Advent Calaendar 2005. Thanks to Not Martha for reminding me of it this year.

WTF Friday v.12.02.05 or for when you need an extra dash of soul in your life

This cracks me up every time.

Date Balls Round 2

Yesterday morning the Food Editor from the Flint Journal called me to ask me some questions about the cookie exchange and my date balls. He said that if all goes according to plan he's going to run an article in next Tuesday's Food Section about the cookie exchange, show some pictures and print my mom's recipe! (It truly is her's, I just made them because I love them.) How cool is that?

In other things I can't get out of my head, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson never signed a prenup. Suposedly Nick had one drawn up prior to getting married and she refused to sign it. He was worth a lot more than her at the time. Now she's worth millions. that stupid, stupid girl......