Angela's Soliloquy

My Blog Has Moved!

2010-05-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm moved! Check out my new blog on Tumblr!

Girl X Blogs

If you're curious why I moved, check out this post.

I also have a new blog on WordPress:

My Soliloquy

If you're curious what this blog is about, click here.

Your blogging buddy-

Angela

Close Encounter?

2009-11-13T14:05:00.001-08:00

So I know I've said this before, but I seriously think I've been abducted by aliens. I mean how else could it already be the middle of November? I looked at the date, and then I looked at it again, and I'm in shock! It's been weeks since my last post, weeks! What's going on here? Aliens, that's the only possible explanation for my sever loss of time. Not homework, or Army life, or my health, etc. Nope, it's gotta be those blasted aliens again. :)

Seriously, after all the drama October brought to my already chaotic life, I've been a little out of sync when it comes to posting. Meanwhile my list of post topics grows longer and longer everyday. I honestly just can't believe it's been so long since my last post. In my mind it's only been a few days. Wow. I'm speechless, and trust me that does not happen very often! :)

I haven't given up blogging and I'm determined, more than ever, to get back in my normal blogging groove, ASAP! So be on the lookout, because next week I will have a new post everyday (like normal) or I will die trying. Okay, I suppose that was a little over dramatic, but you get the jist. :)

Until then . . . . .

Best Blog Award

2009-10-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

While I was away MamaOTwins+1 from 3 Boys+1 Hubby= What Next??? was kind enough to bestow upon me the Best Blog Award. I need to mention that the day I received this news had been particularly heinous, as I had been dealing with Army and civilian idiots for hours. Getting this award literally made my day, and help to redeem my faith in humanity that there are good and generous people out there. Please stop by MamaOTwins+1's blog when you get a minute to spread some bloggy love, she has some great posts that are both informative and entertaining!

Now without further ado, in keeping with the tradition of blog awards, it is now my honor to pass this baby along to 5 fellow bloggers and my recipients are:

Gaelikaa for both of her blogs, Out of Ireland into India and Gaelikaa's Diary. She has inspired me on more than one occasion through her candid and eloquent writings, and virtually every time I visit one of her blogs I learn something new.

Messina at And then there was me. Whatever she's writing about from all things related to being a Mom to her inner thoughts on anything and everything her writings are simply poetic. As if that weren't enough she blends this amazing poetic ability with wit, which makes for a killer combo.

Jayne at Misplaced City Girl. Her insight (more often than not combined with wit) yield post after post of good reading! What I love most is her killer personality that shines though, no matter what she's writing about! She also hosts a ton of giveaways and has the inside scoop on new products too.

Krystel at Army Wives 101. This woman is a key tool in navigating the often stormy waters as an Army Wife. She devotes her time selflessly to ensure than other Army Spouses have a place to go for much needed information, as well as entertainment and giveaways! A one stop shop of Army resources and fun!

Jessica at Baby Davis Michael. Her blog is beautiful and an absolute reflection of all that she holds precious, hence the name! :) Her writings are honest, poignant and entertaining too! Her posts always draw me in, which says something considering I don't have kids and still i can't stop reading! :)

Thanks again to MamaOTwins+1 for this most rockin award and congratulations to my nominees!

The Skinny

2009-10-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, it feels so good to be blogging again! I cannot believe it's been 2 weeks since I've been in my normal blogging groove! So much, and I emphasize both SO and MUCH, has happened in the time I was gone that in an effort to keep this post from becoming a mini-novel I'm going to give a very abridged version of the story.

Firstly, I'm feeling much better. The viral infection of my heart seems to have dissipated almost completely. I say almost because I am still having bouts of intermittent chest pain. This however is nothing compared to how I felt previously and therefore it leads me to believe its resolving itself and I will be feeling completely symptom free soon.

