Christmases long, long ago . . .

I've been scanning old family pictures, and found this one of my mom and Mark. I love it-they both look great.

Sariah Ria Bo Bia!

Could she be any cuter?!? Sariah is crawling now, and standing while holding on to things. She's such a sweetheart.

Ashley's Dora Trike Part 2

Ashley has a fondness for sticks of all sizes. She was overjoyed to be able to store her find in the basket on her trike.

Ashley's Dora Trike

My mom got Ashley a Dora the Explorer Tricycle, and right before she got here, we opened the box and found out it came in lots of pieces. Mark was nice enough to put it together for his niece.









Ashley loved it and wanted to play on it all day. Her legs aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals, even on the closest seat setting, but she's content to just scoot along with her feet.

Happy Birthday Brett!

Last week was Brett's birthday, so Amber and I decorated his cubicle. It was great fun.

Yes, I know I'm a slacker

Wendy tagged me almost two weeks ago and I still haven't done it yet. Here goes . . .

here are the "rules":
a. each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
b. at the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. A couple of weeks ago I attended a food storage class on beans. Tonight I made turkey veggie soup for dinner and discovered that while cooking, the lentils I put in sprouted. This, as I learned in my bean class, makes them less gaseous. I was excited to kind of a pathetic degree about the sprouting and had to make each member of my family look at it.

2. I just got a cool booklet that has a schedule for reading the four Standard Works in a year. I started last night and the amount you have to read each day isn't as bad as I thought.

3. I'm planning on going back to school next year, but I'm scared to death I won't get in.

4. I have started using anti-wrinkle cream around my eyes because I feel like I'm getting old and wrinkly.

5. I like to own books that look impressive on my shelf, but I never actually read them. I really am going to try to from now on though.

6. I'm not looking forward to Christmas this year. My brother and his family will be in California with his wife's family. My aunt and uncle will only come out here if Matthew and his family are coming, so they're staying home and my Grandma is going to stay with them in Maryland. Plus we only get the 25th off at work, so I have to work Christmas Eve, which isn't much fun. Oh well, I guess it would be worse if everyone was out here and I had to work instead of spending time with them.

I think Wendy might be the only person who reads this and actually has a blog, so I'm not tagging anyone.

I've been tagged

. . . but I can't think of six facts/habits that people don't really know. I'm going to have to think on this one and get back to you, Wendy. I also don't think there are six people who actually read my blog. Yeah, so I'll get back to you on this one.

More pics of the nieces

For Halloween Ashley was a cat and Sariah was a mouse. Look how excited Sariah is!

Ewwwww!!!!!

These are pictures of what was left in the bathtub after I gave the dogs a bath. The pile of brown nastiness in the corner is hair I had to keep scooping out of the drain so the water would go down. I just thought you would all like to share in the fun! :)

This is why I love being an aunt

Being an aunt is great because I get to enjoy Ashley's antics and shenanigans, but I don't have to clean up the mess. She recently got hold of a black marker, and hilarity (for me, at least) ensued . . .

November 1

Today, November 1, is the 305th day of the year, which would seem to indicate that there are 60 days left of 2007.

These important and random things happened on this day in history:

1512-The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is exhibited to the public for the first time.
1604-Shakespeare's "Othello" is presented for the first time.
1755-Lisbon, Portugal is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing 60-90,000.
1848-The first medical school for women opens in Boston.
1896-The first pair of naked breasts is shown in "National Geographic."
1998-The European Court of Human rights is instituted.
2007-Hackers find a way to unlock extra violence in a video game. (most viewed news story on Yahoo today)

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics from our Halloween party.


Brett, Connie and Jim. Brett won Funniest Costume.


Tina is a fabulous Dorothy.


Ryan as I'm not sure what, but he tied for Scariest Costume.


Amber, who borrowed my idea for Goth Raggedy Ann.


Cathy, who for the first time ever, didn't dress up as something dark and scary. Yay for you!

Move over, Martha Stewart!

We had a Halloween party at work today and I made sugar cookies. But these weren't just any sugar cookies, they were works of art. Check 'em out!







Are you impressed? I am-I didn't know I had such skills!

Video of my family

I'm adding this to my Christmas list

I want this. I love to read while I eat, and this holds your book up and open for you. Is that lazy? I can't even expend the energy to hold my book while I read it. Whatever. It's still cool.

Cathy-I found you a costume!!!

It's Goth Raggedy Ann and Andy!!! How great is that!

What happens in Wendover stays in Wendover.

One of my co-workers decided that a bunch of us should get together and catch the "Fun Bus" to Wendover last Friday. Here are the high/low points of the evening.

-Apparently not all buses to Wendover are "Fun Buses." Ours was the "Geriatric Hispanic Couples Bus" mixed with a little "Crap, It's the End of the Month and I spent the Rent Money on Crack, Better go to Wendover Bus."

-Buffets in Wendover are not equal to the buffets in Vegas. This one did have a chocolate fountain, though, which I have yet to see in Vegas. It got major points for that one feature.

-Whenever you are supposed to be somewhere to be on a bus at a certain time, expect half of your party to not get there on time and therefore miss the bus. Four of our people ended up driving to Wendover and missed playing Bingo with our 75 year old tour guide type person.

-The Munsters nickel slot game rules! It plays cool music and has sweet bonus games.

-A virgin pina colada in a casino in Wendover is not the same as a virgin pina colada at Chili's. I guess the rum is supposed to be the dominant flavor, so when you take that away, you just have water with a little pineapple and coconut flavoring. Oh well, it was free I can't complain too much.

-We found really comfy purple chairs to sit in in one of the lounge areas. They were great. I want one.

-Co-workers who are pretty darn cool at work, are sooooooo much cooler outside of work!

-I kinda suck at video poker, but it entertained me for a long time, so it's all good.

-Don't take your shoes off on the bus if you have really stinky feet. I didn't do it-some unknown person did on the way home and everyone almost died on the way home.

What an unfortunate name

Fun shopping website

You have to check out She's Got It All. They sell all sorts of cool crafty-ish stuff. I love their Seasonal and Holiday Decor.

Really? With all that money???

What do you see that's kinda retarded in this picture? Wow, far too many answers for that question! Is it just me, or is that Body Fantasies body spray next to the Marlboro Menthol Lights? I can't believe that with all the money she has, Britney Spears uses that. Isn't that stuff like three bucks at ShopKo? I guess she has been spotted at Rite Aid quite a bit lately. She must've picked it up there. I guess if you're snorting and/or smoking and/or drinking away all your money, Body Fantasies just has to do sometimes. Let this be a lesson, children. Don't do drugs or you'll have to buy drug store perfume instead of Hanae Mori.

What I did at work today

I love the movie "Just Friends." My favorite part is Samantha with the toothpaste.

The perfect Christmas gift for someone who has everything

Everyone knows someone who has everything and needs nothing else. Well, now your problem is solved. How about a Hello Kitty assault rifle!! It's just under $1100 and comes with a hand crocheted shoulder-stock muzzler. According to the website it is "A perfect gift for the young lady of the house." Because what young lady these days doesn't want an AK-47?

Bacon candy bar????

" Deep milk chocolate coats your mouth and leads to the crunch of smoked bacon pieces. Surprise your mouth with the smoked salt and sweet milk chocolate combination."


Now I love bacon and I love chocolate, but I'm pretty sure those are two things that should not go together. Check it out here. They also sell kalamata olives with white chocolate.

What are your guilty pleasures?

The Urban Dictionary defines a guilty pleasure as something you shouldn't like, but like anyway. Here are my guilty pleasures. What are yours?

-Teeny-bopper movies. If it has Amanda Bynes or Hillary Duff in it, I love it.

-Cher-Went to her farewell tour twice. I think I was the only one there that was not gay or over 40. She is truly amazing.

-Chick lit-I know I should like classic literature, and I do sometimes, but I love, love, love chick lit. My favorites are the Shopaholic series and anything by Marian Keyes.

-Vienna sausages-I don't know what's in them and I don't want to know. I just want to eat them warmed up, with a side of BBQ sauce.

Yet another way to waste time

Here's another great website I have just discovered. It has all sorts of lists. Some examples (presented in list form)

-Good Sayings About Life

-Best Weather Person

-Best Songs of the 90's

-Famous New Zealanders

-Depressing Modern Rock Love Songs

-Best Movie Lines

-Songs for a Pimp

Ways to annoy your co-workers

I just found a couple of websites about how to annoy your co-workers. Here are my favorite (and at least semi-realistic) ideas for annoying your co-workers:

Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you're doing. For example: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the bathroom."

Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask him or her if they want fries with that.

Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you're waiting for your document.

Send e-mail messages saying there's free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunchroom. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, "Oh you've got to be faster than that."

Put a piece of clear tape over the bottom of their mouse to stop the ball from moving. See how long it takes them to figure it out.

When a coworker approaches, pick up the phone and start talking. If they try to talk to you anyway, roll your eyes and say into the phone, "Can you hold on for a moment, I have a really rude coworker trying to talk to me when I'm clearly on the phone." Then stare at the coworker annoyed and demand to be told what was so important that you had to put someone on hold for.

Prank call your coworkers by phoning and hanging up. This works best when they are across the room and have to run for the phone. (I've actually done this one several times and it is quite enjoyable.)

Leave plastic figurines on their desk when they're not looking. (This isn't the greatest idea, but it's another one I've done. Or at least I did it until my co-worker finally took the bobble-head doll home.)

Respond to everything they say with a question, and when possible, work in 'Is this good for the company?'

Mess up the settings on their monitor. (I've tried to do this one, but my company insists that everyone lock their desktop when they leave their desk. Way to ruin the fun!)

Replace all their pens with empty or leaking pens. (Did this one too-I took the ink and ballpoint part out of Amber's pen right before we went to a meeting where she was supposed to be the note taker. I then blamed it on Cathy.)

Get new procedures passed at meetings and then, after two weeks, find a new way to do it but don't tell anyone. (Oh my gosh! The manager's at my company totally do this all the time!!!)


