I'm a Machine!

I really am a machine. I have been so productive today. Here's what I did between 10am-6pm:
* ran errands in town
* mowed our lawn (it's a big lawn)
* trimmed up all the edges of landscaping w/ weedwacker
* sanded top to table, put 2 coats of stain on, put 2 coats of poly on
* got the huge branch that broke down during last nights storm down out of the tree
* chopped up branch and tree Andy chopped down several weeks ago
* went to the P.O. to talk to them about moving our mailbox closer to our place
* washed, dried, and folded 3 loads of laundry

And I still have time to go. I think I will go take a long relaxing bath. I feel grimy after all that stuff.

Denver?

Any ideas of things I shouldn't miss when I go to Denver in August? Jeni said we would go white water rafting one day. What else?

Summer School

We just had another couple days of summer school. We went to the MN Zoo yesterday and today we had a tour at Sellner Manufacturing (the Tilt-a-Whirl Company - they make the tilt-a-whirls for the world and a bunch of other family amusement rides. It was a pretty good time at both places. We have 5 more days left.

Redbox Rocks!

We have a McD's a couple miles away, which now means we have video rental a couple of miles away. This weekend we rented "In Good Company" and "Spanglish", both ok movies that were worth the $1 (a night, but we only did one night) that we paid for them. Last week we had rented "Ocean's Twelve" and "Hitch". I really liked Hitch. I fell asleep during OT. They have a limisted number of titles, but there new releases. And it's great that it only costs $1/night/movie. Woohoo!

Not-So-Famous

So, I'm reading "How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less" and I've come to one big conclusion. I really have no desire to be famous and here's why:
* It's too much work & is exhausting.
* I'm ok with being in bed by 11pm, I'm not ok with less than 8 hours of sleep.
* If I go to a party with food - I'm gonna eat.
* I live in a rural area of MN and there is just not a lot of fame to be had here, and even if we still lived in the Cities, there isn't a lot of fame to be had there either unless your last name is Carlson or you are from Hollywood.
* There is just some clothes I will not be caught dead in. I don't care how much attention it will get me.
* I just don't want to be on the phone that much trying to get invites to parties.
* I just don't dig being superficial and ditching my real friends.

It is a funny book and I'm about done reading it, but it is starting to drag a little. I am amazed and how much they were able to do in that short amount of time. They certainly have some stories, that I am sure would be even more interesting if they were remotely enjoying themselves during this time rather than being so concerned about being famous (although them I am sure they would not have had as many short stories.

I think I'll keep with quality rather than quantity.

Ode to Small Kitchen Appliances

Oh! How I love my rice cooker and egg cooker! Not only for the convenience factor (adding just water to the one ingredient, walking away, and presto! It stops cooking when it's done and the food is perfect!)

And by perfect - I mean it! How often can you really make the sticky rice (that you get with your Chinese food) on your own on the stove top or in the microwave. Never. Now how many times do you burn the rice on the stove top trying? Quite often. With the rice cooker - there is no more crappy rice. It's perfect every time. And for those that want to be resourceful, use the steamer tray (mine came with one) and make steamed veggies at the same time. Perfect I say!

Now - the egg cooker. I have to say - this is fabulous! I had this problem where I would walk away from the boiling water and forget about my eggs and then BAM! they explode all over the kitchen. And man! Did they stink!

But with my egg cooker, I put in the water and the insert I want to use and poof! I have perfectly boiled eggs or poached eggs. What's the best feature is this tiny pin prick area that you use on each egg, which allows them to fill with steam & not explode. But what's great it that the steam inside makes it so the eggs peel perfectly everytime. None of this picking of hundreds of little broken pieces of egg shells. It comes of in 1-2 pieces every time.

Oh! How I love my small kitchen appliances. And what even better is they clean up so easily. Wonderful.

I would like my rotisserie better 'cuz it cooks perfect every time, but it's so big and takes up so much cupboard space and the clean up is not at all fun. But I suppose if I use my rotisserie and rice cooker w/ steamer insert, I would have a perfect meal and don't have to slave over the stove.

Ugh!

I hate this hot, sticky, humid weather. And I am going to hate the electrical bill that comes along with having to cool this place.

Denver - Here I Come!

I just booked my trip to Denver to go visit Jeni in August. Her & her boyfriend bought a bar, I think it was a little over a year ago. And just a few months ago they bought a house too. Should be a fun little trip. I think the last time I saw her was 3 years ago when she came back to MSP to visit friends.

New Books to Read

So, I posted before about reading "Can You Keep a Secret?", and someone on another blog suggested reading all Sophie Kinsella's stuff. So, I think I'll start with the Shopaholic series. Sounds like something I will like. I requested the 1st one from the library and am next in line, although usually I can't wait that long. But here are the 4 books in the series:

1. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (2000) aka Confessions Of A Shopaholic
2. Shopaholic Abroad (2001) aka Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
3. Shopaholic Ties the Knot (2002)
4. Shopaholic and Sister (2004)
Shopaholic Boxed Set (omnibus) (2004)

And then she also wrote "The Undomestic Goddess", which is new this year and the Secret book.

I preordered the 6th Harry Potter (Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince) from Amazon and I also bought "How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less" from half.com.

Plus I have to probably start reading for my 3rd summer class which start soon.

And I picked up a couple Danielle Steele books for 10 cents a piece at a rummage sale, those might not get read this summer. They are a good thing to take along to read on vacation.

Here it is....

We were just talking about this. Andy making enough money so I can stay home and do laundry and make him pies. He was commenting that his laundry was getting done at an alarming rate. I guess having time on my hands since my summers are generally free and being excited about the new washer has made me a little eager to do laundry.

Double Whammy!

Not only does this guy get $13,804.59, but he breaks a record as well (maybe he can get into Guiness.)

Good 'Ole Fashioned Lemonade Stand

So, I'm going to these rummage sales. And about half of them have food for sale too. One old lady has this HUGE pot of coffee, you know the kind you see at church halls, and a sign that says "Free Cup of Coffee w/ Any Purchase". It's flipping 80-some degrees out and humid as heck. Who wants coffee? But she also has rolls (to buy) to go with. There are also places with coolers of pop for 50 cents a can and then hot dogs sitting in a slower cooker (for 50 cents too!), so for $1.00 you can eat your lunch at a rummage sale.

But the ones I think are cute are the Good 'Ole Fashioned Lemonade Stands manned by 5-year old girls. So very cute! I bought a glass for 25 cents at one of them. This little girl had to be about 6 and had a sister a couple years younger. The sign for her lemonade stand was in her handwriting and said "Lemondae only 25 cents. It is the best lemonade in the whole (which originally was "hole" and she crossed it out and wrote out the correct word) lemonade world" Who knew there was a lemonade world? I guess I learned something today.

So, I walked up to this rummage sale and told the little girl I would buy a glass. She says to her little sister "A real adult finally bought from us!" I guess there must have been a lot of fake adults buying from her. As I was walking around looking at the tables of stuff I hear her yell back to her mom "WE HAVE TWO WHOLE DOLLARS NOW!" The mom of this little girl leans over to her own friend and says, "her brothers bought $1.50 from her, they keep using their allowance to buy more lemonade, they are keeping her in business" So, I guess that means 6 glasses of lemonade to her brothers, 1 glass to me, and 1 glass to a fake adult. Hmmmmmm!

As I hit the rest of sales tomorrow I think I'll buy some more lemonade. It's very cute to see how excited these little girls get. Maybe it will encourage them to be powerful business women some day.

You know - we've lived here for 4 years and when we moved down here it was the first time I ever saw a lemonade stand. I only ever saw them before in commercials, tv shows, and movies. They really do exist!