Secondly, the hubs unfortunately is not feeling so great. His nerve damage continues to worsen, so much so that it's making his right leg have sporadic episodes of intense weakness. He's fallen four times in the last two weeks as a result of these episodes. in fact, the last time he fell, he hit his head and was briefly unconscious. In a state of sheer panic, I called 911. The ambulance took him to the hospital on a backboard with a C collar on to make sure he didn't have any serious neck or head injuries. The good news is that besides a minor whiplash injury, his head and neck are okay. He had one handsome bump on his head and a heck of headache the next day, which was also accompanied by some residual dizziness, but that was only temporary. The bad news is that his leg still continues to have episodes of weakness, and thus I'm still concerned he might be seriously injured if he should fall again.

In relation to the hubs latest health drama, the Army, specifically his company, has kept with the tradition to be as stupid and unconcerned as possible. At least they're consistent, note the sarcasm here. For example, the night he was in the hospital, we were in there until after 2;30 AM and didn't get home until after 3:00 AM. Instead of letting me bring in his paperwork, which stated he had the next two days off per physicians orders, his Motor Sgt. (being the complete bastard that he is) required him to be at the company at 6:00 AM to turn it in himself. He was exhausted and in pain, and yet his jack ass of a Motor Sgt. will take any step or measure he can to make my hubs life harder. As an NCO his job priorities are simple: 1)The mission and 2)The welfare of the soldiers under him. He has failed time and time again on regarding the latter and as a result he's failed the former. I had decided I was done playing this stupid game of his and leaving our future left in the hands of incompetent idiots who obviously don't give a damn, but then we found out from his physician (who by the way I plan to file a complaint with the Med Board since he's a civilian doc, but that's a-whole-nother story) that my hubs was accepted into the WTU! Hurrah! We've been praying, hoping and wishing desperately for this, so it's indeed an answer to our prayer! Supposedly he'll be transferred there in the next 7-10 days. Once there his whole job will be to focus on getting better. Basically all he has to do is go to his appointments and then go home and rest, thus the "focus on getting better' part. I will definitely keep you posted about this. Oh, and back to the doctor, I don't even want to get into that story right now, as every time I think about it, my blood boils, but I will say this. I'm not going to file my complaint until my hubs is safely in the WTU. At this point, after waiting 4 months for something that should've taken 30 days, I don't want to do anything that would jeapordize his getting into the WTU.

Also, the night that my hubs fell and had to go to the hospital, was the night before my final paper (worth 40% of my grade) was due. Needless to say it was late. My rockin' awesome facilitator gave me an extension, and in the end I got a 95% on it! Needless to say I was totally stoked! This also means I got an A in the class, as all my grades on the assignments, etc. were A's! Yay!! So far, granted it's still really early on, but so far my goal for a 4.0 GPA s in tact and my future goal of an Ivy League Law School is still a possibility! Happy sigh of relief! My next class started today, and is called "Literature, Film and the American Dream" I can't wait!! But if I thought my first class was intense, I was sorely mistaken, as I have taken a lookie-lou at the syllabus for this class, and it is beyond intense. We're reading three novels and watching 6 movies in 7 weeks! Not to mention the required blog and discussion posts, as well as a "conceptual map' whatever that is, and a research project worth 50% of our grade. Sigh. Oh well, at least i'll have more time to devote to it now that I don't have to worry about my job anymore. Oh, wait I haven't gotten that far yet have I?

So, because I took off time, like two weeks due to my heart infection and then my hubs fall and consequent issues, I was told by my Manager, that since I have so much on my plate right now, I should take a break from work. This turned out to be her polite way of letting me go. At first I was highly annoyed, but then I realized everything happens for a reason, and once I saw the syllabus for my upcoming class, I new I needed more time than ever to devote to school.

I'll also have more time to dedicate to my volunteer activities. The AFTB Program Manager, Cat, is anxious to get me back to teach, citing that I'm one of their best as her reason, which does my self esteem good after the whole losing of my job ordeal. Additionally, