Plans for Next Week and Finally Friday

I just remembered that I need to warn all of you that I will probably not be posting at the end of next week and the beginning of the next. Basically, Oct 2-5; do NOT expect a post from me. I'll be floating out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and traipsing through Cozumel, Mexico. I'm going on a cruise with some of the members of my Mardi Gras Society. It's a fundraiser and hopefully will be quite fun. I'm excited about this one (it's my 3rd) because in addition to having family and some acquaintances there, I'll also have some very good friends. My best friend from college and her husband are going, as well as some of LOML's high school friends. However, LOML will not be going with me. We went on this cruise before and he was not happy with it, so he will not board that ship again. This means that I'll room with my cousin. She's fun! I've got SO MUCH to do before the trip that I can't even think about all of it. I did get some new clothes last weekend, but who knows if they match anything else (shoes, accessories, tops, bottoms, etc.) I own. I may end up just looking like a huge geek without properly-matching clothes. WONDERFUL!!

Anyway - it's getting late in the day and I wanted to go ahead and post your "Feed Good Friday" links

• Check out this list of 50 productivity blogs to help you get some stuff done, or to just waste some time.
  
• This gmap pedometer can map your walking/running/biking route to see how far you are going (zoom in and then double click on starting point and each turn). It will even compute how many calories you burn walking.
  
• I just have to share the laundry room of my dreams (well, besides one that comes with a built in maid).
• This quote started my day off right this morning - "A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin

Today is also "Frozen Margarita Friday" and I can't wait. I know LOML is looking forward to it too.
I sincerely hope you have a fantastic weekend.

My Week Thus Far (and WWWW)

I don't really have much to say today. It's been a slow couple of days.

Monday night was spent with my nieces - homework, dinner, some crafting, and baths. I had promised that after homework, we could do a craft. Fortunately, I still had some items in my car from helping them make cards last week. Included in that stuff was a few sheets of Ruff-n-Ready Shrinky Dinks and my big box of colored pencils. Unfortunately, I didn't have a hole puncher. So, the didn't get to make pendants. Instead, I cut one sheet into four pieces and let them draw and color whatever they wanted before we shrunk them. I told them that I would bring some magnets over the next time I came and they could turn their creations into refrigerator magnets. I still have one more sheet of it in my car and will try to go ahead and put a hole puncher and some ribbon in there so they can make pendants next time too.

Last night, the LOML* and I ate dinner and watched a little tv before he had to get back to work. He's trying to finish this project so he can move on to another. He's really ready to be done with this one and is pushing to get it completed. It stresses him out so, and I can't stand to see him like that. He's usually sooooooooo laid back. I'm the one who supposed to worry and stress. He's supposed to be the calm one. While he worked, I went in the craft room for a bit and worked on my shrink plastic pendants. Of course, I had been doodling on some blank pieces while dinner cooked as well. I think my current crafty obsession is shrink plastic again. In fact, I have some with me at work.

Tonight, I'm meeting a good friend and some of her co-workers for dinner and then going to see "The House Bunny." I know it's supposed to be kinda silly, but I think I need that. I'm looking forward to it.

I guess I had more to say than I thought. Y'all said you wanted to hear more about my everyday life in the poll from last month. Are you still sure it's that interesting??

I better get on to the fun stuff since it is "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• Lindsey Lohan's Gay and getting married to her girlfriend? I don't really follow the celebrity gossip, but I tend to have somewhat of a clue. This TOTALLY surprised me.
  
• Try this tv theme song quiz. I thought it would be a breeze for me and it was harder than I thought.
  
• I guess I never really thought about the similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars. But, it totally makes sense.
  
• How long could you survive chained to a bunk bed with a velocoraptor? Take the quiz to find out. Me? 47 seconds.
• I've posted a link to some bad domain names before, but here's whole new list of them.

Hopefully, I've healed the numbness you experienced in reading about the first half of my week with these links. Happy Hump Day!

Fall Has Begun and So Has the Week (MMSM)

So it's now officially the beginning of Autumn. I really do love this season for a variety of reasons (Halloween, my birthday, my anniversary, Turkey Day, and cooler weather all fall in this realm.) However, it also makes me a bit sad. . . time has worn on, the Summer is over. Beginning only means that something else has ended.
I'm not usually this pessimistic, but I hate to see the cold weather move in. Cooler is fine, but colder - not for me. That's why I live in the South. It's gets cold, but just cold enough for me to have a wardrobe change for a little while. You know, mix it up a bit. However, autumn signals the end of bathing suit season. This, of course, is just a symbol here. I'll still be in the water (with my bathing suit on) for a month or two more. If not IN the water, than near it. After that, I'll beach it while LOML* dons his wetsuit and exhibits how he's more of a 'water baby' than I am. He can go for it too - I hate wearing my wetsuit (too binding.)

I've rambled long enough. Let me just say HAPPY AUTUMN
and give you a "Made Me Smile Monday"

• Where rainbows come from
• Women have a tough time finding just regular costumes, this just helps prove the point. Is there anything that can't be made into a sexy Halloween costume?
  
• If you don't like the look of the usual bike helmets, you might want to try one of these bike helmet hats.
  
• I've mentioned it before, but I'm a big fan of The Office. If you are too, you should watch this "That's what she said video"
  
• I think I've been to this club before

That's all for now. I hope you frolic in the foliage or celebrate the coolness or whatever it is you do to start your Fall off right. Happy Monday to all and to all a good week.

Martha Stewart and Me

OMG! Martha Stewart is doing a thing on bloggers and will be linking to several blogs from hers. In order to be considered you must leave her a comment and then link to her blog from your own. I'm so IN!!!

In other news:
1. My laptop is finally fixed but I probably will not resume regular posting until tomorrow. I'm sorry it took so long but I apparently royally messed it up. The tech at work says it's not my fault, but I'm sure it is.
2. I'm still not preg and therefore in a bad mood today. Hopefully, a little birthday party for my grandmother tonight will make me feel better. For now, I'm just down in the dumps. Blah!!
3. I have been rather crafty for the past several days: sealing and backing shrink plastic charms, helping the nieces make cards for my grandmother, making my own cards, and creating a few necklaces. See. . . CRAFTY Hope (that's me)I even did all this before work, in the morning (shudder.) Those that know me well know that for me to accomplish ANYTHING in the morning is an accomplishment indeed. Be proud, be very proud.

I guess that's all for now. I hope you all are doing great!!

A Minor Glitch In the Works

Hey all, Just a quick post from work to let you know that my laptop is having some problems and I won't be posting until I get it back. This will likely be tomorrow as the techs at work are 'on it'. Apparently, my laptop was "Hijacked." Supposedly, that just means some spyware got on it or something. Whatever! As long as they can fix it, it'll all be good.
So much for "Techie Tuesday." I feel a little stranded without my laptop. Withdrawal symptoms will last until I can get it back.

Until then. . .

It's Over Already? MMSM is Here, Though.

Wow! Did that weekend spin by anyone else? I barely had time to realize it had started before it was over. Sigh! I stay WAY TOO busy.

I did squeeze in some crafting yesterday afternoon and then this morning. I also went with friends and LOML to see "Burn After Reading." It was really good. I'm not sure that it was theater-worthy, but it was good. OH - what I mean by 'theater-worthy' is that usually LOML and I only go to the theater to see movies that are action/ CGI/ visual effects packed. This was not. However, totally worth the trip to the movies. We haven't been to a movie since we saw The Dark Knight.
Eh, I'm rambling.

I know what you came for so - here's your "Made Me Smile Monday"

• Electrical scream
• Mythbusters crocheted toys. This isn't a LOL, but if you are a fan of mythbusters and crafts, you'll like these.
  
• Soap dispenser for the shower, that's sure to get a laugh or snot, whatever.
  
• Safari Animals gone Wild - drunken African safari. I had NO IDEA this could happen.
  
• Lego delivery with some confusing (or confused) results.

I hope you had a long, relaxing, enjoyable weekend. Now get back to work!! ;)

Just a Quickie and Some Thrifty Thursday Love

I want to quickly, quickly make a post. This morning I still had almost a thousand blogs to read (GAH!!!!) and I'm in the office - so no funny stuff (or not much anyway).

I feel like I've neglected my husband all week. Though I haven't completely. I've given him some space with his friends and took care of some tasks that I had of my own - namely my Mardi Gras Society and my nieces. I want to make him a nice dinner tonight and that weighs heavy on my mind. What to cook, what to cook? Hmmmm....

Anyway, it's "Thrifty Thursday" and I'm here to share:

• Being thrifty and frugal is all about getting as much use out of items at the lowest cost possible. Have you ever thought about some other uses for a laptop. These are great - maybe not practical, but great.
  
• Here's how a whole chicken is a frugal meal or five. I really want to use this idea myself as I am a big fan of the chicken meat and don't mind eating it often.
  
• If you use bar soap for showering or next to your sink, you know how annoying those last little slivers can be. Here are 6 ways to recycle soap slivers and relieve another annoyance from your life.
  

As it is 9/11, please take a moment to remember those who were lost on this day. They may have never chosen to fight for our county, but our county is fighting for them.
I'm out for now.

Catching Up and WWWW

It must be a crazy time for everyone, because not one of you has commented on the fact that I haven't posted anything in a whole week. I guess we're all busy. Summer's coming to an end, Hurricane Season is in high spirits, and who has time to spend on the web. For me, that time has been limited. I was so proud of myself last week for catching up on my blog reading and keeping the number down. As of today, my main blog/feed reader, Google Reader has a list of 764 blogs for me to catch up on. I had a BUSY BUSY weekend.

On Friday, LOML* and I met some friends in Pensacola for a Beer Festival and then dinner. The festival was okay. There were WAY too many people in too small a place for my taste. And taste we did - LOTS and LOTS of beers. There was only one I tried that I didn't like, but I only asked for ones I thought I'd like - fruity, chocolaty, ales, porters, and wheats. I am a big fan of the fruity wheat beers. Those are my favorites by far. However, I didn't find a whole ton of these and got tanked on the others. I even got to try a Blackberry Champagne. It was a little too sweet, but pretty good. I knocked several people in the back, arm, and beer glasses with my very pointy elbows by accident and spent a lot of the evening apologzing for this. Again, it was way too crowded.

This was one of our favorite booths. It's The Yeastie Boys. Yes, that's a mug of beer working a turntable, wearing a Notorious H.O.P. chain. AWESOME!!

The rest of the weekend is a bit of a blur, not because I was in a drunken stupor or anything, but because I was in a crafting stupor. Yes, I spent the majority of my weekend CRAFTING. I did get some shopping done - I HAD to use that 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby of course. But then, I broke out the paint, glue, glitter, shrink plastic, and everything else that got my hands all sticky and colorful. It was pure bliss. Basically, I made a ton of pendants and worked on sealing and backing some shrink plastic ones. The next step is to string everything. Of course, once they're all completed, what do I do with them? That's one of those questions I've been pondering for years.

On Monday LOML* and I took the day off as his best friend is in town and wanted to spend a day at the beach. We started fairly early and stayed late. I didn't bother with sunscreen until it was too late and now I have a very red face. Dang pure, white sand that reflects the sun back onto your face whether you're in the shade or not!! I WAS in the shade for most of the day. Overall, it was a great time.

Getting back to work yesterday was hard. I had some catching up to do and then my Mardi Gras Society meeting. I hope you can tell why I haven't been present for a week. I've been having too much fun. Not that blogging isn't fun, I just have been pre-occupied with other activities is all. I hope to make it up, but we'll see.

And now for your regularly scheduled "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• Need to remember to do certain tasks? Well, get hassled will send you semi-unpredictable reminders. You'll be nagged and prodded to go to the gym, call your mother, clean the toilet, or whatever other reminder you need.
  

• Check out what the Goonies look like now
• What if the Muppets made parodies of other movies, or simply WERE the stars of other movies? Here's one persons scenerio for Muppet movie ideas.
  