City-Wide Rummage Sales

Every year during "Straight River Days" in our little town there is a city-wide garage sale. People pay $5 to be on the garage sale map and the sales go on Fri, Sat & Sun. Some of the sales are only 2 of the days. There are 49 on the map, plus there are always plenty of other people having them that don't want to pay the $5. So, far today I have spent just under $11 and went to 23 on the map and 12 that are NOT on the map. There are some that are supposed to be open today and just haven't opened. It's always a lot of fun. Although my feet are getting tired. I came home to grab some lunch, watch some soaps, unload, and rest my feet. I was out for about 3 hours already, time to get going.

Bush is the Devil

This happened a little over a week ago. It's pretty scary, as this guy graduated from highschool a couple years before me. This happened in the little toen in WI that I grew up in. Apparently it was George Bush (who is the devil) who made him kill his mom, nephew & dog. Very Scary.

Here are a couple of other links that may contain some other info:

"He's got a bunch of us possessed in here. He really does. He kills a lot of people."

‘‘There certainly might be mental health issues.’’ Ahhhh, HELLO! You Think!

Hammersley killed the two with a 20-gauge shotgun

And the list goes on and on of places that have this story........

Grrrr!

So, we got this DVR and we have had to call DishNetwork 3 times already. Bah! Is the live recording and timed recording really worth all this? Right now Andy is talking to some asshole from DN that doesn't seem to get it that our local channels are just not there. They are stupid.

Frustrations w/ Blogger

I know I shouldn't complain when I don't pay for it - but work correctly every time dammit! Bah!

I think I am going to go back down to the basement where it's nice & cool. It's supposed to possibly hit triple digits today. Although I need to go take care of my roots first - getting a little dark. I don't know what I will do when I get pregnant. I'll have 9 months of roots growing in. Anyone know if there is any hair dye out there safe to uses when you are pregnant? I know there is some natural stuff at the natural foods store. I wonder if that will be safe. Maybe I'll just have to get my hair done a little darker right before we start trying so that it matches better for the 9 months. I have seen some women look after 9 months of letting their roots grow in.

Is a Free Car Worth This?

So, I believe tomorrow the people start Day 4 of constantly riding the Wild Thing at Valleyfair. I have been on it a time or 2, but to ride it time & time again. Maybe I just have a weak stomach (yes, I do!) but to ride it 3 days ALL day to get a free car. I think it's a small car anyways - something like a Kia. I bet you still have to pay taxes on it too. I don't think I could ride this ride 3 times in a row, much less 3 days straight. Crazy People.

The Perfect Man

I went with my girlfriend Alicia to see The Perfect Man this afternoon. It was nice 'cuz the theater was all nice and cool and we were the only people in that screen. Very cool. We could talk outloud and make fun all we wanted and not disturb anyone. We knew we were safe seeing this movie since it is a chick flick, the husbands would be more than happy to not have to see that with us. It was more on the side of the teeny-bopper chick flick and it didn't get into the adults hooking up until the very end. And no tears were shed. Some chick flicks you leave and you just feel all good and happy with the world, this just left me feeling just ok. Maybe it was all our synical comments during the show that ruined it for me.

Cool New Phone

I wish I could say we got them for free, but once they have you as a customer they certainly don't want to give you anything else for free, you gotta pay for stuff.

And I don't want to change service. We have T-Mobile and we have been happy with their coverage & how it keeps expanding, so we stay with them.

So, we got a picture phone. But you gotta be careful about how you use it 'cuz they are going to get extra charges on there for you if you don't figure it out. Our plan has unlimited picture/video messaging, but not texts (those cost extra.) So, we can send a pic to an email (as long as we do not include any text) and it's part of the plan, but once someone replies to that pic message it sends me a text. So, basically I should just send the pics to my email and then forward them on -- or just send them to Andy who knows what's what. But get this - if I send a pic msg. to his phone it just sends him a text to go to their website and check out the pic & then charges me for a text message.

They are going to nickle and dime me all the way - aren't they.

But I do like that it's a small, little flip phone.

