Decent Day

So, after my long post about the weekend, I still have more to write about. Well, this time it's about today.

So, I'm driving to my first day of class at a campus I never took classes at before, and I am listening to the radio and they have a call-in contest. I thought - what the heck! I'm just driving and I think I know the right answer (what year did these 2 songs come out). And sure enough I get through and have the right answer (1981). I won a $10 gc to a local Greenhouse and a GC to get some Bosch Wipers professionally installed from Auto Glass Specialists. Cool.

I get to class and am not sure what to expect as I am beginning a new program, but it is much easier than I imagined, which I am thrilled about.

Although I leave and have a parking ticket. Of all the free parking lots (since it's summer) I chose the one that is NOT free. Dammit! Oh well. Things happen.

I get to work and things ran smoothly and no big upsets. After work I go meet with the Aflac guy to sign up for June (yes, I know I am cutting it close). I am signing up for the Long-Term Disability, which covers childbirth. Who knew? Anyways, it has to be in effect for at least 30 days before you get pregnant and has to be in affect for 10 months at least. So, what it boils down to is you need it early and in case you deliver early, you need it even earlier than you might think. I know my MIL reads this, so I don't want her to go start baby shopping yet, but yes, we will be starting to try very soon and when it happens, it happens.

Then I went and joined the City owned Fitness & Tennis Center. It's not owned by the city we live in, but the city I work in - which is only 7 miles away anyways. But they have this deal where you pay $55 for 3.5 months (May 23 - Sept 6, or something like that). So, I joined that and worked out for 45 minutes (all the while reading for my class). I figure I can handle $55 for 3.5 months and I can see how much I use it. If I do use it often , then maybe I will extend it. I have to mention though that the hours are not the greatest, during the week they are fine, but Saturdays it is 8a-1p and Sundays they are closed (those are summer hours, and it's city-owned, so that makes sense.)

And now I am here catching up with my blogging. But I should go because I have to type a paper yet tonight for one of my classes.

All Weekends Should Be 3 days

I think I would be a much happier person (not that I am necessarily unhappy, but I would be happier) if we had 3 full days EVERY WEEKEND, and only worked 4 days a week. Now, some might ask me why I would even ask for such a thing when I already have summers off (well, except for 2 weeks of summer school programming for the kids, spread over 2 months) and get a week for spring break and a week for Christmas and plenty of other misc. days here and there throughout the year. (Honestly, school do a good job of making sure that you have a break of at least one day every month, whether it is holiday or other.) But I think I would give up summers off if I could have 3 day weekends.

So, here's my run-down of the latest long weekend:

Friday PM: decided that we need a little road trip and drove 1 3/4 hours to North Branch, ate at the Pizza Pit (good Taco Pizza), stayed at the AmericInn (crazy old lady in the hot tub there, but nice continetal plus breakfast), drove home Saturday AM.

Saturday: drove home, did weekend chores (laundry, cleaning), filled the hottub, reading for my classes, went to dinner w/Carrie & Kyle, then ended with a bonfire at our place (mmmm! Smores!), oh! and Andy & Kyle chopped down a tree (why you may ask - well, they were drunk and Andy never liked that tree and I disappeared for a couple minutes, so what does any smart husband do - do it now and ask for forgiveness later - when I caught them there was no stopping since they were already sawing throuh it - it was an ugly tree!)

Sunday: Drove to LaCrosse & back to pick up an engine for Andy's project car (nice little road trip with a shotr visit to a park where we chilled & I read), sat in the hottub, did more reading, went to bed by 11pm

Monday: This day was super busy! We worked up my garden and got everything planted (cucumber, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, tomoato, lettuce, radishes, carrots, peppers, onions, & sweet corn), finished pouring my cement rock molds (400 more pounds of cement for a grand total of 1000 pounds of cement used to make my path - I'll have to post a picture, it looks nice), digging up areas to do more landscaping for another flower garden, a herb garden, and a strawberry patch. So, the pattern is made and all of the border stones are bought and installed, now we just have to lay dirt & plant (as they are somewhat raised), more reading, another hot tub and to bed.

Both Andy & I feel very beat up from the physical work on Monday. It was A LOT & very tiring, but I think it will turn out very nice. I will post a picture when it's all done.

Latino Power

My professor of my Multicultural Counseling class suggested we read this. So, I found it and decided to post it. Maybe this will help me remember that I need to read it.

Good Thing School is Almost Over

Looks like some people REALLY need summer break. But we can learn something from these; here's a list of:

WHAT NOT TO DO:
* Ask yous kids "if they had a set of these or were they equipped with a vagina"
* Write a nasty letter to your students
* If it looks like Elephant Dung - Don't Touch it!
* Senior Pranks involving Crisco & Plastic Wrap aren't widely appreciated
* Call religious belivers "moral retards"

Oh! The Memories!

Manamana!

Hopefully you can view this. Thanks to Andy for sending it to me.

100 All-Time Movies

This is the list from TIME. Looks like I have some old movies I am missing out on.

What The?

Where did my blog go? Says page cannot be found. Blogger must be having problems again.

E.L.F.

I just have to tell you about this online makeup place. I bought 12 different items (3 were different shades of lip gloss) and have tried most of them.

This place is E.L.F. (Eyes Lips Face). The stuff is ALL ONE DOLLAR ($1). Yes, that is correct. This is what I bought:
Mascara: Love it!
Eye Liner (Coffee): Wow! Goes on nicely and lasts and doesn't smudge, comes with a sharpener
Shielding Lip Gloss (Chocolate Kiss): Looks great! Smells wonderful!
Conditioning Balm: Ahhh, yes. Feels nice.
Hypershine Gloss (Nude & Tourmaline): Smells fun. Shine is unbeatable.
Bronzing Blush Duo (Sundance): I actually like this better as eye shadow and have used it for that and it looks great!
Shielding Hydro Tint(Tone 1): Basically just a suncreen that smells nice with a tinge of color. It does NOT make you turn orange and does help to keep pressed powder on. This is on the small side.
Clarifying Pressed Powder (Tone 1): Nice smell again and is a full size powder that comes with a sponge.
Nail Laquer (Helene's Metallic Blush): Haven't tried this yet. It's a bottle that is half the size of other polishes, but who ever uses a whole bottle of something before it starts to dry out?

So, check it out. S/H charges are not that bad either. And if you buy 10 items, they automatically give you a coupon for Buy 5 Get 5 at 50% off. So, now all of a sudden 10 items that would have been $10 are $7.50. And s/h on those 10 items will end up being $4.95 (it's $3.95 s/h for the first 6 items and then $1 for each additional 6 items.)

Happy Shopping!

A Full Moon

Of course today is a full moon day. My co-worker I work most closely took today off as a personal day. Bah! Which left me with a sub (teacher) and a para that doesn't work too hard and really has not formed close relationships with the kids.

The sub and the para think that today went just smoothly. I nicely told them that I was handling all the crisis' quietly. Didn't they notice I was hardly in thr room and was gone with different kids all day. I think I had 6 or 7 individual sessions (which is quite a bit when you consider I also have group sessions.) The sub and the para have no idea that one kid was having bad hallucinations, another was freaking out because there is a pretty good chance she is pregnant, another is having frequent panic attacks, and so on and so on. I actually spent about 2 hours just with the kid with hallucinations.

This kind of thing happens every full moon. Ask anyone working in the mental health or health field. People just start to go crazy on a full moon. Usually the day after the full moon is bad too, but my teacher will be back. It was interesting how they had their crisis' quietly. If the teacher was there it would have most likely been louder because the kids trust & like the 2 of us and they would want to concern both of us at the same time. Just goes to show how much forming a relationship with a kid is beneficial. Not one of the kids freaking out went to the para who probably seems cold to them, nor did they go to the sub who they did not know.

I think I should go to bed early tonight so that I am well rested for tomorrow's events.

Just in Case.....

Just in case my car ever breaks down, I am getting this. Andy had sent this to me. I may seriously consider it if the vet tells me Molly has to lose weight (although doesn't help with me losing weight.)

Someone else is Addicted to eBay MORE

Who has time to look up all the crazy stuff on ebay? Apparently this fellow blogger does.

Awful Hair

Check it out.

Why Bo Will Win........

Bo sounded AWESOME tonight! No complaints about his performance at all. Some mistakes for Vonzell & Carrie. I think I would rank them Bo, Carrie, and then Vonzell.

But I think Bo will end up winning the competition and here's why.....

It's all based on the combination of color & sex.
Kelly : White & Female
Ruben: Black & Male
Fantasia: Black & Female

and the obvious choice based on that logic is White & Male -- which means Bo.

FREE Frosty This Weekend

I have the husband trained nicely. Always having his eyes open to a freebie or a bargain.

Thank him for finding this one: Free Frosty @ Wendy's ALL Weekend.

Yeah!

What are the Animals Doing?

Molly, Lucy, & Larry have not appeared in any of these pics (scroll down the page). But some are pretty funny.

Make a Shirt for a Dollar

Check it out! Something to kill some time with.

Cement Dries Out Your Hands

These are some things I learned this weekend (from my weekend events):

* Cement dries out your hands
* Some people are easily bored when they don't have constant attention
* Marinating tenderloins and chicken breasts for a couple days is very tasty
* Even changing a tire can take a long time
* Making a pasta, broccoli & tuna salad needs time for the flavors to blend, but after a while the pasta absorbs all the salad dressing
* Mountain Dew with Raspberri Absolut can be pretty tasty
* Some people brag A LOT
* Digging up lawn after a light rain is much easier than dry lawn
* Sometimes you do need to scrub your floors by hand to get it really clean
* Spoiling your husband's friends with wonderful meals when they are over will make you seem wonderful (& hopefully keep them from believeing the bad things he might say)
* You need to soak Morning Glory seeds for 24 hours before planting them
* Apparently dogs like the taste of antifreeze, but it will kill them (this did not happened, but I was warned of this and kept the dog out of the garage as the boys worked.)
* Buy 2+ molds when making a cement mold path

Final 5

So, here are my thoughts from worst to best last night:

* Anthony
* Vonzell
* Scott
* Carrie
* Bo

What do you think?

Test

Alicia sent this on to me: Monday Morning Test.

Amok

I never realized it was a real word. When someone said that "It went amok." I always just presumed it was some regional slang (well, I guess it is - but definitly not rooted in the culture in Midwest America.) I am reading this book for my Multicultural Counseling class that will start in about a week & a half and it is a term that is addressed in there.

So, what does amok mean?

It means: Some sources have identified Malaysians as having a particular tendency to run amok, though they are by no means the only people to do so. A Malay will suddenly and apparently without reason rush into the street armed with a kris or other weapons, and slash and cut at everybody he meets till he is killed. These frenzies were formerly regarded as due to sudden insanity. It is now, however, certain that the typical amok is the result of circumstances, such as domestic jealousy or gambling losses, which render a Malay desperate and weary of his life. It is, in fact, the Malay equivalent of suicide. "The act of running amuck is probably due to causes over which the culprit has some amount of control, as the custom has now died out in the British possessions in the peninsula, the offenders probably objecting to being caught and tried in cold blood."

There were a couple of other words I found particularly interesting. They are Brain Fag and Koro.

They mean:
Brain Fag - In West Africa, this disorder is usually experienced by high school and college students whose brain has become fatigued in responce to academic stress and have difficulties concentrating, remembering and thinking.

Koro- basically this means penis panic, referring to a type of mass hysteria or panic where males grow fearful of removal or shrinking of the penis. The phenomenon is usually associated with some kind of occult belief, such as witchcraft. These irrational panics generally happen where access to education is limited, but have also been reported under drug use. Compare with castration anxiety.
Penis panics have occurred around the world, most notably in Africa and Asia. Panics concerning the female genitals are far less common and briefly discussed here. Penis panics in southeast Asia are known as Koro, with psychological diagnosis and treatments under development, but it is becoming increasingly clear that these forms of mass hysteria are more common than previously thought.


I think I had brain fag in school (maybe will get it again as I start back with school, I think a lot of the kids I work with have brain fag.)

Pronunciation?

We drove by a mailbox with the name "Duhme" on it. So, what exactly is the phoenetic pronunciation? Could it be: dummie, duh me, doom, do me? Any other suggestions?

Party On Wayne!

Party On Garth.

ok - I don't know why that popped in my head, but I think it kinda sums up my weekend.

Friday I went out to Happy Hour with some collegues. And since I work in the school system, Happy Hour started @ 3:30, 3 tall Leinie's Honey Weiss later and I am on my way home to pick up the hubby and meet up with some friends for dinner & more partying. Well, I partied (us ladies did) the guys just sat around talking thinking us chicks were weird. Andy said at one point he heard us saying "I appreciate you sooooo much." And he laughs and says "Who really says that?" Well, he's a guy and guys just don't talk that way to their friends I guess. And we were just dancing around the kitchen to some music on the radio, then we set up the karaoke machine and did some singing (& more dancing).

Saturday was spent sleeping in (until 11:30) washing clothes, running errands, and then out to a 30th birthday party. We went to McCoy's in the Cities. It was fun. Got to see a 30-year old guy do a blow job (his wife said that was the only blow job ihe would get that night.) He did it very well, which makes me wonder if I really should have left the guys alone during Geekfest.

After 2 late nights, it is now Sunday. I am off to a family party at my in-laws. I suppose I will drink more there. My MIL says I talk more when I drink (well, who doesn't), but I try to shut my mouth when one SIL is there, as I seem to say things that are particularly offensive to her. It's not just me, I think it's the whole family. I don't think she likes any of us very well, especially not the MIL. But she doesn't come to too many family things, so I might not have to worry about it anyways. But I guess today we are doing a celebration of a conglomeration of things (Easter, Andy's b-day, Mother's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Daylight Savings -- you know -- all the regulars :) )

So, we'll see how the weekend ends. We get a new porch put on this week. Yeah!

Reincarnation

What Will You be Reincarnated as?

Funny. I will be reincarnated as a God.

It's All About Food

So, here are couple of food-related quizzes.

What kind of eating utensil are you?
I am a fork.

How do you eat an Oreo?
Very easy to do – just one question.

Quiz of the Day.....

Are you as Frugal as You Should Be?

My results:
Frugal Queen
You've clearly mastered the best lessons of frugality -- how to spend less and how to get the most value for what you do spend. You enjoy not only the benefits of living within your means (financial security) -- you clearly enjoy living. Meet other women like you on the Frugal Living message board.

I am NOT at all surprised by this one.

Frustrating as Hell

Try out this Japanese IQ Test. Steph sent it to me. Click on the Big Round Blue Button & Start. Here are the rules:

Get everyone across the river!
Max 2 people on the raft;
Mom cannot be with boys without Dad;
Dad cannot be with girls without Mom;
Thief cannot be with anyone without Cop;
and only Dad, Mom, and Cop can operate raft.
Big blue circle starts game.

I will post the answer to solve in the comments later.

Good luck!

The solution is now in the comments. So, don't look there unless you want to find out the answer.

Good Day

So far it's been a good day. I was prepared for a tough day, as I knew I was going to have to have some tough conversations with some of my kids. So, I started out the day by running into Starbucks to buy a couple of beverages & muffins for a collegue & myself. So, I felt good doing something nice for someone else. Then I got to work and started meeting with kids. I did a lot of individual sessions today and really felt that some kids were really listening & opening up, and then I saw a handful that were doing really well. It's nice to have a few kids doing well mixed in with the ones have a rough time. Makes you feel like there is progress being made. One of my kids is new to me and has a lot of struggles and seems to already feel at home in our classroom. Sometimes kids fight being in places where they didn't ask to be and sometimes they just welcome it with open arms, because finally they are in a place they feel safe, are comfortable, and know they are not alone.

See, Monday was a not so great therapy day. Coincidentally, it was also the day after a full moon and it was my bipolar kids that were all over the place. I mean all over the place. And when you get too many kids in a group being unstable it just gets uncomfortable for everyone. So, it's nice that it's settled down a little, as it always does. It's always calmer after the tornado goes through -- there are pieces to pick up and you need to start building some things again, but the worst is over (until the next storm.)

So, pretty soon I am off to teach my Walking & Jogging for Fitness class at the community college. We'll see how that goes. And we'll see who ge voted off A.I. tonight. If Carrie gets voted off it will no longer be a good day.

But until then - take another Quiz. I have been into the quiz thing lately and recently people seem to like that here. So, what Junk food Best Describes you?

I am Cotton Candy. Mmmmm……I like cotton candy.


Cotton Candy- Babe your a sweetheart and your
extremely nice you've got friends a plenty that
love you cause your addictive :)


JUNK FOOD QUIZ! What junk best decribes you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Text Books are Expensive

I forgot how expensive textbooks are. I registered for 2 classes for this summer and for one class I need only 1 book, but the other class I need 4 books. 5 text books that I will need to read within 1 month. Yikes. I ordered them all already (as class starts on May 11) and have the syllabus from one of the classes. I am already beginning to think I may regret going back for additional certification.

How Long Will You Live?

Just take this Quiz and you can find out. Who knew that a quiz could predict my life expectancy?

