Thursday, July 31, 2008.....
I don't get it. Can someone explain to me why the contestants don't listen to Tim Gunn? Seriously. Every time he gives constructive criticism, the contestants that listen do well on the runway and the ones that don't, well, they're auf...
Was it a surprise with last night's results? I think not. However, I commend contestants that want to stay true to their art and ignore the advice. It's too bad that they don't take the advice, win and then be true to their art.
Oh well, some are late learners.
j
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reminscing
Wednesday, July 30, 2008....
Yesterday my sister came into town and we got to spend some time together. As we were in her car, we discussed the purchase of her next car. She's torn between several options, one of which is a Volvo. For safety reasons this is a practical choice. However, as we were discussing the virtues of the Volvo we digressed and talked about the cars our dad would purchase when we were in high school.
My dad commuted into NYC and needed a commuter car for the train station. However, if we dropped him off early mornings and picked him up in the evenings, we had access to the car. It was great because alot of my friends had to take the bus to school and I had a car which opened the door for endless freedom. No standing on the corner waiting for the school bus in the freezing weather and I could go places after school without having to rely on a parent to shuttle me around. My sister and I never had an issue about sharing the commuter car because she is 4 years older than me and was in college when I was driving.
The cars that my dad chose were HORRIBLE. If he paid more than $400 for them, he would have overpaid for them. During the years that my sister used the commuter car in high school, she drove this old Toyota. I think a Corolla or Tercel, but am not positive. I am fuzzy on the particulars, but remember it was white with a lot of rust and it backfired all the time. One late night as my sister was driving home from visiting her boyfriend during summer break from college, she was pulled over by a police officer. It wasn't for speeding. No. It was for the shots she was supposedly firing from the car with her gun. Apparently, when she was leaving her boyfriend's house late that evening, the car backfired when she started it up. The neighbors thought it was a gun being fired and called the cops. She was pulled over at 2:00 a.m., wearing shorts and tank top (if memory serves me, but definitely wearing clothing that could not conceal a gun). Two things I remember about that night are that 1) it took her some time to convince the police officers that she hadn't a gun and explain why she was in that neighborhood at 2:00 a.m.;and 2) her chewing out my dad for the sheer embarrassment of being pulled over by the cops.
Shortly after this incident, my dad purchased the commuter car that I got to drive around. A puke brown, Capri. My sister reminded me last night how much she hated the car, but I kind of have fond memories of the car. It was an incredibly low riding vehicle and maybe I thought that was cool. Heck, I was 16, what did I know. Believe it or not, that car was less safe than the crappy back-firing Toyota. This one caught on fire....while I was the driver.... However, that isn't the best part of the story. The best part is that I was driving to a friend's house when the car began to smoke and I pulled over in front of the local pizza place. I got out of the car, noticed a trail of flames following the car and went into the pizza place with the intent of trying to put out the fire. I had the best intentions, but all I could mutter was "Excuse me, could I please have a glass of water. My car is on fire." My sister still laughs at this, but kudos to me for having manners. I said excuse me (I believe I may have been interrupting a conversation) and said "please". Needless to say, a glass of water wasn't the solution, however, it was a start. The fire department was able to put the fire out before it exploded from the gas line fire. The entire engine burnt in the fire and my dad's response to when I informed him that the car was dead was "I told you to bring the car down for a new muffler -- this never would have happened if you had done that". He was finally convinced that it wasn't my fault only after talking with the fire department and learning it was a gas line fire. He also had a delusion of saving the car until he saw the melted engine.
It was after this incident that my mother finally intervened and the "commuter" cars became safe Subarus. Twenty-five years later and my dad still drives a Subaru.
Personally, I'm hoping that our car drive discussion last night convinces my sister to play it safe and get the Volvo.
j
Yesterday my sister came into town and we got to spend some time together. As we were in her car, we discussed the purchase of her next car. She's torn between several options, one of which is a Volvo. For safety reasons this is a practical choice. However, as we were discussing the virtues of the Volvo we digressed and talked about the cars our dad would purchase when we were in high school.
