Who needs this Friday?

I was just reading this article on msnbc about how Samoa is going to skip tomorrow. That's right, they are just going to skip it. When the people there go to sleep tonight, they are going to wake up the 'next' day and it's going to be Saturday. Mind boggling.

If they can skip Friday, can we just start skipping all Mondays? K thanks.

Note to self:

Don't go to the mall in the week before Christmas. It's a zoo.

I felt like this woman...I couldn't find my car either when I was leaving the mall. 

Next time, I'll leave some flares out by my car to give me a hint. 

My one crafty thing of the year

Since there are about 2.5 weeks left of 2011, I figured I would try to do something crafty since I have done nothing of the sort this year (other than a project for a social studies class where I pretended to be a Native American and made baskets out of newspaper...perhaps I will share about that later. It was actually really cool. and nerdy.)

I have a bad habit of printing recipes off of the internet and then just putting them in a big stack on the counter. Not so pretty and not so neat, either. When I make one of the recipes, if I like it I will put it back in the stack. If I don't like it, it goes in the trash. Easy enough. Well, I have quite the collection of "keeper" recipes I've printed off, along with pages torn out of magazines and newspapers, etc. I decided with my new-found free time since classes ended, I would do something about this.

I downloaded a 4x6 index card template for Word and have started putting all of my recipes in the computer on these index cards. I bought a photo album to put the cards in after I print them. This has not only helped clear up some counter space, but it also has helped me organize my recipes...I now have visions of different albums by food category. Maybe next year.

1 point for creativity in 2011. I'll aim for 2 points next year.

Best of 2011

One of my favorite things about the year coming to an end (other than Christmas) are all of the celebrity "Best of" lists. Best couple, best babies, best weddings, etc. Well, this year Us Magazine has topped itself. "Best Plastic Surgeries of 2011." Let me tell you--I had been waiting 11 and a half months to see who was going to win this category.

My personal favorite? Ali Lohan. She is still denying she had any plastic surgery (girl please, we aren't blind) because she said her mom would never allow her to do that. Yea, because Dina Lohan obviously raises such well-rounded, self-respecting daughters...LiLo.

Hope you enjoy the Best Of lists as much as I did!

It's Not Me, I Swear

My oven and I have quite a love/hate relationship. More like I hate it when I'm trying to make things I love. I suppose that's one of the downfalls of living in an apartment complex--gotta take what they give you, which in my case is an oven that burns things along the lines of Sherman's march through the South. At first, I thought it was a sign my cooking/baking skills were dismal, but recently I have come to the conclusion that it's the oven, not me.

Today I have my proof.

This morning, I wanted to make some cookies to take to my class of students because today is my last day.  Now when I say I was going to bake cookies before work, I mean I got the bag out of the fridge and put the pre-made dough on the cookie sheet. (homemade doesn't happen in the morning before work in my neck of the woods). Well, I preheated the house of flames to 350 and once it was ready, I put the cookies in and set the timer for 9 minutes, which is the low end of the recommended baking time. After nine minutes, what did I have? Rock solid, blackened cookie paper weights.

I'm pretty sure Pillsbury has perfected the cookie recipe, so it can't be their fault. And all I did was put them on my (new, I might add) cookie sheet, which is pretty hard to mess up. So that leaves my oven as the sole culprit...and the love/hate relationship continues...

Nuff said

This happened on Thanksgiving. 

More details to come later. Right now I have 2 more days of class and one huge project to finish up. Then the fun begins! 

Words of Wisdom

Two quotes for thought, both equally wise in different ways.

1.

So true. We all know those people on facebook who abuse this. 

2.

Yes, there is.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember these??

Talking with another teacher today, she told me that during her class yesterday she brought out an overhead projector to do a lesson with the kids. After she got it set up and was ready to start teaching, one of the students raised his hand to ask a question.
His question: "What are you gonna do with that robot??"

The teacher responded, through stifled laughter, by asking the whole class if anyone knew what "the robot" was. None of the students did. Therefore, she gave a brief history lesson talking about "life before Smartboards" to the students and then proceeded on with her lesson. I think it's about to be "goodbye overhead" time very soon in the schools....

Hello, Robot.

Those Dams Are Tricky

In a science lesson this morning, there was big picture of the Hoover Dam in the textbook. After talking about what the Hoover Dam does and where it is, one of the kids had an astonished look on his face. Flabbergasted, he asked, "And beavers live under that thing?!?!"

Oh, the way of a child's mind. I love it.

The 100 Workout

I saw this on Pinterest yesterday and thought I would try it out. The 100 workout definitely kicked my butt. Especially considering I was sick last week and therefore hadn't worked out in about 2 weeks. Here it is:

I would highly recommend this workout! I get tired of just running on the treadmill, so this was a good cardio workout to add some spice to a boring workout routine!

When I left my apartment this morning, I could barely make it down the steps--I credit that to the 120 squats I did yesterday. I plan on adding this to my workouts once a week. Hopefully after doing this for a few weeks, I will actually be able to walk normally the next day!

Where does your water come from??

One of the classes I'm in right now is currently learning about ecosystems and environments in science. We were looking at a picture of a horse drinking water from a pond, so the teacher asked the students where the horse was getting its water. The students responded, "from the pond." Then, trying to translate this information over to humans and our environment, she asked, "Where do we get our water from?" The first student to respond genuinely answered, "From bottles."

No lie.

The teacher and I lost it. Trying to control her laughter, she and I looked at each other and we both conceded that, yes, that was true. So she asked, "Well where do the bottles get the water from?" only to be answered with, "From the faucet." 

What do you say to that? Happy 2011...from the land of bottled water aplenty!

Ironic?

Today I was driving behind a man who was driving a Toyota Prius while smoking a cig.

Ironic? 

I think so.

7 billion.

The world hit 7 billion people yesterday. That is a big deal. Thankfully, there won't be any extra Kardashians running around as Kim and Kris have filed for the big D after 72 apparently not-so-lovely days. I can't say I'm that surprised, although I really thought it would last at least a year or so (ehh, too hopeful on my part, obviously). Some people who are unfortunately adding to the world's population as we speak are the lovely folks over on the tv show Sister Wives. Now, I have never punished myself enough to actually watch this mess, but from the looks of it, I can think of one word: Gross. After seeing that this guy's 4th wife just gave birth to child number 17 for this big, happy family, I just have one question I wish I could ask these ladies: What do you see in him?!? He looks like Billy Ray Cyrus in 1993 with a bad blow out, mixed with 100% creeper. Thank goodness they are breeding more children into this world. When you have 7 billion people, what's a few more?!

Always a good answer

Yesterday evening, I was keeping the nursery at church. I was with the older kids (elementary school aged), so the lead teacher was doing a real lesson with the kids. Before reading the story, she asked the children if they knew anything about either Joshua or Jericho. A few of the kids had some good answers and could remember hearing one of those names before, but none of the kids hit the nail on the head with what the teacher was looking for. So the teacher asked one last time, "Does anyone know something about Joshua and Jericho??" and a little girl eagerly raised her hand and looked like the lightbulb had flipped on and she just knew it. Her answer? One word: "Jesus." First of all, that doesn't even make sense as an answer to the question asked. Second of all, it's wrong. But, it was so cute. The teacher kindly responded that while Jesus was often a really good answer to questions in church, it wasn't the answer this time. I think I will remember this little girl's strategy from now on though...when asked a question in church, just respond with Jesus--even if you're wrong, it's still an acceptable answer!

Today is...

National Greasy Foods Day!! (yes, it really exists. see here. only in America.) I never knew this holiday existed. Maybe that's why I was craving a Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit this morning. I subliminally knew I guess. Well, msnbc put out a list of 7 sinfully greasy foods here, so I started thinking about my favorite greasy foods.