I am expected to live until I am 99 years old. I guess I better be a little more aggressive with my investments. I am not sure I can afford to live that long.

Bottom Half

Ok - here's my thoughts for the bottom half of A.I. (in this order):
Constantine
Anthony
Vonzell

Constantine just did not hit any right notes - yuck! Anthony - ok, what straight guy sings Celine Dion & wears a thumb ring? Vonzell was just too flat in the beginning, I liked her ending, but she didn't start out so well.

I really liked Carrie (she still needs to work on performing a little more), Scott sounded good (although the judges didn't like him, and I still hate Scott's dirty looks he gives when he doesn't like his feedback), Bo was just ok.

Sickness

Take this quiz about myths/facts about sickness. I earned a 70% (7 out of 10) which I guess is passing.

Weekend Review

So, Friday night I was totally lame. We went grocery shopping, then I prepared steak kabobs & marinade for my Saturday night fun & got the shredded BBQ beef ready for Andy's Saturday fun and then I fell asleep in front of the TV by 10pm, while Andy was preparing the hosue for Geekfest.

Saturday, I met up with Rebecca & her 2 kids and we went for Mexican for lunch, then went to see "The Pacifier" (Vin Diesel totally rocks with his shirt off - I think they put that shot in there for the moms taking their kids to the show.) And then to a coffee shop (had Green Mango Tes - very good.) Saturday evening was at Cathy's house. She planned a party so that I had something to do while Andy & his fellow geeks played computer games at our place. Anyways - the party was a lot of fun. Good food, good drinks, good games (Outburst, Black Jack, & this card game called Idiot), & good music (did some karaoke on her karaoke machine and danced around like fools - so much fun.)

And today - I walked the dog, went to Big Lots to buy some stuff w/ Andy, took a nap, talked on the phone, learned how to drive the new lawn mower, and that's it.

I want the warm weather back - I don't like this stuff in the 50's and windy. Bah!

Dandelions

Normally dandelions are thought to be a nuisance, but I am opting to take a different approach to them. Not that I am encouraging the growth of dandelions in my yard, but I will not obsess about destroying the ones that are there. Instead I will eat them.

Wonder how you can eat dandelions......There are lots of ways and recipes. This isn't a new thing for me as I have picked dandelion greens to put in salads. I have never made a salad of just dandelion greens, but have added them to lettuce, spinach, & turnip greens.

So, I was thinking I would like to try making Dandelion Jelly. Although I am not sure I have enough dandelions in the yard to get enough flowers.

Other recipes on the link include: jelly, "coffee", boiled buds, frittered blossoms, & greens.

Yeah for Me!

Some good news!

1) Got my acceptance letter in to the Master's Program for Marriage & Family Therapy. I plan to start taking classes this summer. Why do this program when I already have a Master's degree? Well, I won't do the whole program, as I said I already have a Master's Degree, but I will do the requirements to get the Certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy and then get a licensure in it as well (LMFT). So, I'll have more letters after my last name then, which is not why I am doing it. I am doing it because I will become a more well-rounded therapist and gain more experience and gain additional graduate credits which I will need for a different licensure exam I will take this fall -- the additional graduate credits are required post-licensure.

2) I am participating in a 5-week walking program through the local hospital, which encourages us to walk 10,000 steps a day (you would be surprised how little we really move if we don't make the effort to exercise.) And yesterday I walked a grand total of 21,000 steps -- just in one day. More than double what I needed. Although by the end of the day I was feeling it. I walked several different times with several different people. This quarter we've been walking with the kids as a form of stress management for them. So, it's been good for me.

Exhausting

One thing I find exhausting is when people spend Soooooo Much time making up excuses not to do something when it would have just been easier to do the thing in the first place. Some people just need to get a clue.

Judgement Day

Ok - so here's what I think of the Top 7 and who should be in the bottom 3 this week. Let's start with the bottom 3, my prediction based on performance (although it has not been that accurate) is:
Anthony
Anwar
Constantine

What was Andy's word to describe Constantine - oh yes, it was smarmy. Funny word, but I agree. And then to describe Anthony he said twirpy. I have to agree again.

Having been born in the late 70's I did not know most of the songs. I did like Bo quite a bit this week. He did a good job. I even thought Scott sounded good and Vonzell sounded nice as well. Carrie was just ok for me this week.

That's it. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Notes to Self

Take Note (do not do the follwoing):

Get surgery in Seattle Hospital

Lie on a Road to Get Help in Canada

Enter the Dog in a Drawing

Drive a Car off a Garage

Things I Learned in Mags This Weekend

So - I spent some time looking through magazines this weekend (we have A LOT of subscriptions). So, I thought I would share a few interesting things that I ripped out (I think Andy hates all the ripped out ppapers from magazines that seem to multiply in our house.)

So, here they are:

Appliance Calculator - see how much each of your appliances cost to run. I found that it costs more to run a portable heater than it does to run an electric blanket. Good to know.

Free Golf Lesson - May is free lesson month and you can get a free lesson with a PGA professional. How cool is that. You have to do a search using your zip code & free lesson month, some places are only giving free lessons to members. Very cool.

Places to Swim - So, in theory this is good, but they don't have stuff in all states (like MN & WI, so it doesn't do me much good, actually seems like they have everywhere but the Midwest, maybe they are visiting places and just have not gotten to the Midwest yet, 'cuz we gont plenty of swimmin' holes.)

Museum of Useful Things - So, I saw an ad for a book holder (very clever idea!) and thought I should check this place out online. Other things I like are: Lobby dustpan, carpenter's pencil & sharpener, Clipiolas (round paper clips), & Stainless Steel Meausring Cup. Although I never did see the book holder on their site. Check out the humane mousetrap on there - it looks like a weird double-headed vibrator.


Fashion Swap Party - Interesting cocenpt. I wonder how well it works.
And then there are the recipes I ripped out because they either sounded good, or I have the ingredients in the house to make them this week (& the sounded good too!):

Turtle Bars
Slow-Cooker Beef & Veggie Stew
Mac-n-Cheese Pie
Kiwi Tart
Ritz Mock Apple Pie
Easy Bake Strata

WE WON!

The volleyball team I am on had our championship tournament game tonight (it was still winter league, it's a LONG league) and WE WON!

We also lead in the regular season and now won the championship. I guess our sponsor gets a trophy for both those things.

Yeah! But what will I do on Wednesday nights now. Oh wait - I decided to take a class starting in a month on Wednesday nights. Bah!

R U Normal?

Take this quiz.

My Bottom 3

So, A.I. just ended and these are who I think should be in the bottom 3:
Scott
Bo
Anthony

Funny - these are the same 3 I picked last week.

I thought that Nadia sounded good this week, but she picked a song that wasn't too popular. I think Simon was totally right in saying that Vonzell will get more votes this week 'cuz she picked a song people liked. Carrie rocking out was cool, but I agree that I like her country better. I loved Anwar tonight and thought Constantine sounded great (but I still don't like something about his face - it creeps me out for some reason.) I agree that Scott missed a lot of notes, I didn't really like Bo's sound, and Anthony was just ok. I don't see him as stepping up like he should be at this point in the competition.

So, we'll see tomorrow what happens.

Weekend Summary

Friday afterwork started off with a short nap (I LOVE my naps.) Then a 3 mile walk with Kate. Then I came home and got ready to go to Jessi & Alex's Middle Eastern party. See -- Alex bought a Houka and wanted to have a party to use it. I smoked some from the Houka. The stuff was apricot flavored. And we had some Middle Eastern food too, which included some dates, tabouli & pita bread, baklava, & potato chips (who knew?). I ate some tabouli and it gave me such a craving for more that I had to make some Saturday (& let it sit all day and finally ate some for lunch today.) Mmmmmm.....Yummy! They also had come Middle Eastern liquor, which was clear but once you added it to clear water it turned milky - weird. But I just had a sip, as it tasted of black liqorice and that's just not my thing. Plus we had some mint tea as well.

Saturday started out with some dishes, laundry & light cleaning. Then did a little shopping at local area stores with Andy and came home for a nap (hey - I figure that when I have kids the naps are going to go away completly so I better get them in now.) Then off to dinner with the girls, then drinks @ Kate's, and off to Wings to sing some karaoke. I never sang karaoke at this place and I don't think I like it, because NO ONE listens to anyone. It's as if you are just background noise.

Sunday - ahhh...Sunday. I did not take any naps today, which is unfortunate. I started out the day downloading music to my Rio Carbon. For less money (plus there is a $20 rebate on the Rio Carbon right now) and more memory than the iPod we knew this was a better deal. Andy & I each got one (this is all we got back for tax money and treated ourselves to these.) Plus Andy also bought this wireless transmitter thing which puts out it owns frequency and you can play your Rio in the car over the radio or in your home over the stereo. Very cool.