My dad commuted into NYC and needed a commuter car for the train station. However, if we dropped him off early mornings and picked him up in the evenings, we had access to the car. It was great because alot of my friends had to take the bus to school and I had a car which opened the door for endless freedom. No standing on the corner waiting for the school bus in the freezing weather and I could go places after school without having to rely on a parent to shuttle me around. My sister and I never had an issue about sharing the commuter car because she is 4 years older than me and was in college when I was driving.
The cars that my dad chose were HORRIBLE. If he paid more than $400 for them, he would have overpaid for them. During the years that my sister used the commuter car in high school, she drove this old Toyota. I think a Corolla or Tercel, but am not positive. I am fuzzy on the particulars, but remember it was white with a lot of rust and it backfired all the time. One late night as my sister was driving home from visiting her boyfriend during summer break from college, she was pulled over by a police officer. It wasn't for speeding. No. It was for the shots she was supposedly firing from the car with her gun. Apparently, when she was leaving her boyfriend's house late that evening, the car backfired when she started it up. The neighbors thought it was a gun being fired and called the cops. She was pulled over at 2:00 a.m., wearing shorts and tank top (if memory serves me, but definitely wearing clothing that could not conceal a gun). Two things I remember about that night are that 1) it took her some time to convince the police officers that she hadn't a gun and explain why she was in that neighborhood at 2:00 a.m.;and 2) her chewing out my dad for the sheer embarrassment of being pulled over by the cops.
Shortly after this incident, my dad purchased the commuter car that I got to drive around. A puke brown, Capri. My sister reminded me last night how much she hated the car, but I kind of have fond memories of the car. It was an incredibly low riding vehicle and maybe I thought that was cool. Heck, I was 16, what did I know. Believe it or not, that car was less safe than the crappy back-firing Toyota. This one caught on fire....while I was the driver.... However, that isn't the best part of the story. The best part is that I was driving to a friend's house when the car began to smoke and I pulled over in front of the local pizza place. I got out of the car, noticed a trail of flames following the car and went into the pizza place with the intent of trying to put out the fire. I had the best intentions, but all I could mutter was "Excuse me, could I please have a glass of water. My car is on fire." My sister still laughs at this, but kudos to me for having manners. I said excuse me (I believe I may have been interrupting a conversation) and said "please". Needless to say, a glass of water wasn't the solution, however, it was a start. The fire department was able to put the fire out before it exploded from the gas line fire. The entire engine burnt in the fire and my dad's response to when I informed him that the car was dead was "I told you to bring the car down for a new muffler -- this never would have happened if you had done that". He was finally convinced that it wasn't my fault only after talking with the fire department and learning it was a gas line fire. He also had a delusion of saving the car until he saw the melted engine.
It was after this incident that my mother finally intervened and the "commuter" cars became safe Subarus. Twenty-five years later and my dad still drives a Subaru.
Personally, I'm hoping that our car drive discussion last night convinces my sister to play it safe and get the Volvo.
j
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Critters
Tuesday, July 29, 2008.....
Critters is the perfect title for today's blog as I've been intimate with several in the past few days. Since "critter" means creature (according to the dictionary), assume I mean all types.
First, I should state that I live in a surburb with a 1/3 acre of land. This is not what you would consider enough land for a farm, but for some reason, my neighbors did not get the message. On both sides of the house, each neighbor own chickens (one 15, the other not so sure of). However, it doesn't stop there....one has three dogs; the other I believe runs some sort of kennel. The kennel people also own a rooster and a single goose. Why just one? That question has been puzzling me for some time. I could be mistaken; but not in this case. Geese do not provide a source of milk nor do they lay golden eggs as the fairy tale would have you to believe.
In addition to my neighbors' pets (I say pets because one of the chicken's name is Bump), I have rabbits that mate and give birth in my yard every Spring, a neighboring cat that thinks it owns my yard, sometimes wood mallards that reproduce every Springtime and an occasional fox that passes through. It has been a number of years since the deer made an appearance and last Saturday night, a beautiful doe was in my yard. I was so excited until dinner. My fiance and I were discussing the doe as I was looking out the front window at my Casablanca lillies. If anyone knows anything about deer, they know that the lillies are not long for the world. At this point, it is 8:30 and I am now remembering when I first planted the lillies. For the first three years, the lillies would bloom and I would think, they'll be perfect to pick tomorrow. I'd wake up the next day and "poof" gone. Dang deer....