Send them messages thanking them for being a special person, and that you truly appreciate all the work they do. (Oh no-I have a co-worker who does this, but she isn't being funny, she's just kinda retarded.)

Wear completely bizarre outfits in the brightest colors you can possibly find. If someone comments, claim your handicapped niece/nephew made it for you and that you think they're an awful person to be making fun of handicapped people. (O.k., my friends from work-who does this remind you of?!?)

If this happens, I will be leaving the country

On one of the websites I check all the time, Reality Blurred, there is an article about how Spencer from "The Hills" would like to be president someday. Click here to read it. The thought of Spencer some day running the country makes me quake with fear.

An example

Here is a prime example of why Zac Efron makes me uncomfortable. Look at the amount of make-up on that kid. I think he uses as much base in one day as I use in a year.

Coming Soon: November is National Beard Month

Make sure you check back next month for famous beards throughout history. Here's a peek at the fun to come!!!


Abraham Lincoln



Brigham Young




Gandolf from The Lord of the Rings




Katie Holmes

National Italian American Heritage Month

As well as being National Sexuality Education Month, October is also National Italian American Heritage Month. Yay Italy! Let us ponder the great things Italy has provided us with . . .



The Mona Lisa




The Sistine Chapel





Christopher Columbus (yes, he was Italian)




Mmmmmm . . . pasta!




And finally, to celebrate both National Italian American Heritage Month and National Sexuality Education Month, I give you the condom! Gabriele Fallopio invented the forerunner of the modern condom, and the Fallopian Tubes are also named after him. Thanks, Gabriele!

It's Make Over Night!!!!!

Since I have no life, my evening will be spent sitting at home watching Beauty and the Geek. Tonight is when they do the make overs and it's always the best episode of the season. I miss Tony though. He was my favorite geek of the season and was voted off in the first episode. :(

My little brother

My little brother, who is not so little, is on the student council at his high school. For an assembly, they recreated the OK Go treadmill dance. He's the one in the red pants.

People who make me feel kinda weird

I don't know why in some cases, but these people make me feel kind of uncomfortable.


Carrot Top really needs to stop with the steroids.


There's just something about Joe Simpson that's incestuous/pedophilic.

I have no idea why on this one, but Zac Efron creeps me out just a little bit.
Everything about Amy Winehouse, but specifically her teeth, makes me kinda queasy. I should stop looking, but I just can't take my eyes off the trainwreck!

I'm just sayin'

I'm pretty sure I have the cutest nieces in the whole wide world.

This is Ashley. She's two and likes to sing her ABC's, play with puppies, and be the center of attention. This isn't the best picture, but all the other ones I have at the moment are old.


This is Sariah. She is almost 7 months. She likes it when her mommy sings "Sariah-riah, bo-bia, banana-fana fo fia, etc., etc.



This is my favorite picture of the girls. The photo taking didn't exactly go as planned!

What I did today at work

I have pretty much one of the most monotonous jobs ever. I do credit card applications, so it's basically data entry, then I decide whether or not to approve the application (Btw, it helps if you have a cool company name that contains oh, say "Busted Nut", or if you say you're an escort service. Probably those things should not affect my decision, but yeah.). To help my day along, I watch movies and/or tv shows on my iPod.

Today I watched . . .

and half of . . .

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

I made these over the weekend. They were pretty good, but the batter was way too thick. If you make them, you might want to thin it out with some milk or they might not cook all the way through.

I topped them with some sauteed pear stuff. A friend has a pear tree, so she gave me about 30 pears, all of which were two to three inches big. Seriously. Anyway-I chopped them up and sauteed them in butter and brown sugar. It was good, but I didn't notice when I bought it that the butter was unsalted, so it tasted just a little bit "off."

My new favorite song o' the moment

I'm not hugely familiar with Miranda Lambert, but I love the song "Gunpowder & Lead." Here are the lyrics, but you have to hear the song for the full effect:


"Gunpowder & Lead"

County road 233, under my feet
Nothin' on this white rock but little ole me
I've got two miles till, he makes bail
And if I'm right we're headed straight for hell

[Chorus:]

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
He slap my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm going to show him what a little girls made of
Gunpowder and lead

It's half past ten, another six pack in
And I can feel the rumble like a cold black wind
He pulls in the drive, the gravel flies
He dont know what's waiting here this time

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
He slap my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm going to show him what a little girls made of
Gunpowder and lead

His fist is big but my gun's bigger
He'll find out when I pull the trigger

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
He slap my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm going to show him what a little girls made of
Gunpowder and lead

Love the ensemble

I went to dinner a couple nights ago with my friend and her parents, who were visiting. Her step-dad wore green sweatpants that used to belong to her daughter, a button-front denim shirt, black sneakers and bright white socks. Amusing on its own, but he likes to have one pant leg pulled up at all times, a la LL Cool J. I love it!

Yeah . . .

So this is like the third time I have created a blog. I'm always all excited about things for a couple weeks, then never do anything with it again. We'll see what happens with this one.