Ebonics Translation

Very funny. You have to check it out. They have translated "One More Chance" by Notorious B.I.G. from ebonics to standard English.

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

Ok - this is not professional advice coming from me, but I do think it is funny - maybe even a few things worth trying.

My favorites are Number 1 & 14.
_________________________________________________________
1) At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2) Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3) Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with That.
4) Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it "In."
5) Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.
6) In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"
7) Finish All Your Sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy."
8) Don't Use Any Punctuation
9) As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10)Ask People What Sex They Are. Laugh Hysterically After They Answer.
11)Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
12)Sing Along At The Opera.
13)Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme
14)Put a Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds and Jimmy Buffett All Day.
15)Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party - Because You're Not In The Mood.
16)Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, "Rock Hard."
17)When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
18)When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
19)Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......
20)Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile. Its Called Therapy

Made in America

Let's see how much we all know about products made here in the good 'ole USA. Take the quiz.

I got a 60%, which I am shocked at. I really didn't know many of these and could only make educated guesses.

Are you a Cheapskate?

Here's a new quiz for everyone.


Here are MY RESULTS:
Here’s my score: 20 pts.
You've got your wily ways, but you're not wackily withholding. You're practical, and interested in saving a few pennies -- but not to the point, say, where you'd risk a trip to the pokey (far as we know, grooming your hair in-store with said store's unpaid-for products is petty pilfering -- though we doubt Death Row would be the end result).
You also wisely weigh all factors in making monetary decisions -- i.e., if it saves you a sou or two, is it worth the time, trouble or perhaps loss of your good standing with others? Your final decision may not always be 100 percent on the money -- but 100 percent is neither a necessary or obtainable goal. You embody an admirable balance between living large and living lean -- living la vida in-between.

Happy Anniversary

Actually - it's 3 days late. But I have been blogging on here for a year. What fun! I have enjoyed it. I know a few people read this and it's nice to stay in touch, but it's also nice to get some thoughts out too.

Weekend Re-Cap

Friday: Last day of PIM&FC class. Shopping for some new clothes (got it into my head that I wanted a few things really bad!). Washing clothes (I love the new machine!). Watching TV. Reading a book "Can You Keep a Secret."

Saturday: Class (bah!), grocery shopping, lawn mowing (haven't done this on the rider since high school when my family made fun of me for snagging the porch- very traumatic experience for me - seriously!), out to dinner with the girls, drinks at my place, then walk to the street dance. The street dance was so much fun. We drank and were merry. In my little town, people actually get out & dance, so it's fun. The band played songs from the 80's, 90's, & today. At one point I was dancing to Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) (Check out the mis-heard lyrics for this song - funny!) Anyways, I was dancing in a way on the ground that my heels were at my butt and I was horizontal. And this guitarist (who makes really funny faces when he sings and was wearing awful B&W striped skin-tight pants) points me out and says something in the mic about how I can really dance or something. Well, while he's doing this I am freaked and can't get up very fast (man, I'm getting old, but I was really down.) Anyways, when they finished playing he came up and complimented me on my dancing and I was like "I got recognized! Yes, many beverages were consumed that night. Then we (the girls & I) came back to my place, ate leftovers and sang some karaoke. Fun stuff.

Sunday: Got up late. Watched TV. Finished reading my book (above). Ate food. Slept. Man - how sad.....I couldn't even fill up a whole line for one day.

Finally - A Day of Summer

So, I have mentioned that I work in a school. Well, school has been out for about 2 weeks now and I finally get a day off - but just one.

I decided to take some summer classes. One started 6 weeks ago and ran once a week for 4 hours every Wednesday & 1 Saturday (this last Sat.) That class was my Multicultural Counseling class. It ends this Wednesday evening. I am sure I did well in the class, but I didn't care for it much. I should say I didn't care for the textbook much which is by Sue & Sue and they completly make all whites out to be racist and we can't deny it and it will just always be that way. Of course, the white man is the only racist one; no one else from another race discriminates against another race. I also don't like the teacher's style of teaching, the thing of it is - she doesn't seem like she's teaching us anything. And she is making us do all this group work, we have a big group presentation this coming class. Bah!