I also did some yard & flower maintenance, got plenty more to do, but things are starting to look better after winter death. I have quite a bit of stuff coming up, so that's exciting. And right now I am cooking supper -- some Chicken in spicy mushroom sauce & Pinto de Gallo. Yummy.

Recommendations

Ok - there are a few new products I have tried that I just have to recommend. They are Matrix Sleek Look Conditioner, Dr. Scholl's Tri-Comfort Inserts, and Pomegrante Juice.

Matrix Sleek Look Conditioner: My hairdresser recommended it as I was sick of my long curly hair always getting HUGE-ass snarls in them through the day & especially while I toss & turn while I sleep. It was just painful to comb out. Anyways, it's like this conditioner costs my hair. It makes my hair look shiny & feel soft & smell good. And it even did this after one use. I'm hooked.

Dr. Scholl's Tri-Comfort Inserts: Due to having flat feet I always need to put arch supports in my shoes whenever possible. I needed to buy a new pair and the old pair were not as effective anymore, and these are great. Not only do I have arch support and cushioning in the heel, but it also extendsout towards the ball and gives more cushion there. I like cushion.

Pomegrante Juice: So, I had been reading a lot about it, but honestly, it's expensive (like over $3 for 16 ounces), but it's supposed to have more antioxidants than red wine or green tea. Someone told me to add sparkling water to it to dilute it (as full strength it can be a bit much). So, I used raspberry sparking water and did a 50:50 mixture and it is a wonderful little drink. It would probably taste good with a little Absolut splashed in it too.

Check out my food blog for food freebies.

Who Should Go?

Well, American Idol is over and these are who I think deserve to be in the bottom 3 tomorrow:
Scott
Anthony
Beau

What do you think?

Fat Kids Walking w/ Books (Sign in CR)

View of the Pool & Bar Hut @ BW Hotel in CR

Hummingbird @ The Hummingbird Gallery in CR

Larry Loves his Bug.

Learn a Foreign Language (in Classes) for Free

So, if you are not in MN or close the Mankato area, then you probably are not interested in this.

It is sponsored through the Foreign Language Initiative. And they only offer classes that you could not take for credit at the University.

These are the classes & times (I got in an email):
I. Arabic: *CSU 256 Mondays: 4:30 pm – 6 pmML 2042 University Conference Room Tues & Thurs: 430 - 6
II. Chinese: ML 2022 Fridays: 1 pm – 2 pm; 2 – 3 / Cantonese Wed 2-3
III. Hebrew: ML 2026 Mondays: 6 pm – 7 pm
IV. Hindi: ML 2026 Fridays: 2 pm – 3 pm
V. Japanese: ML 2026 Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays: 4 pm – 5 pm
VI. Korean: ML 2026 Thursdays: 630 pm - 730 pm
VII. Nepali: ML 2022 Wednesdays: 3 pm - 4 pm Sri-Lankan: Wed 7 -8
VIII. Russian: ML 2027 Thursdays: 6 pm - 7 pm; Fridays: 3 pm - 4 pm IX. Serbian-Croatian, Bosnian: ML 2026 Fridays: 11 - 12
X. Swahili: ML 2026 Wednesdays 3 - 4
XI. Tibetan: ML 2022 Thursdays: 7 pm - 8 pm
XII. Urdu: ML 2026 Mondays: 10 am - 11 am
XIII. Yoruba: ML 2022 Thursdays: 4 pm - 5 pm Somali: Thurs 1 -2
XIV. Vietnamese: Friday 12 -1;
XV. Portuguese: Tues, Th 12-1

Contacts this email if you are intersted: foreignlanguageinitiative@yahoo.com

Just thought this was interesting and would post in case others are interested.

Food For Thought

Made some recent additions to My Food Blog.

Skinny Ass Cows Walking the Streets

Hotel Pool in Liberia

Backyard of Hotel in Arenal

View from the Tawainese Bridge

Me "Jumping Waves"

Whatever.

So, my last post went up and miraculously so di the other 2, plus the other time I had tried to post what I wrote in Costa Rica. Then I tried to delete the duplicate and it "Timed Out" again. Bah. I need to go grocery shopping. When you've been gone for 9 days you leave an empty fridge which leaves nothing to eat.

BTW - my cats are very happy to see me home. Larry won't leave me a alone. He slept next to me all night and left to eat once, which is when Lucy slept on me and then left when he came back. The cats kept yelping last night when they couldn't find us. Poor babies.

Frustrated with Blogger

Will they ever let me post. This is the 3rd post I am trying. The other 2 are hanging out there in my directory, all there and everything, but not posted to my blog. Keeps giving me a times out error.

Will this work?

I was having problems with Blogger in Costa Rica, now let's see if this works. I had posted a 2nd post from Costa Rica. I might have to re-post it for today, if this works. I tried to re-post last night with the date I had orginally wrote it.

Last leg of the trip

You know - my last post ended up on here 3 times. I just don´t know if it will make it on there or not. I really did not think it would, but what do you know - there it was. Blogger doesn´t seem to like Costa Rica so much.

So, now we are in our last 2 nights of an 8 night trip. We made our way back up to Liberia (where our airposrt is) and checked into the Best Western and will be staying here 1 nights instead of 2. The weather is hot and dry. It was more humid at the coast. By the volcano it was nice, perfect temperature at night and day. In the rainforest it was on the brisk side (compared to the rest of the country) and was a bit nippy at night. I normally don´t have allergy issues, but when we were by the volcanoes and rainforest areas I had some major issues. There must be some plants in the more vegetative area that just don´t agree with me. So, I am glad to be back where things are drier (actually in some places it is so dry that there are fires - on our way here today there was a tree that had fallen down because the trunk burned and it was blocking the road).

Have I mentioned that the keyboards here are frustrating. Bah!

So, I looked up to see who was voted off American Idol and am glad to see Miklah is gone. I had to look up info about Terry Schivo as well. I can´t believe she is still living. I thought we couldn´t live that long without water.

I´ve got some color, but not too much as we weren´t really in the sun too much. We were either in a car or inside (´cuz it gets too damn hot!). But I laid out for about 1.5 hours today. My fair skin cannot take much more than that.

We´ve had some pretty good food and seen some beautiful views. I don´t think we´ll be moving here, as the roads are just awful to navigate.

Time to get off now, as my time is off. I can´t wait to get home and use the internet as much as I want without having to sell my first born to pay for it.

Trip Update

Am at an internet cafe right now. Thankfully people realize that I am vacation and are not sending me a lot of emails. We spent 4 nights at Hotelito Sisisi and it was nice & HOT. And by hot I mean 95 to 97 degrees each day. So, I got some sun, but between 12 and 4 pm it´s almost to hot to be out. I spent sometime in the ocean every day `jumping waves´. Andy lost his prescription sunglasses the last day, so now he just has his regular glasses and has to tolerate the sun. Damn ocean sweeping away things.

Today we are in Santa Elena - Monteverde [their keyboards here are weird] and it is raining outside. I guess that is what you get when you are in the rainforest.

Yesterday we took a `3 Hour Tour´, well, it was supposed to take about 3 hours to get to our location by Arenal, but we got pulled over by the cops [Andy was speeding] and had to pay them $20 to not give us a ticket, and then got lost (they just don´t have names for roads and sometimes road signs are scarce) and then the roads themselves are awful. Potholes EVERYWHERE on paved roads, and then there are `rock´roads and dirt roads. We have picstures of everything that we will put on Andy´s website when we get back.

Saw a couple of volcanos (not the ones we were intending to see, as we too some wrong roads). The hotel we stayed at last night was less than desirable. The view was fantastic, the food was questionable, the beds were awful and the room smelled of mold, and the owners themselves seemed questionable. It was very much an American joint (I use the word joint purposefully). But it was cheap and somewhat clean and had hot showers.

We are about to go find some food and a hotel for tonight, as we were supposed to stay at the ´joint´for 2 more nights. Now we are winging it. Lots of other stuff to tell you about, but I should go and hopefully blogger actually uploads this.

My Votes for A.I. Bottom 2

Tonight I think the bottom 2 should be Mikalah & Anthony and I think Mikalah will be the boot tonight.

What do you think?

To Bleed or Not to Bleed?

So, apparently menstruating women live longer. Check out this article. Maybe I should not have been on depo all those years, although I have to say it was great not having a period for 6 years.

The other interesting thing about this article is that men live longer if they are married, but that isn't necessarily true for women. Seems like us women have the upper hand here.

Getting Down to Earth

What kind of soul are you? I am down-to-earth, not big surprise there.

Blogging in the Shower

Some people sing......I Blog.....well, in my head I do. I think of all these things I want to blog about, but then I guess busy with life outside the shower and I forget about all my great shower ideas. I know I came up with 3 different ideas, but the only one I can remember was that I come up with these great blogging topics in the shower. Now, if someone could make a waterproof laptop, then I think I would be in business. Hmmmmm.......surfing in the shower. It's not enough that I (I say I, but really we both do it with our won laptops) sit on the couch surfing as we watch anything on tv, you know I once even took my laptop and did some surfing while I was on the stationary bicycle. Maybe I am addicted to surfing.....do you think there are support groups out there for chronic surfers? You know, as a therapist, if I could overcome my addiction to surfing, maybe I could start this support group....nah! I like surfing too much. In a way, it replaced my addiction to shopping, but sometimes I get in these ruts where I shop online A LOT or buy on eBay A LOT, then I just have to tell myself that I have enough of everything and to knock it off. Blogging may have replaced my online shopping, although I still do frequent eBay A LOT, but I just don't buy as often.

The Countdown Begins

I am getting so excited! I have refrained for quite a while from looking at the places we are staying in Costa Rica, but that's all done. I am looking now. I just love the first place (Hotelito Si Si Si ). I know we are going to love it there. I know this not because it looks fantastic, but one of the Innkeepers, Joan Inman, has been absolutly wonderful. We have been corresponding over the past few months and she has just been a delight. She repsonds to my emails within 24 hours and answers all of my questions and has been very accomodating. Plus they have internet access there, so I can keep my blog updated as to what is happening. People say that you should leave cell phones and computers behind when you vacation so that you can relax, but I have found that if I an't check my email I get stressed. The first time we went to Costa Rica we checked email twice and I remember feelings such a sense of calmness after checking my email. It is just a necessary part of my life. I've actually paid for all 4 nights here already. They take paypal, which is ever-so-convenient.

Our next 3 nights is at the Hotel Aurora Inn. I have to go get some cash out to pay for this place. It's $39/night (taxes included). What a deal! This place will be more of adventure, as we have not seen pics of the inside of the room. I had emailed to guy about getting pics,but he said they had someone make their website. They are definitly not as technology inclined as the first place. The pool looks nice enough. I have a feeling that some of the pictures of the view are not going to be as close as they appear, so with that in mind I don't think I will be disappointed. The thing I am afraid of is that the beds at this place are a Double. Most privately owned small hotels & B&B's in Costa Rica have double beds. We can fit in a double, but we are so used to our king that even a queen can be cramped (I usually get kicked, as Andy likes to spread his legs out, and he's a big guy {6'4} and has a lot of length.)

These 3 nights/days should be an adventure as we have not been to the volcano & rain forest areas before. And as we look at properties that we might be interested in purchasing in the future, we are more drawn to the area around Lake Arenal. I don't see us purchasing anything soon, but hopefully someday.

Our last night is at a Best Western Casino (El Sitio Hotel & Casino) in Liberia. They have live entertainment & a cocktail lounge, so I am sure we will enjoy our last evening in Costa Rica.

All 3 places we are staying at have outdoor pools, which was a must. The weather is just so great there that we want to be sitting outside. I don't care as much about being on a beach because I don't need to swim in the ocean as much, I just need a convenient place to get in the water when I am starting to get warm. The other cool thing about all 3 places is that we have breakfasts included in the rates, which is always nice because then that saves on the food costs, and they always have lots of fresh local fruit, local coffee, and other yummy food.

Right now, as I type this the weather is:
Liberia: 88 degrees (Where we will fly into and spend our 8th night)
San Jose: 82 degrees (which is further south than we will be)
Tamarindo: 82 degrees (where out first 4 nights are)

I can't find a temp for near Lake Arenal. I think the temp there is dependant on the wind level, because the more wind the cooler it is because the lake will cool the air.

We rented a car from Dollar Rent A Car. We reserved an Intermediate Car, which they say is a Nissan Sentra or similar.

Right now the Exchange Rate 1 Dollar = 467 Colon. This is over 100 colones more than when we were there in 2002. Excellent! Such a great rate. Although, a lot of places what dollars rather than colones because of the value.

Yeah! This should be fun.

Time to Move My Ass

Actually - the title has more than one meaning.

1st - I changed my blogger name from Local Jewish Ass to Lame Shrill Owl (an anagram of a different combination of my names)

2nd - I am feeling chubby. I need to start working out more. Bah! I wonder if I can find someone to join one of the clubs in the area with me.

3rd - It's time to go to bed. Since it was snowing all day, I rarely moved off the couch to do anything (just to eat, shower, do a little bit of dishes, and shovel the sidewalk and in front of the garage.)

12-14 & Still Counting

We're between 12-14 inches of snow at our place........within 30-40 minutes away they are at 16.5 inches (in Rochester & Albert Lea), and it's still coming down. Andy is glad that we didn't sell the truck & plow like we were planning. It would be a bitch to shovel our yard. Actually, if we had to shovel our driveway, I think we might just stay locked up in our place until it melted. I have enough food in the pantry, shelves, fridge, & freezers that I don't think we would have to leave for quite some time.

So, we'll see what the final total is tomorrow. Looks like my in-laws (northern suburbs of the Cities) got about 2 inches.

You should see our stupid dog. She just loves the snow, but it's up past her belly. But she just runs around in it and rolls in it. She gets even more retarded around snow. It's funny.....she hates water and generally refuses to go out in the rain and hides on the other side of the house if we are washing our cars or watering the lawn or gardens.

Maybe I'll get out there and take a picture of the snow, just so you can see how much there is. It's just amazing.

Free Day of Camping at KOA

I know some people who read by blog like to go camping, so I thought I would post what I found. It's a free night (Friday, May 13th) of camping at select KOA campgrounds.

Here is the full list by state. It also lists what type of camp sites are available.

Here is what is in MN & WI .

Minnesota
Albert Lea/Austin - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In, One Room Kabin
Bemidji - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Cloquet/Duluth - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In, One Room Kabin
Jackson - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Minneapolis Northwest - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Moorhead/Fargo - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Rochester/Marion - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
St. Cloud/Clearwater/I-94 - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
St. Paul East - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In

Wisconsin
Fond Du Lac - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In, One Room Kabin, Two Room Kabin
Hayward - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Hixton/Alma Center - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In, One Room Kabin, Two Room Kabin
Madison - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Rice Lake/Spooner - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In
Wisconsin Dells - Tent, RV Pull Through, RV Back In

I imagine these will go fast. You can make your reservations for this right online.

More Tests

So, after taking that age test (& while waiting for dinner to finish cooking) I decided to take some other quizzes.

Try them out:

You Are What You Eat! It says I will probably maintain my weight and preserve the health of my arteries. I win the Gold Medal!

What Do You Taste Like? Very interesting quiz. Not what I expected. Apparently I taste like chilis. Maybe 'cuz I answered the one question that I wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant & drink coronas.

How Evil Are You? Very interesting Questions. I am Neutral.

Which High School Stereotype Are You? Guess what - I am a Blonde. Hmmmmmm.....

How Old Do You Act?

I first saw this on Alison's website. Try it out. I act 33 I guess.

You Are 33 Years Old

33 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

The Conference

Well, I went to 2 full days of conferences. Yesterday, I went to the sessions on:
1) Borderline Personality Disorder
2) "Drafting" or in laymans terms - Not Burning Out
3) Sensory Integration Disorder

Todays conferences were:
4) Early Onset Schizophrenia in Childhood & Adolescents
5) ADHD Co-morbid with Bipolar Disorder
6) Psychopharmatherapy & Bipolar disorder
7) The Black Box: Suicides & Antidepressants

Tomorrow there are 2 more sessions, but we are expected to get 12 inches (yes, I said 12) of snow in our area starting tonight and going through tomorrow. I think I might just be staying home.

Session #1 was really good. It was 3 hours long, but didn't seem like it. I was actually able to take away some different techniques that I can use with the kids I work with. And the stories were sad, wonderful, and inspring all at the same time. I totally could think off all the kids that I work with that are borderline. They certainly are ones that are challenging.

Session #2 was right after lunch and I just didn't want to sit through, but I did and I did take away some words of wisdom. This guy (Nick Mezacapa, who is now a priest, after years of being a teacher and surviing prostate cancer and holding one of his children in his arms as she died) said that he had a short list about life:
1) Life is short, do it now. (He said he never gave last rites to anyone who said they wished they had bought one more Porche, but lots who said they had wished they followed their dreams.)
2) Keep it simple. (When life gets to complicated, you lose sight of what you are really after because you are too distracted by everything else.)
3) Play. (Have fun and play. Life is worth enjoying if you are having fun. And then he proceeded to make us all get up and dance for an hour.)
4) There was a 4th thing, but for the life of me. I can't remember it right now.