My fiance reminded me that we did not scare the doe away and it would be back. This is when I remembered I had some Irish Spring and needless to say, I was tossing grated IS on the lillies at some later time that evening (yeah, a little wine was involved) ..... The IS worked and I still have beautiful lillies.
However, my critter stories don't end there. Last night, or should I say early this a.m., 4:00 a.m. to be exact, I am awakened to the smell of a skunk. I swear I thought the stupid creature was in my room. The smell was horrible. I got up, investigated the house and realized that the smell was limited to my bedroom and the back bath. I was a bit shocked as I remembered growing up by the water and having a lot of skunk show up late at night in the yard. Seriously, I thought that skunks hung out by the water. When did they migrate???? I guess the real question remains; what the heck set the skunk off? The deer or the neighbor's chickens? My money is on the chickens.
Thank heavens for sugar cookie scented candles... it took the smell right out.
j
Critters is the perfect title for today's blog as I've been intimate with several in the past few days. Since "critter" means creature (according to the dictionary), assume I mean all types.
First, I should state that I live in a surburb with a 1/3 acre of land. This is not what you would consider enough land for a farm, but for some reason, my neighbors did not get the message. On both sides of the house, each neighbor own chickens (one 15, the other not so sure of). However, it doesn't stop there....one has three dogs; the other I believe runs some sort of kennel. The kennel people also own a rooster and a single goose. Why just one? That question has been puzzling me for some time. I could be mistaken; but not in this case. Geese do not provide a source of milk nor do they lay golden eggs as the fairy tale would have you to believe.
In addition to my neighbors' pets (I say pets because one of the chicken's name is Bump), I have rabbits that mate and give birth in my yard every Spring, a neighboring cat that thinks it owns my yard, sometimes wood mallards that reproduce every Springtime and an occasional fox that passes through. It has been a number of years since the deer made an appearance and last Saturday night, a beautiful doe was in my yard. I was so excited until dinner. My fiance and I were discussing the doe as I was looking out the front window at my Casablanca lillies. If anyone knows anything about deer, they know that the lillies are not long for the world. At this point, it is 8:30 and I am now remembering when I first planted the lillies. For the first three years, the lillies would bloom and I would think, they'll be perfect to pick tomorrow. I'd wake up the next day and "poof" gone. Dang deer....
My fiance reminded me that we did not scare the doe away and it would be back. This is when I remembered I had some Irish Spring and needless to say, I was tossing grated IS on the lillies at some later time that evening (yeah, a little wine was involved) ..... The IS worked and I still have beautiful lillies.
However, my critter stories don't end there. Last night, or should I say early this a.m., 4:00 a.m. to be exact, I am awakened to the smell of a skunk. I swear I thought the stupid creature was in my room. The smell was horrible. I got up, investigated the house and realized that the smell was limited to my bedroom and the back bath. I was a bit shocked as I remembered growing up by the water and having a lot of skunk show up late at night in the yard. Seriously, I thought that skunks hung out by the water. When did they migrate???? I guess the real question remains; what the heck set the skunk off? The deer or the neighbor's chickens? My money is on the chickens.
Thank heavens for sugar cookie scented candles... it took the smell right out.
j
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wedding Invitations....
Thursday, July 24, 2008....
I finally got around to picking out the wedding invitations.....I should back up. Several months ago, I started my search with my friend who is a web designer (important fact) for the perfect invitation. Typically, I get the ol' "deer-in-the-headlight" look when I shop too long for certain items...ah, heck, it's most any shopping. However, I tend to get this look quickly with paint, fabric and wedding invitations. I didn't quite see what my friend would see when browsing the catalogs and looking through all the samples I sent away for. She focused on texture, font and ink color. The best you could get from me was nice, doable or not-on-your-life. When my head started spinning, I stopped my hunt and put it at the bottom of my to-do list for the wedding.
Having registered on The Knot, I received dozens of emails and catalogs on every possible item that a bride and groom need for their special day. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the favors, but that's just me (plus I had them at first wedding and they weren't as important as I was told they would be), nor am I a fan of the printed napkin. I know, I know, everyone has these, but think about it. Do you really want your name smeared across someone's face that just ate sushi??? I have yet to save or notice the beautiful personalization of the napkins that I've used at other weddings. I'm usually trying to just find one because there never seems to be enough.
Okay, I digressed enough....back to original topic...wedding invites. Tuesday is the day that I realized I needed to order some (I later discovered in the invitation books that I should have ordered them 4 months prior to the wedding - oops!) I was prepared for my trip. I found the one I wanted in a catalog and was going to order that one. It was very fluffy and pretty, heck, it was Laura Ashley; how could it not be fluffy! It was the type of invite that would make people look twice to ensure that I sent it. I really did think it pretty, but forgot to bring it to the store. The sales lady was nice, she helped me find a similar one based upon my description (floral cardstock that is overlayed with vellum paper which had the wedding details printed in black ink, traditional font and at the top of the invite a bow). We both looked through about a dozen books and I was so surprised that I ended up with the following:
I finally got around to picking out the wedding invitations.....I should back up. Several months ago, I started my search with my friend who is a web designer (important fact) for the perfect invitation. Typically, I get the ol' "deer-in-the-headlight" look when I shop too long for certain items...ah, heck, it's most any shopping. However, I tend to get this look quickly with paint, fabric and wedding invitations. I didn't quite see what my friend would see when browsing the catalogs and looking through all the samples I sent away for. She focused on texture, font and ink color. The best you could get from me was nice, doable or not-on-your-life. When my head started spinning, I stopped my hunt and put it at the bottom of my to-do list for the wedding.
Having registered on The Knot, I received dozens of emails and catalogs on every possible item that a bride and groom need for their special day. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the favors, but that's just me (plus I had them at first wedding and they weren't as important as I was told they would be), nor am I a fan of the printed napkin. I know, I know, everyone has these, but think about it. Do you really want your name smeared across someone's face that just ate sushi??? I have yet to save or notice the beautiful personalization of the napkins that I've used at other weddings. I'm usually trying to just find one because there never seems to be enough.
Okay, I digressed enough....back to original topic...wedding invites. Tuesday is the day that I realized I needed to order some (I later discovered in the invitation books that I should have ordered them 4 months prior to the wedding - oops!) I was prepared for my trip. I found the one I wanted in a catalog and was going to order that one. It was very fluffy and pretty, heck, it was Laura Ashley; how could it not be fluffy! It was the type of invite that would make people look twice to ensure that I sent it. I really did think it pretty, but forgot to bring it to the store. The sales lady was nice, she helped me find a similar one based upon my description (floral cardstock that is overlayed with vellum paper which had the wedding details printed in black ink, traditional font and at the top of the invite a bow). We both looked through about a dozen books and I was so surprised that I ended up with the following:
- olive cardstock
- mocha ink
- some fancy font, but more modern
- emblem for top of invite and for envelopes of 2 leaves
I was surprised at how very close it was to my original choice - NOT. Although, as I was driving home, all I could think was "olive cardstock, mocha ink", huh......
Well, if I'm throwing wind to abandoning the traditional monogrammed paper napkin, why not toss wind to the normal color for the wedding invite. Who knows, maybe I'll be a trendsetter.
j
Thanks
Thursday, July 24, 2008......
OMG!.... kk from will work for shoes bestowed the Brillante Award upon my little blog.
![[award210.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrPaRjEJ8JZZAmpwI_FBNyTnLgNjdyUU733vbetfQI7_zWfS3yyGY3Nvaxhw-0jQHxa2OtMZ4ekcNiWknNyu6rEtZo6IiYdvtvevJ205jUuYvEm1lSr7FW8XyHhjtJg6lIvjuQhU51w/s1600/award210.jpg)
It is now my turn to pass it on. I read various blogs and am passing it on to other blogs that always seems to make me LOL.....they are....
My Friends Are Sluts
I was told there would be bacon.