The other class is Professional Issues of Marital & Family Counseling. This class met for 4.25 hours everyday for 2 weeks straight. Now I have to mention that both these classes are an hour travel each way for me. So, on those 2 Wedendays I spent 8 hours in class and 4 hours in my car. I was beat! But back to my critique of this class. I really enjoyed it. I didn't like the 8 am start - but what are you going to do? I really felt smart in this class. It's amazing how smart you feel when you have real life knowledge to apply. I learned a lot too and thought the professor was worth listening to. He seems very intelligent. You know how it is when you get a prof that you just don't think is worth listening to (that's my MC class, not this one.) So, this class ended on Friday. I'd like to toot my own horn and say I got A's on EVERYTHING!

But if that's not enough I decided to take another class in July from this prof (the one I liked.) It's another 4.25 hour class for 2 weeks straight. I have about 3 weeks off, maybe I'll try to get the books and get some stuff read beforehand.

And I do have to mention that tomorrow starts summer school for my Day Treatment kids. Because of the nature of the services (Therapy) they get from us, they don't do summer school as you would traditionally think it. We meet for 2 full days every other week, so that they have consistent meeting times throughout the summer.

Now rest for the weary.

So, if people were wondering where I have been - that's where (although I have been wondering where the people are.)

Andy vs. The Tree

This is something I posted about a couple weeks ago. He put some pics on his website.

Free Stuff

Free Rootbeer Float (w/ any purchase) @ any A&W on June 20 (Jessi's Birthday!)

Free Suave Professionals Coupon (1st 25,000)

Free Catbox Liner

Free Schick Quattro Pro (There is a link on the page to click on.)

The Weekend (so far!)

Friday: Stayed home and watched TV & movies, bought some Arby's.

Saturday: RAIN! Went to the Farmer's Market while it was only sprinkling & bought some bread, eggs, rolls, & spinach; Went to work out (sweat like a pig!); Did some grocery chopping (the place is remodeling & raised prices on stuff - bah!); Did the usual Weekend Cleaning (floors, laundry, dishes - which will also continue to Sunday); Went shopping to return clothes Andy bought online to JC Penney (returned half of them) and bought some more; went to Best Buy and had a shopping spree (spent WAY TOO MUCH money - but it will be well worth it - we bought a dishwasher {the commercial one we have has been on the fritz, this one has a cool rack system, and we'll have to build up a cabinet around it}, washer {OH! We so needed this, the current one squels and spits out water from below. I think it's 20 years old. Was bought in the 80's. Time to lay it to rest. I broke down and bought the front loader. This is the largest Cu Ft. in a washer that they carry.}, and an over-the-range microwave (really, what I needed was a vent and light over the range, but it basically was going to cost the same to get it all in a microwave and now we have a cool new microwave with sensor features and we free up some counter top space.) The links are to the exact ones we bought. The joys of home ownership - spending more money on applicances. So, we spent A LOT more money than we had planned to, but we got the items that we REALLY wanted and can be happy with our appliances. We went cheaper with the stove and fridge, but at that time we didn't have much of a choice. I think the only appliance we have not replaced since living here would be the dryer & water heater. In addition to the above mentioned, we had also bought a water softener.
Then we went to eat at the place called Bobby Joe's Pub. I think I will pass on it. It was not stellar food or service. Then came home and watched movies.

Sunday - So far, just more cleaning & TV watching. Hopefully we finish the landscaping today (if the weather holds out).

UPDATED!!

Sunday - ok, stuff above and also finished the landscaping in the backyard (putting in dirt & plant bulbs, seeds, and some annual plants). I need to buy cedar bark mulch to put over it all (at least the flower garden part of it.) the new landscaped garden is split up into 3 areas: flower garden (largest part), strawberry patch, & herb garden. I'll post a pic after I get the mulch down.