Session #3 sucked so bad. This person obviously had never presented to a group of people before. Her affect was very flat (I was beginning to make my own diagnosis of her) and she was BORING! I wanted to poke out my eyes to keep things interesting.

Session #4 was pretty good. I have a kid I work with whoh is schizophrenic, but is in the recovery phase. But there is another kid that is in the premodoral stage and they are considering schizophrenia as his diagnosis. So it was interesting to here it talked about and think about those kids.

Session #5 was kinda boring. It was just ok. I didn't really learn anything I didn't know.

Sessions #6 & #7 were both by the same guy , Joel Oberstar, who turned out to be someone I went to undergraduate school with (he graduated 1 year ahead of me.) It was really informative for me, as I need to learn more about psychopharmatherapy. I learned quite a bit from this one. He presented it in a down-to-earth manner, which was nice. As by the end of the day I was sick of listening to big words.

I also liked all the booths. I was able to learn about all these placements my kids may have gone to, might go to, or maybe will never go to.

Links to my Special Someone

You know - Andy has some presence out there on the worldwide web. I thought I would highlight some of them.

First is his Ulgly Omni Project. He is keeping a blog about it. I booked marked it on the side. You can see the pictures of the car sitting in my garage. He says it will be pretty when it is done. See, when I met Andy he drive a red Dodge Omni and I joked that my price drove up in a red Dodge Omni rather than riding up on a white horse. I wonder if he will paint it red. I was saying blue with those long white stripes (2 of them) extending the length of the car. Maybe he should go red with those white stripes.

Next is Andy's Geekfest (GF2K5). He & his friends have done a few of these at our house already. I think this is the 4th one here. It was supposed to be at someone else's house. They all would promise after each one that they will have it at their place next, but when it comes time to actually planning it, they are a bunch of pussies and can't ask their wives if a bunch of geeks with computer can come over and play video games all day & all night. So, here we are again - having it at our house. I am such a good wife. Usually what happens is there is a group of about 10 guys that come over with their computers, network them althogether, and start playing games around noon and end somewhere around 3am. I usually try to find something to do, but don't go to far away. You don't ever leave a group of guys alone for too long - you never know what kind of crazy ideas they will come up with.

The first year I went out to dinner with my neighbor Cindy for prime rib and a carafe of wine, then down to the City owned bar to get completly shit-faced and come back and embarass our husbands. That first year the guys had to bring their own food & we had a couple of crocks of stuff 9I think chili cheesse dip and sloppy joes). Don't let guys decide what they want to bring on their own, as they will have an abundance of chips & cheese & beer. What you have then is guys fighting between constipation and beer shits, not pretty! The 2nd year we assigned people stuff to bring. In theory this would have worked, but then some people cancelled at the last minute and they had some important stuff. That year I went out with my sister Steph, my friend Kate & her friend Cheryl to the muninical bar "muni" and then back here to play some pool and drink margaritas (mmmmmm!). The 3rd time I decided that the guys would give me money and I would make all of the food, which consisted of snacks, desserts and a complete taco bar. Now, that was a pain in the ass. Luckily, my mom & sister (well, I don't think Steph helped out much, I think she watched cartoons) helped chop veggies. We went shopping & out for dinner and then watched TV in the basement.

Now, this year, I am not sure what I will do. I think we are back to Plan 1 (we make a crock of something & you bring whatever you want). I have mentioned to my friends that I am looking to go out that evening (& day). So, I will have to check with them as the day gets closer.

The next link is Andy's website. Some of you may have noticed that his Blogger name is Mean Dr. Lily. His name is basically the same as my Local Jewish Ass. So, his birthday is next month and I bought the domain name and webspace as part of his birthday present and obviously he has already recieved it. He just started this website and is a bit of perfectionist, so the progress may be slow.

Ok - that's it.

Mmmmm.....Food....

Well, I had this old blog about my soap opera life that I have not blogged on in a log time that I finally deleted and now started a new one call Mmmmm.....Food........ I will put a link on the side bar for it.

Places to go

So - I am trying to decide where I want to go out to eat for my birthday. As I am looking I am starting to develop a list of places I want to go sometime (just not for my birthday). Some of these places I will have to go with friends, as Andy would not be interested in them.

* Mel's Beauty Bar (Mpls)
* Wild Mint Sushi Bar (Crystal)
* 13 Moons (Robbinsdale)
* St. Croix Music Cafe (Stillwater)
* Winzer Stube German Restaurant (Hudson, WI)
* Da Afghan (Bloomington)
* Little Tel Aviv Cafe & Restaurant (Minneapolis)
* La Bodega Tapas Bar (Minneapolis)
* El Azteca (Apple Valley)
* Rockin' Lobster (St. Paul)
* Spice Thai Cuisine (Savage)
* La Fougasse (Bloomington)
* Martini's (Mpls)

I am deciding between these places for my birthday: Da Afghan & La Fougasse. I think I am leaning towards Da Afghan.
These are all places in the Happenings Book, so there are BOGO free.
So, who wants to go where with me sometime?

Manicures & a Martini

I had never heard of Mell's Beauty Bar before. You pay $15 for a manicure or a chair massage and you get a drink with it. Sounds like fun little outing to do sometime. Plus you can stick around and eat a gourmet wood-fired pizza. I am so doing this sometime.

Philadelphia Trip in July

We are going to Philadelphia in mid-July for our friends', Kendra & Tim, ewdding vow renewal ceremony. They were married 5 eyars ago by their fathers (both are ministers) at Kendra's parents home and they had a reception afterward in which everyone in her family spent a lot of time making all the food.

So, this time they are going to have a ceremony & big party. It will be at the Sedgeley Club. We booked our planed tickets. We opted to fly Midwest Airlines mainly because when I went to visit them 2 years ago I flew that airline and really liked the seats and the warm chocolate cookies. Mmmmmm......

We have not booked our hotel yet. We were waiting to see where they decided to have the ceremony and reception before we made reservations. I have found this Philly Travel Site to be helpful.

Three Winners

So, Three Winners is like the Happenings Book. I have already been using quite a bit in the Happenins Book. I read about Three Winners in the paper yesterday. They have the same similar concept, but a different twist on it. The twist is that you either print the coupons from the internet (which you can do with Happenings if you buy the online membership) and/or you can pull up the coupon on your cell phone (as long as you have internet access on it) and then they will use your phone to verfiy the coupon and click the buttons so that you can't use it again. The other thing that is nice that the coupons are good for a year from the date you purchase -- where as the Happenings Book is good for a year based on when they printed the book (November-November). Although right now you can get the Happenings book for half price.

Bad Blogger

I have been very neglectful of my blogging of recent. I have not been posting here much and have not been reading my other favorite blogs either. It's not just the blogging that has been neglected, I notice that my workout have diminished quite a bit (& then I complain about getting fat - sometimes I think I should have a kid just to have something to blame the fat on.)

I don't think I have many excuses to be so neglectful. I could blame it on TV. There is just so much I want to watch. I can't wait to see American Idol and who gets voted off tonight. Although because of the class I teach and then rushing off to play volleyball afterward on Wednesday nights, I never get to watch the breakdowns and all the tears. I have to scour the net and find a post someone put on a board to find out the results, because I can't wait until until American Idol updates their page. So, after watching the last 2 shows, this is who I think will get booted and not make it to the Top 12: Janay Castine, Mikalah Gordon, Anthony Fedorov, & Bo Bice. My prediction for the overall winner is Nadia Turner. Last year I said it would be Fantasia and I was right. Not that I have a particular talent in figuring out who will win American Idol.

I am so ready for our vacation. I don't want to wait another 2 weeks. I want to go tomorrow. It's been a tough week already. There was a kid that committed suicide this weekend and he was friends with several of the kids I work with. It's difficult working with people and grief and with the death is a suicide is 10 times more difficult. Ok - I am done talking about that just cause it just makes me feel sad and stressed that the same time.