• I know this presidential election and all the campaigning and name calling is all wearing us a little thin. For some laughs, check out the "time for some campaigning" video. It made things a little lighter (and more musical).
  
• As I've mentioned before, I am definitely hanging out on Facebook a bit more. If you're also a Facebook junkie, Cracked.com came up with the 10 commandments of Facebook. I think a few of them are a little harsh, but that's only because I'm guilty of them. I guess I'm a Facebook sinner or something.
  

I'm hoping to post some of the completed pendants on Fairy Creative later today if possible. Check them out and let me know what you think.

An Explanation about LOML and WWWW

Have I ever mentioned WHY I only refer to my husband as LOML* here?
I don't think I have. I know it would be SO MUCH EASIER to just call him by his real name, but alas, I shan't.
Basically, he works for a large, international technology-based company. And, because he never knows what I'll say about him here (heehee), he'd rather I not mention his name. Therefore, he cannot be traced to my blog. Those of you who know me personally already know his name and those who do not, we'll just keep calling him LOML* (Love of My Life.)

I figured I needed to explain myself, as I keep reading other blogs (friends and such) who openly name their children, spouses, friends, etc. I am also hesitant to name my nieces, friends, and friends' children. I guess that's just another one of my neuroses. Maybe I'll get over it at some point. Now, I just have to make up initials or catchy nicknames for everyone I know. That'll happen - riiiiight.

For now, let's move on to the real meat of the post - "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• Here's a neat picture site, just fun and unusual pictures like this one.
• The worst analogies in high school essays. They are as bad as something someone in high school might have written. Read them first before you criticize my writing.
  

• Yeah. . .time to get your learn on.
  
• A bit of a different take on 'Toy Story'

• A friend e-mailed me this link to Harry Potter merchandise. My fave item has got to be the book of monsters

Happy Hump Day!!

Another Site. . . What Spare Time?

Hey guys!!! I took the plunge and posted on the *NEW* Fairy Creative site.
Check it out if you get a chance!!

More about Poll Results, Labor Day, and MMSM

My poll is now closed and I haven't received any new results. Again, I've had a hard time interpreting what you want because I got seven answers and only two of them were the same. Those two that are the same (and thus have a higher percentage) want me to discuss more about my day-to-day life. The rest of you are all over the place. Overall, what I think I am going to do is use this blog as a personal one, in a similar way as I have been, and try to include more about me. I will continue to link to the interesting items I find on the web. I will also share some of my crafts (as that is part of my life.) However, I am also going to start trying to use the other blog as well to share some of the cool craft stuff I find. The other blog is Fairy Creative (www.fairycreative.blogspot.com) if you want to check it out and follow it as well (read: please do!!) I will have the post you are reading up before I have a 'real' post up over there, but please do check it out if you are interested at all.

Okay, MOVING ON!! It's Labor Day, a day I've been looking forward to because it's a paid day off, a three-day weekend, a freebie beach day. However, I'm stuck inside hiding from the wind and rain, from a little storm they are calling Gustav. Fortunately, I'm far enough away that it is just a nuisance and not a disaster. I guess it is giving me time to post, which I probably wouldn't be doing from the beach (I'm trying to see the bright side.) I also need to remember that at least I CAN post, which means I still have power and cable. LOML*, another couple, and I had a great time at the beach. Somehow I drank a little too much on Friday night and felt rough on Saturday morning, but that soon faded. While I did start drinking again around lunch time, I was drinking slowly and never really got drunk. I felt so much better for packing and getting the heck out of there on Sunday. I'm now waiting for a slight pause in the storm to run to the grocery store so we can go to friends' for dinner. As such, I'm kinda all over the place - sorry!!

Since it is Labor Day, it is also "Made Me Smile Monday" I've got some goodies for y'all.

• Here's one all you can eat special you won't soon forget.
• QUOTE - "Why do they say new and improved? It can't be new if it was improved can it?" - Unknown

• Check out this Parrot singing old McDonald.
  
• LOML* and I saw this as a bumper sticker a while ago and about died laughing. I still like it.
• Try the Quest for the crown game.

Alrighty, gonna venture into the storm now. Wish me luck!!