Caught Eating Butter
Dating at Forty
Thanks again kk!
OMG!.... kk from will work for shoes bestowed the Brillante Award upon my little blog.
It is now my turn to pass it on. I read various blogs and am passing it on to other blogs that always seems to make me LOL.....they are....
My Friends Are Sluts
I was told there would be bacon.
Caught Eating Butter
Dating at Forty
Thanks again kk!
Friday, July 18, 2008
It's All About Me Game
Friday, July 18, 2008.....
Have you ever come across the individual that takes your situation and makes it about them? I think everyone has at some point in their life. We also may be guilty of doing it ourselves to others, but that's not the topic of this blog for today..... Today's blog is about dealing with people that turn every situation into them? How do you get them to focus on you and recognize that everything is not about them?
My sister and I were discussing this recently. It appears that are many people who assume this position and it can be frustrating if on the receiving end. After awhile, you either became extremely upset with the individual; ignore them; or can handle the situation by playing this game.
I called my sister up and threw out the following scenario that she had to turn around into her issue:
"I've been unemployed for two months and the market is pretty dry for what I'm looking for. One of the companies I'm interested in, will not be looking at candidates until July as the hiring manager is out of town".
Her response should have been:
"I'm on a horrible project and I don't see an end in site. Be thankful you're unemployed and not in my shoes. You can enjoy your summer."
Unfortunately, my sister, a newbie in the game, was empathetic in her response. I think she was afraid of making me upset because I am frustrated with my job search. However, I wouldn't have said anything that would easily upset me while playing the game.
I have to admit, when playing this game on purpose, it is pretty funny. It makes you go against your human nature because it forces you to only think of your self, and sometimes, it is hard to step inside that role. My sister tried several times to be self-absorbed, but really couldn't.
We'll continue to play the game because it helps us to deal with frustrating people, but also because it makes us laugh.
j
Have you ever come across the individual that takes your situation and makes it about them? I think everyone has at some point in their life. We also may be guilty of doing it ourselves to others, but that's not the topic of this blog for today..... Today's blog is about dealing with people that turn every situation into them? How do you get them to focus on you and recognize that everything is not about them?
My sister and I were discussing this recently. It appears that are many people who assume this position and it can be frustrating if on the receiving end. After awhile, you either became extremely upset with the individual; ignore them; or can handle the situation by playing this game.
I called my sister up and threw out the following scenario that she had to turn around into her issue:
"I've been unemployed for two months and the market is pretty dry for what I'm looking for. One of the companies I'm interested in, will not be looking at candidates until July as the hiring manager is out of town".
Her response should have been:
"I'm on a horrible project and I don't see an end in site. Be thankful you're unemployed and not in my shoes. You can enjoy your summer."
Unfortunately, my sister, a newbie in the game, was empathetic in her response. I think she was afraid of making me upset because I am frustrated with my job search. However, I wouldn't have said anything that would easily upset me while playing the game.
I have to admit, when playing this game on purpose, it is pretty funny. It makes you go against your human nature because it forces you to only think of your self, and sometimes, it is hard to step inside that role. My sister tried several times to be self-absorbed, but really couldn't.
We'll continue to play the game because it helps us to deal with frustrating people, but also because it makes us laugh.
j
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Humor
Wednesday, July 16, 2008....
Over the years, I've been fascinated with people that find the Three Stooges funny. I just don't get it. I never will. However, I started to discover that the people that liked the Stooges were men. It was at this point that I started asking people the question "Stooges or Monty Python - which do you find funnier?"
It turned out that 99% of the men I polled were 3 Stooges fans and the women were Monty Python fans.
It has been years since I've asked anyone that question and wonder if the results would be the same.
j
Over the years, I've been fascinated with people that find the Three Stooges funny. I just don't get it. I never will. However, I started to discover that the people that liked the Stooges were men. It was at this point that I started asking people the question "Stooges or Monty Python - which do you find funnier?"
It turned out that 99% of the men I polled were 3 Stooges fans and the women were Monty Python fans.
It has been years since I've asked anyone that question and wonder if the results would be the same.
j
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