Numero uno: Bacon wrapped scallops.

These have become a staple at recent wedding/engagement events we have been to, and I am so glad. I'm pretty sure anything wrapped in bacon is delicious, but scallops wrapped in bacon are to die for.

Numero dos: Sweet potato fries.

The good thing about these (other than their delectable taste) is that I can pretend I am being healthy when I eat them. Everyone knows sweet potatoes are good for you, so therefore sweet potato fries must be good for you too. With a side of tomatoes (ketchup), it's a well-balanced meal!

Numero tres: A good ole hamburger. One of my personal faves is a burger from Five Guys.

Five Guys has some of the best burgers. A good, greasy burger is just what the doctor did not order, but sometimes it's necessary. It's probably best that there is not a Five Guys within 25 miles of where I live--that could be dangerous.

Happy National Greasy Foods Day!!

A need for speed (internet speed, that is)

This might as well have been my computer at work since last Thursday

No fun.

Our phone and internet were out Friday, Monday, and Wednesday. It was finally fixed, "for good" they say, this morning around 10am. It only took 3 service visits and 3 "fixes" to actually get it fixed. So we'll see. Let me tell you though--I always knew technology played a role in my life, along with everyone else's these days, but I never really realized how big that role is. Without the phone and internet at work, life=complete boredom. Also, it's bad for business. Now that I have the world wide web back at my fingertips, I am not going to take advantage of it!! I am currently catching up on all the important happenings I have missed, like blogs, pinterest, and facebook. Oh yea, and we can do real work now too! 

T.G.I.F.

You know when you are SO excited about a weekend and have been looking forward to it for weeks, and then the week just drags by?? Well, ladies and gents, that did not happen to me this week. I have been looking forward to this weekend for weeks now because my friends and I will all be getting together to go to a wedding. And in spite of all of this pent-up excitement I have had, this week has flown by!! And not only has the week flown by, but this day has just disappeared. This is basically unheard of. For real. Usually I am counting down the hours until 5 on Friday, but I just happened to look at the clock and notice that it is almost 4:30. Now, if only the weekend can go by slowly so I can enjoy the fun and festivities of going to a wedding with my friends!!

This is how excited I am.

I hope everyone else is as excited about the weekend as I am. T.G.I.F.

Back to that $39,000 backpack

As I previously mentioned, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen no longer live in the real world. It has been confirmed. Don't get me wrong--I love Michelle Tanner and I thoroughly enjoy the classic Olsen hits, like It Takes Two and Passport to Paris. But, these chicas apparently forgot about their fans when designing items for their current line, The Row. Supposedly, their $39,000 alligator backpacks were the first items to sell off the shelves upon the line's debut. What I want to know is how many did they make? My guess is 2: one for Mary Kate and one for Ashley. That way they can say they were sold out. Because who in their right mind would spend $39,000 on a backpack?!? Although, as Amanda Brooks, the fashion director at Barney's said, "If you were ever going to spend $39,000 on a bag, that's the bag you should buy." Gee, thanks Amanda, I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time I'm looking to drop a down payment on a house on a backpack instead.

I know I'm late...

But I have just discovered Pinterest! While I should be working on one of the 970404632 clinical papers I have to write this semester, I have been pinning away and getting sucked more and more into the lovely world of the internet. There are seriously SO many things out there that are SO cool. I know that sounds quite lame and vague, but it's true. If you are behind the times like me, you should check it out. Most likely, you are sitting there thinking, "wow, that was new 6 months ago." Either way, Pinterest is cool.

What a weekend

As my Clemson-loving boyfriend said on Saturday night, "this was the best day of football ever." Wofford beat App State, 28-14. Hands down, Wofford was the better team on the field, no questions about it. Then Clemson beat Virginia Tech, 23-3. It was the first time Va Tech hadn't scored a touchdown at Lane Stadium (their home field) since 1995. And then South Carolina lost to Auburn, which is a team that Clemson beat just a few short weeks ago. All in all, a great day.

In other news, I saw this on the national news last night. This woman received an inner ear implant and heard herself for the first time ever. The story and video is amazing. You should definitely watch it. And have a tissue handy. Don't say I didn't warn you, it's emotional.

"Talent" Show

While babysitting last night, I took L to the school talent show at one of the elementary schools around here so she could see one of her friends perform. Now, when I say Talent Show, the word "talent" is being used in the loosest sense of the word. As in, there were about 18 acts and I would say there were only 2 or 3 with some actual talent. One fourth grade girl played "Trainwreck" on the piano and she was amazing. If this talent show was an actual competition with a winner, she would have won, hands down. The next-best act was a juggling act, consisting of two boys who stood on stage a juggled 3 balls each. One boy dropped his a few times. Whoops. Other than that, it was good. Then the imaginary third place prize would have gone to this first grade girl who hula-hooped her heart out for 2 minutes. As L said, "It was pretty good for a first grader, but would be really embarrassing for a 9th grader." That pretty much sums up the "talent" show.

And I had to pay $4 to get in.

If we could just get below 75 degrees....

I could make some fall food! Fall food means pumpkin. I want to make these pumpkin cupcakes I found on Skinnytaste. I am hoping that by this weekend, it will be cool enough that I can make them and it's not weird to be busting out fall items. It will also be October 1st on Saturday, which is pretty fall-esque. My fall tends to revolve around which football game we are going to and what foods I make for said tailgate. The past four (yes, four) weekends have been spent in Tiger Town cheering on the Clemson Tigers. Fortunately, these four weekends have all resulted in victories for Clemson, so perhaps we are a good luck charm or something! If that's the case, hopefully we can extend the luck to the Terriers for their matchup with App State this weekend. I know it's only Tuesday, but I am already so excited for Saturday's game!

It's not like Death Valley, but it's a pretty special place!

Go Terriers!

A Sense of Humor

A sense of humor is a must these days. With the economy not doing so hot, unemployment up, instability over in Europe (thanks Greece), and lots of other not so good things going on, a sense of humor can go a long way. I have seen a few things online/on tv/in the news lately that proves there are still some people and companies out there with a good sense of humor.

1. Ben & Jerry's latest ice cream flavor: Schweddy Balls. No lie. Those people at Ben & Jerry's definitely have a sense of humor, and I love it.

2. Geico. I usually think their commercials are simply trying too hard (they kind of ran that whole caveman thing into the ground...), but their latest attempt makes me laugh every time I see it. This commercial involves a gal who can't afford everything she wants, included entertainment, so she enlists her dog and bird to sing and play a keyboard. Their rendition of "Take On Me" is legit. Hit it, Mr. Butters!

3. I think this one was unintentional, but Wendy's recently gave their 42 year old burger a makeover. The new product: Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Burgers. Seriously? Dave's Hot 'n Juicy? Nuff said.

Side note: Who really has an appetite for a triple burger???

Just wanted to give a shout-out to these companies for making me and (hopefully) others laugh!! Happy hump day!

KK for Sears

While I was watching tv last night, I saw a commercial that piqued my interest. It was a commercial for Sears, featuring their new line of clothing: the Kardashian Kollection.

There are so many things wrong with this.
1. Who knew Sears was even open anymore?? I for sure did not. Maybe this new kollection will help make Sears kool again.
2. Why do the Kardashians spell everything with a "k"???
3. Lastly, none of the Kardashians would definitely NOT wear anything from Sears, so I feel like this is just false advertising.

I doubt the Sears website will crash when this new line arrives like Target's site did the other day when Missoni launched. But it might draw in some new kustomers.

Happy weekend!

Hey there, Pinocchio!