So, this year it's been 10 years since I graduated from high school. Shit! I am getting old. Emails have been circulating about planning something. And we are trying to plan several events so that people can come & go to what works for them, and also being mindful that people have kids. Shit! People have kids. It's not like that just dawned on me. The kids have been there since right after graduation (in some cases - Shit! some classmates have 10 year olds). Wow! It just doesn't feel like I am getting that old. When I work with my kids at school I get feedback that they like talkinmg to me because I understand them and am not as old as their parents. Although manyt of the parents of these high schoolers are anywhere from 4 years older than me to 10+ years older. Sometimes the kids think I am younger than I am. Usually they think I am about 23 (how come the fat ass doesn't give it away that I am almost 30 - well, I should not get ahead of myself, I am only turning 28.) It should be interesting to see what gets planned, as when the 5 year was planned, we had to plan it so there were options regarding what people what to do and how much they wanted to spend. I graduated with a class that could not decide on a class color (it was Rainbow - yes, I am serious) because no one could get along enough (so many opinionated people in our class of about 40) to actually decide on anything. Our fucking graduation looked liked a damn gay pride festival. I guess the actual events are not what I will be surprised at, it's who will attend. The people that attended were the ones that were expected to attend and there were a few people who surprised us. The people who didn't come, well, I tend to think that maybe they just weren't ready after 5 years to see their classmates again. Hopefully that is different this time around. Hopefully, everyone is grown up enough to accept people for who they are.

I've seen classmates periodically throughout the years. At weddings, at a local bar when I go home for a weekend, or married into my family. But there are some people I have not seen since graduation. Ok - enough of that rant.

"Oooohhhhh, do do do do doooooo....Hey, Get You Car Washed Today, Get You Car Washed Today!" Sing it Christina! I started using Andy's old MP3 player and I just love it. Although I think I may have to get an iPod, as this just doesn't hold enough songs.

So, my birthday is next week. For some reason I am excited about my birthday this year. I am not sure why. Usually I am not. I had some bad birthday experiences and got a distaste in my mouth for them, but the past few years they have been pretty cool, so I think I have just changed my mind. The plan for my birthday this year is to head to the Cities and go out to dinner (I think I will pick something Andy would never want to go to otherwise - I am thinking Thai or Indian) and then to ACME Comedy Club (some friends that live in the Cities are joining us) and then we got a hotel room. Andy has to work the next day and I am going to a 3 day conference in Bloomington, so this just seems to make sense. The cats will have to make do without us for a night. So, I am excited because it should be fun.

So, next week Wednesday through Friday I am going to a conference. There are so many good topics I am interested in. The problem is choosing just which ones I want to go to more. The evening events look fun too, although I play volleyball on Wednesday night so that is out. And then Thursday Jessi is going to join me at the events and I'll go crash at her place that evening (rather than driving back so late and having to drive back again early in the morning.)

Ok - this is a freaking long post. Guess that is what happens when I become neglectful.

Birthday Freebies

Hey - my birthday is coming up and I want some free stuff. Actually I was just looking for a bunch of stuff to do and don't want to pay a lot of money. So, I thought I would post my findings since i worked hard at them. But I guess you really need to be living in the Twin Cities area to take advantage of these first ones, but I have a bunch of others listed as well.

Wild Onion in St. Paul -- TONS of freebies for the day of your birthday or on the Tuesday or Wednesday of your birthday week. Free meals, pictures, t-shirts, drinks, wings, etc.

ACME Comedy Club in Mpls -- Free admission for you & 5 guests

Chanhassen Dinner Theater in Chanhassen -- You get a $15 off coupon for your birthday, but sign up for their email club and they will email you other promotions as well

List of Lots of Places with Birthday Freebies (some of them I have blogged about or have links below)

Applebees (pretty much all locations) gives you a free dessert, locally it has been a sundae in a mug.

Famous Dave's (multiple locations, must see if your locations participates, which you can do online) Pig Club

Fuddrucker's - sign up for their email club here, looks likes you get a free burger for your birthday

Timberlodge Steakhouse - I believe we did this last year. Sign up on their website and they will email you a coupon. I think it was a BOGO Free meal.

Steak and Ale - They have sent us $5 off coupons for birthday and anniversary.

Red Lobster - has a Overboard Club - says they will be sending you something special for your birthday.

TGI Friday's - Join their e-Club and get a free appetizer, this comes in your email right away.

Tony Roma's - Sign Up for their Roma Rib Expert. They ask for your birthday, so we'll see what I get.

Hollywood Video - Free Rental

Papa Murphy's - says you get a Special Birthday Gift

I might not have to cook for the entire month. If I find more I will post them, but right now Andy just made breakfast and I am hungry (mmmm.....French Toast......mmmmm!)

This doesn't really have much to do with birthday freebies, but I stubbled across it and it's a
keeper: Thirfty Hipster

Tan in a Can, Death, Birthdays, Snow, Karaoke Star

Wow! It has been a long time since I blogged. What a title that is -- isn't it? Maybe I will just address them in that order.

Tan in a Can: So, I was reading in one of my magazines (I subscribe to A LOT) about a review for the new sunless tanning sprays, specifically aerosol mists. I went to Target to see what they had and they had the Neutrogena Micro-Mist. I bought a can and tried it out. I have tried lots of different brands of sunless tanning and I have to say this is now - by far - my favorite. Here's why I like it: you spray it on and in 5-6 minutes you are dry and dress and are on your way, it goes on very easy, you only need to use your hands to rub it on your face, it looks more consistent (almost too consistent), you don't have any ugly finger nails from having it get in your cuticles, it doesn't take long, and BEST OF ALL -- it does not rub off on your clothes. You know how some rub off, this hasn't. I have worn white socks, underware, & bra and they are all still white. I used the version that is 2 shades darker, there is also 3 shades darker. I think I look much better with tanned skin. I was getting pretty pasty. The only down fall is that when you use it on the weekend and come back on a Monday, people tend to notice you are tan and not ghostly white. But if I keep it up, it should be fine. One can lasted for 3 applications.

Death: It's been a tough last week. We just got 2 new kids in the program, both with dads who died drawn out complicated deaths within the last 2 years and these kids never dealt with the grief and it is really interfereing with their lives. Another kid's dad died last week & we took a group of kids with us to the funeral (talk about working on social skills -- so important!) and we have another kid, whose dad is very sick and dying. People just expect that a therapist is just going to "snap" these kids out of it -- which is extremly frustrating, because I have nothing to do with it. Grieving is an extremely personal thing and it can take some people a veeerrrryyyy long time. I am merely there to offer guidance & support as they work through the stages of grief. But there has just been so many kids struggling with grief put in our program that it can get a little overwhelming. That's all I'm saying.

Birthdays: The first 5 months of a the year has a lot of birthdays, at least for me. My parents just had birthdays -- just turning 49. One of my grandpas had a birthday -- turned 78. My birthday is around the corner -- almost the big 28. My youngest sister is nearing 22. Andy will turn 29 a month after me (next year he will be the BIG 3-0!), my other sister will be turning 24, my grandma has a birthday coming up too. It's like it's not enough that I go broke from Christmas, but then to be followed by all these birthdays. Can we say -- poor?

Snow: I am just sick of it. Can we be done with winter? I know that our part of MN did not even get half what we got last year & what we really sould have gotten (although I think Duluth made up for our lacking in snow.) I am sick of the cold, the wind, the ice, & the snow. And out Costa Rica trip is still 23 days away. Damn it!

Karaoke Star: Ok - I am not exactly a star and I will never try out for American Idol (especially since I am almost too old for it anyways.) I recently got the first volume of Karaoke Revolution. I still like volume 3 better, but I needed some new songs to sing. Volume 2 looks good and I want it too. I am cheap, so I don't really want to pay much for it, certainly not what it is selling for on eBay. People are paying new prices for a used product. I just pre-ordered it on half.com, so we'll see. But anyways -- the last couple weekends have involved Karoke Revolution (actually I think it may have been the last 3 weekends) and this weekend will not exception. I am hosting a work happy hour (yes, therapists & psychiatrists can get down and let loose -- although, take that back I have yet to see one of the psychiatrists come to a happy hour -- but therapists -- they can get crazy.) So, Karaoke Revolution is on the docket, as well as Dance Dance Revolution. My supervisor, who is 50, recently bought DDR and loves it. I think she will completly put me to shame with it, as I am not very coordinated when it comes with organized dance steps.

Ok - time for a nap before the next person comes over to pickup stuff. I got rid of stuff (A BUNCH!) on Freecycle and 2 people came last night, another person came right when I got home and I know there is 1-2 more people stopping by to get stuff tonight. Then most of it will be gone.

Lucy in the house - where it's warm.
Another Picture to See

Molly in the snow.
Another Picture to See

Andy making Larry stand in the snow.
Another Picture to See

Harry Up Close
Another Picture to See

My snowman is Jewish.
Another Picture to See

My Snowman - Harry.
Another Picture to See

Larry trying to take a nap (one of many!)
Another Picture to See

Andy's Project Car
Another Picture to See

Quack!
Another Picture to See

New Hairstyle

2-3 times a year I get in this funk where I want to change my hair. I am not sure what I want to do, I know that I just feel like my hair needs a change (again!)

So - my hair is naturally curly, so I need to limit my considerations to that. Right now I have long layers that go just past my shoulders. I haven't had bangs since high school and I am considering having bangs cuts, but I know I will want to grow them out again and I hate that in between stage where they are both too long and not long enough to do anything with. I hate those in between stages in anything, and I especially don't want to purposefully put myself in a situation that I might not look good for a while.

So, here are some celebrity curly hairstyles. But they have people helping them do their hair and making sure they look perfectly -- well-- perfect. I also don't like it when bangs are in my eyes. Maybe getting bangs cut is not such a great idea. Are bangs in or out? I read that full hair with body is in and the stick straight stuff is out (so, at least I got that going for me.)

Usually what I end up doing is changing the color and getting a trim. My hair is pretty much a dark blond with highlights of light blond, red, & brown in it. I was thinking of going lighter again. Our trip to Costa Rica is in little over a month and I need some warm-weather beach hair.

Need help?

Try Shrink in a Box! Weird.

The Weekend Chronicle

Friday night Andy & I went out to Applebee's for a late meal and then were home and in bed by 10:30. I was exhausted.

Saturday morning and early afternoon consisted of making stuff for that evening, doing laundry, dishes, & clean the house (the normal weekend stuff). That night I had a Ladies Get Together and we had dinner together, went & saw the play "A Diary of Anne Frank" (it was freaking hot in the theater and someone farted - not one of us - but someone near us - luckily there was no air movement and the smell did not drift to us.) Then back to my place to have snack and drinks some cosmopolitons (& when I ran out of vodka, we swicthed to Boone's that Jessi brought - I used to drink a lot of that stuff when I was in college in my sorority) and singing karaoke with Karaoke Revolution for the PS2. 1:30 came and everyone had left (except Jessi - she was spending the night.)

Today I managed to sleep in until about 10am, although was bothered many times by Larry the cat and at 7 had to get up and give him some food. He's a bitch when he's hungry and has no food. I made some banana bread, worked out, made breakfast, planted some more seeds (flowers) & put them in this 4-tier greenhouse I bought from Fleet Farm, did more luandry & dishes (these seem to never end), took a sauna, went over to the outlet mall and got Andy some clothes, and finally came home and sat on my ass in front of the tv.

Wedding Dresses

Well, they decided on the bridesmaid dress. Here is the bride's dress (my sister Miranda). I still have to go and buy my dress and get fitted for it. Everyone else ordered there's already.

Costa Rican Cuisine

Interesting tidbits about Costa Rican Cuisine.

Weeks 7 & 8 of 8-Week Plan

So, here is what you need to add to what you are already doing for the next 2 weeks.

Week 7
Have cooked greens twice this week
Increase walking to 40 minutes
Breath exercise 2x daily
Connect with an estranged friend
Volunteer

Week 8
Take Tonic (recipes in the book)
Increase walking to 45 minutes
Week Long News fast
Forgive someone
Buy flowers for yourself and for someone else
Review the changes you made and make realistic plan for yourself

Yummy Recipes

I am making (or actually, just made) these recipes for tonight. I am having a Ladies Night (Andy's at a Guys Poker Night). There are 4 of us starting out with dinner at our place, then we are goingt o see the play "A Diary of Anne Frank" and then we'll come back here and be joined by some others & party into the night.

So, on the menu for tonight is salad, garlic bread, spaghetti w/ veggie & meat sauce (I put a ton of veggies in here -- zucchini, both yellow & green; onions; fresh mushrooms; black olives; spinach; garlic; tomatoes), plenty of red wine, and for dessert -- Carmel Bars (recipe below).

And I know my friends -- when we come back we will want to have snacks. I'm not friends with people that are little eaters. I don't think I could be friends with a little eater because I am a big eater, and well, you know what it feels like to hang out with a little eater and you are a big eater and you feel you are expected to eat little and then you are just dying of hunger inside. So, what I have lined up for snacks is some extra special guacamole & chips (& leftover carmel bars I am sure). So, my extra special guacamole recipe is below as well.

Now - the Carmel Bars recipe I first tasted at that baby shower I went to a couple weeks ago & asked for the recipe (Damn! My house smells so good right now from making these). I gotta warn you though - it is very rich. It's not an every day type of dessert.

Carmel Bars
50 caramels
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 2/3 cup flour
1 2/3 cup oatmeal
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup soft butter (melt it a little bit)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Melt caramels & evaporated milk. Mix all other ingredients (except chocolate chips) together. Spread 3/4 of mixture in bottom of sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake 15 minutes @ 350 degrees. Remove from oven & pour caramel mixture over crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel mixture & sprinkle balance of crumb mixture over top. Bake 15 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Now for my extra special guacamole recipe. I start out using Bearitos Guacamole Seasoning packet (in the natural foods section, but you could use another brand). The recipe on this just calls for the mix & 2 avacados, but I have NEVER done just that. I have a thing about always having to change a recipe and make it my own, even it is is just a little (I did change the top recipe a little too - I just can't help it.) Now, back to my guacamole -- I usually just add some salsa & sour cream, but this time I took it even further and it is fan-freaking-tasttic. So, here's my recipe:

Extra Special Guacamole
1 packet Guacamole Seasoning Mix
2 avacados
1 T sour cream
1 T salsa
1 T red onion (chopped very small, I use a food processor)
1 tsp. cilantro (chopped small, in the food processor again)
1 roma tomato (chopped small - just go ahead and throw this in the food processor too)
1/4 tsp. lime juice

Directions:
Add packet to bowl with a flat bottom. Scoop out & remove pits from avacados and add to bowl. Add salsa & sour cream. Using a masher, mash the contents of the bowl to a consistnecy you like.

In a small food processor start by processing just the cilatro. When it looks like it is near your desired size, add red onion and process with that until desired size. Finally, add the roma tomato to food processor and hit the pulse buttom a couple times. Add this mixture to the bowl. Sprinkle top of guacamole with lime juice & stir everything together. Let sit for at least an hour so that the flavors can mix. Serve & enjoy.

5 More Minutes

Only 5 more minutes until work lets out. Yeah! Although I have a dentist visit afterwards.

We had a kid that totally tweaked out the other day, throwing tables, pushing chairs, punching file cabinets swearing profusely (lots of the f-enheimer) and slamming the door. Needless to say he got a little vacation. You could tell though that this kid was in control of himself, as he made sure not to hit anyone, although he culd have accidently. He comes back tomorrow, we'll see if he apologizes to staff & the other kids.

One kid I was meeting with was having peer issues and she so badly wants someone to like her that she ignores the very obvious lies and manipulation. I gave her some advice yesterday & some unwanted observations (she would rather have had me not say anything, but I did) and today she pulls me aside and is like "You were totally right about him." And I'm just like "So, this is the part where I say I told you so - right?" She laughs and says "Yes and proceeds to tell me about the next issue."

Time to go.

6th Week of 8-week plan

Here's the run down of what to add. You can look at previous posts if you want to see what you should be doing already.

Add:
Cooked Greens 1x this week
Increase walking to 35 minutes
Increase news fast to 4 days
Visit an Art Museum

Now I am not sure I'll get to an Art Musuem, but the purpose of the exercise is to exposing yourself to something beautiful, inspirational, & creative. I'm going to go see "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the local theater, so I think that could count just fine.

Kallen Sleeping 

Weekend Part #2

So, the second half was not nealry as thirlling, but we did stay busy.

Yesterday evening we went to a Candlelight Hike at the local state park. You could hike or cross country ski it, but there was just not enough snow. It was a nice walk. It was neat listening to the wind in the trees and seeing the glowing candles in the containers. They had a bonfire going at the beginning of the trail and that smelled so good and made me want to go home and start a bonfire int he back yard. It was a good night for a walk in the woods by candlelight -- not too cold. It was fund stopping periodically and making out on the trail.

After that we stopped at La Tapatia and picked up some food (some Gorditas & Ceviche). We have not seen any restaurant in the US have Ceviche on their menu. We fell in love with it when we first went to Costa Rica. Then we just watched a bunch of movies on cable.

Today - we got out of the house and went to Plaza Morena. It was their 2nd Anniversary and they had 50% off everything today only. So, the 2 of us packed away 4 different Mexican beers (Andy) and a raspberry margarita (me) and pina colada (me), lots of chips & salsa, combo #1 (Andy) & shrimp fajitas (me) and then came home. The Super Bowl is on now and New England is about to win.