Tuesday night I was babysitting, which involved me taking 9 year old L to her school for "Book Character Night." There was pizza for dinner, some local college athletes reading books to kids (to show just how 'cool' reading is) and a few other things. The culminating event of the evening was the grade-by-grade competition for the best book character costume. I don't know about you, but when I was in elementary school and events like this came up, we scrounged around my old Halloween costumes and reused something and made it work. Well, not in 2011. These kids went all out. Or I guess I should say their parents went all out. This boy won, hands down, for the first graders.

Hey, Pinocchio!

That is not the kind of costume someone just throws together. Also, his older brother won for the fifth graders, dressed up like the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. Obviously, their mother or father has quite the creative mind and this little boy is going to have a monopoly on all the dress-up events for the next four years in his school. Sorry other first graders, don't think you'll be winning any costume prizes any time soon.

On the eve of Friday, some inspirational words from Pinocchio's conscience, Jiminy Cricket: "You know, you worry too much. In fact, everyone worries too much." So stop worrying, it's almost the weekend!! Happy Thursday!

And the winner is...

Miss Angola!

Now the big question, where is Angola? If I had to guess, I would say it's either in Africa or Europe somewhere. Which really narrows it down, huh? I didn't watch the pageant on tv last night. Perhaps if I had, I would be more educated about the location of this country. For all those of you who are wondering, it is in Africa, on the west coast. I looked it up.

I'd like to think I am an educated person, but I feel quite uneducated when it comes to the countries and their locations in Africa and the Middle East. For a fun (and humbling) activity, go to this website and try to label all of the countries. 

I think I got about 8 right on the first try. Since then I have been avidly studying the map. Good luck!

Real Housewives of...Spartanburg?

I have felt very domestic this week. Preparing for the Wofford-Clemson game has had me scrounging around for tailgate recipes galore. In preparations for the tailgate of the century (okay, that might be an exaggeration. But if Wofford wins, it will be the win of the century. so far at least.), I have made lots and lots of goodies. Two batches of brownies, chocolate bars made from scratch, sausage balls, "white trash" chex mix delightfulness with chocolate and peanut butter, spinach & artichoke dip, and a cake for a birthday celebration. I think it's safe to say that this is far from healthiness and if I were actually cooking for someone else, I'd hope it would be a slightly healthier fare. But everyone knows that calories don't count on Saturday's, right?

Then, after all the cooking/baking, I ironed the skirt I'm planning on wearing to the game. Cooking, baking and ironing. Just call me Martha Stewart. Without her disposable income though. Oh well. Either way, Go Terriers!!!

Oh, Fall...

According to many people on facebook, September 1st was the unofficial beginning of fall. There were so many status updates, but they all basically said "fall, football, sweaters, boots, yay." Well, I beg to differ.

This past weekend, college football began. But in no way, shape or form does that have anything to do with fall weather. Saturday in Clemson, SC, was rather toasty. Not a hint of fall in the air. When we got in the car to leave around 6:45pm, the car said it was still 94 degrees. And I believe it. It was so unbelievably hot I can't even put it into words. Thank goodness Clemson pulled off a win--otherwise the day would have definitely been classified as miserable. We had a joyous car ride back to Greenville, happy that Clemson won, Wofford won, and we were in air conditioning finally.

It was so hot, the balloons couldn't lift off like they normally do. Yikes.

I guess if you live somewhere like Vermont, fall actually does begin in September, but not down here. Maybe this coming weekend (Wofford vs. Clemson!) won't be such a sweat fest.

Oh, to be a kid again...

Kids say the darndest things. They really do. I can't make this stuff up. Last night I was invited to dinner at a friend's house to eat fajitas. We had a whole spread out on the table: tortillas, chicken, cheese, lettuce, salsa, guac, etc. When we all sat down to eat and make our first fajita, the conversation involves everyone asking for something to be passed around the table. Then, 9 year old B says, "Can someone pass the Guatamala?"

No worries, I passed him the Guatemala right away.

Leave it to kids to be funny without even trying!

"That" person

If you are lucky enough to still be in school like I am (total sarcasm), then you will know who I am talking about. Or you can remember from your recent college classes. That person in class who has something to say. About everything. And I mean everything. Lucky for me, I have a few people like this whom I have had the pleasure to have classes with over the past year and a half. I don't know what it is about special ed, but it seems to attract some interesting characters.

The first is the "know-it-all." Nobody likes the know-it-all. Nobody. I don't care if you don't have a life outside of school, don't come to class on the first day having already read the first two chapters of the book and proceed to ask a question about what the author meant on page 25. It makes the rest of us look like fools, even though no teacher really expects the class to be that prepared, especially after summer break.

The next is the "talker." The talker finds the need to comment on everything the teacher says, either in the form of a question, or just a statement, such as, "yea I totally know what you mean." (yes, that happened in my class last night. multiple times.) First of all, the teacher knows what she is talking about and doesn't need your moral support. Second of all, we don't need your comments to prolong our 2 and a half hour class any longer.  This certain girl is also a chronic "nodder." I am lucky enough to sit behind her, and she nods the entire class. I suppose she is trying to convey to the teacher that she really is paying attention and wants to be noticed for that, but for the rest of us, sitting there watching her head bob is slightly annoying. Good thing she sits in the front so she can't see us roll out eyes every time she opens her mouth. This girl is obviously a habitual offender, as everyone in our program dreads having class with her.

I only have 3 more classes left for my degree. Which means I only have to make it through this last semester with the know-it-all and the talker. May the force be with me.

You Need Popsicles. Duh.

I was babysitting on Saturday and we were over at my apartment, playing the Wii (during which I lost in a best-of-5 tennis match. to a 5 year old. talk about demoralizing). While taking a short break, the little boy went over to my fridge to scope out what I had. After not finding anything he wanted in the refrigerator, he asked me if I had any popsicles in my freezer. When I told him that unfortunately, I did not, he look at me and very matter-of-factly stated, "Well you need to get some."
I guess in a 5 year old's mind, popsicles are a staple and it's just crazy to think that some people don't always have a supply in the freezer. How could I have made that mistake?!

Did she, or didn't she?

Don't get me wrong--I am all about reading about celebrities and their exciting news, such as who wore what last night, who went out on a date with so and so, who's having a baby, who broke up with whom...you get the gist. There are some stories that are just totally pointless though. Case in point: "Did Katie Holmes Get a Wrist Tattoo?" Well if she did, good for her. If she didn't, even better for her. For readers like me: I don't care. It's obvious that there is nothing that important going on in Hollywood today, if a story about a possible wrist tattoo is the leading story on a Friday afternoon. Can't the writers at least come up with something juicy, like that Lindsay Lohan got busted again or that Kim K is already has a baby bump?! (neither of which are true, but one can hope...)

Happy Friday!

A Great Combination

What is this great combination, you ask? Well, it is the combo of "free" and "Chick-fil-a." Yes, I said it. Free Chick-fil-a. The week of September 6-10, Chick-fil-a is giving away free breakfast to those who make an online reservation. Go to this website to sign up, starting August 29th. I know it's a little premature, but you can go ahead and mark it on your calendar to sign up!

If you insist.

Songs for the ride

When getting ready for a long car ride, I often think about what I need to do to keep myself entertained. This usually involves making some new playlists on my ipod, getting a book on cd, and/or having a long list of friends to call and chat with. Every time I make a new playlist (as I did for my recent 6 hour drive down to the beach) it never fails: I will listen to that playlist and then somehow I make my way back to my standard "solo car ride songs" which include, but are not limited to:

1. Anything and everything by Celine Dion. With accompanying vocals by me, of course. Power of Love, All By Myself, I Want You to Need Me...I could go on and on....

2. A few of the late 1990s boy band hits, such as Bye, Bye, Bye from 'Nsync, and Quit Playin' Games with my Heart or I Want it that Way by the wonderful Backstreet Boys

3. Mariah Carey. She's in the same group as Celine Dion...anything and everything....Fantasy, Honey, My All...and many more

4. A new addition to this crowd is Beyonce. Girl can sing. Songs like Halo, Listen (from Dreamgirls), and of course Single Ladies will definitely be played in my car.

Basically, I make playlists in vain because it's inevitable that I am going to fall back on these three selections for the majority of the car ride. If you see me driving, I will be that girl who is obviously belting a song at the top of her lungs, holding up a fake microphone and pretending I am Mariah.

Son of a beach

In just 2 days, I will begin my mini-vacation at the beach...a much-awaited long weekend in Garden City. In anticipation of the upcoming trip, I started to wonder what it is about "the beach" that people love. It doesn't really matter what beach you are talking about--for some people, the beach is Pawley's Island. For others, it's Hilton Head or Sea Island (never been to either...anyone who has a house feel free to extend the invitation to moi). And I'm sure there are people out west who look forward to going to a beach in California somewhere (again, anyone with a house, I am available any weekend). So, it doesn't really matter which beach it is, just that there is a good mixture of sand, ocean, and sun.

Over the years, I have heard quite a few different stories about why "the beach" is "the bomb" and here are just a few:
1. The salty air helps clear up your sinuses, so unconsciously people like being at the beach because it helps clear their head...and the salty air makes you really appreciate your windshield wipers when you spray off that salty film on your car.
2. The sunshine contains vitamin D, which helps make you happier. And then, when you get too much sun, that aloe stuff is really cool to rub on your skin.
3. It's a great opportunity to catch up on summer reading...or to pretend to be reading and totally judge everyone in a bathing suit that walks by while hiding behind your sunglasses.

and

4. When you go to the beach in SC, you are so glad you aren't visiting the Jersey Shore.

I will be happily soaking up my vitamin D this week while laying out, thinking, "son of a beach, it just can't get any better than this!"

A Well I Bless My Soul...

According to msnbc, this week is Elvis Week. I don't know about everyone else, but as I child, I could not get enough of this heartthrob. He was my main squeeze for quite a few years of my life in the early 1990s. According to my memory, Elvis' Golden Records was not only the first tape I had, but also the first CD I had. Apparently, I wanted to be able to listen to him on my walkman and on my discman (but then again, who doesn't??)

With a cover like this one, who wouldn't want to have multiple copies laying around???

Not only did I enjoy listening to Elvis (which in itself is pretty odd for a 6 or 7 year old), I had a dance or two (or three) made up to some of his songs. My all-time favorite is, without a doubt, All Shook Up. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this gem of a song, please go here. If only I had a home video to show everyone my amaaaazzinngg moves! I am 99% sure that I could still do this dance, or at least the majority of it, right now. I still enjoy a plethora of Elvis tunes on my iPod today, so in honor of Elvis Week, I suggest everyone put on their Blue Suede Shoes, find a Hound Dog, go to Heartbreak Hotel, get All Shook Up, and do the Jailhouse Rock!!



Summer Reading

In between my summer school classes, I have been trying to do a lot of reading this summer. I have about a month off right now between summer school and fall classes starting, so I have been a reading machine. I read the Stieg Larsson trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. This trilogy of books was flat out amazing. Although I blew through the last book in about 3 days (while working 9-5....so I went home and read from approximately 5:30-11:30 each night. sweet life, huh?), I was quite upset that there will not be any more books in this series. The next series I want to tackle is The Hunger Games. It's currently in my queue at the library, so hopefully I will be able to pick that up and read before school starts back at the end of August...because once school starts, the whole 'reading for pleasure' thing ends abruptly.

In other news, I am at work and we listen to the radio, set on 102.5 which is a mix of 80s, 90s and today, and Livin' La Vida Loca is on. Thank you, Ricky Martin, for making my Monday much more enjoyable!

Don't Mess With Hershey's

Browsing today's news, I stumbled across this article. Apparently, some hacker thought it would be funny to hack into the Hershey's website and alter some of the company's cookie recipes they have posted.
These were the first thoughts that came to my mind:
1. Seriously?! Who does that?
2. What benefit does this provide to that hacker? The satisfaction that somewhere out there, there are frustrated people trying to figure out why their cookies are too gooey? Or too dry? Really? C'mon.
3. Whoever did this definitely has wayyy too much free time.
As for me, I will stick to the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag--don't think a hacker can get to that one!

You Paid What?!

The other day I was browsing through my usual websites I go to, checking out the latest, really important news, such as people.com and usmagazine.com. Well, I stumbled across this picture

from here

of Ashley Olsen. I didn't really think much of it, since as we all know, the Olsen twins are known for their shabby chic look (which quite often looks like they just rolled out of bed to me). After perusing the world wide web a little more, I learned that not only is Ashley looking like she lives in Asheville, NC, she is also carrying a $39,000 crocodile backpack from her and her sister's own line, The Row. I just about choked on my water when I read that. $39,000?!? Is that a joke?! Apparently crocodile is a major luxury and it takes a skilled person to make a nice bag out of it, but really...$39,000?!

No thanks, I'll take a new car for that price.

Bend & Snap

Legally Blonde is a quality film. Also fully representative of the year it was made, 2001. Perhaps in honor of the 10 year anniversary of the movie, TBS decided to have a Legally Blonde marathon on last night. I was spending the night with my boyfriend's cousins, who are 8 and 5 because I am super cool like that and we decided to watch Legally Blonde last night. Thinking this movie was 100% acceptable for an 8 year old girl was incorrect. Sorry, Elle Woods, but I totally understand your innuendo from the "bend & snap." There were quite a few instances of, "what does that mean??" followed by me muttering something along the lines of, "I'm not sure," or, "aren't they weird?" or, "I can't believe they just said that!"

such as:

After Elle gets the law internship

Elle: Oh Warner, do you remember when we spent those four amazing hours in the hot tub together after winter formal?

....followed with "well what were they doing in a hot tub for 4 hours?" "uhhh, ahem, umm..."

and...

When Elle shows up in a bunny costume to the non-costume party

Vivian: Nice outfit.

Elle: Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.

...followed by, "ooh she said a bad worddddd," while I am trying to stifle my laughter...

Perhaps Legally Blonde isn't the best movie to watch with an 8 year old girl, but hey, she learned the Bend & Snap last night, which we all know has a 98% success rate in getting a man's attention, according to Elle!

Today is a holiday, didn't you hear?

In case anyone was wondering, today is, in fact, a holiday. It is National Milk Chocolate Day. In honor of this, I suggest everyone eat a piece of chocolate to celebrate. Or two. Or five. Maybe we should celebrate this holiday multiple times today?

Sounds like you've thought about this....

Conversation with a 5 year old boy yesterday, who is about to start kindergarten in a few weeks:

Me: So, are you excited about starting school?!
Kid: No, I'm not going.
Me: How come?
Kid: I'm going to be sick that day.
Me: Oh really? What's going to be wrong?
Kid: I'm going to have a fever.
Me: (trying to contain laughter) Ohhh, I see. What about the next day?
Kid: I'm going to have a fever for 10 months.
Me: Oh ok, gotcha.

Sounds like he's been planning this illness for a while now....

New direction

I guess it's considered a new direction--since I don't have a previous one? I have no idea what direction this blog will go...hopefully it will be a good one!
The title of the blog is from a song (a Jason Mraz one....unfortunately it wasn't something cool like the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. But hey, maybe in 50 years Jason Mraz will be a legend? doubtful).
All I hope for is that this blog will be an outlet for some funny stories, give people a few laughs, and keep me entertained along the way!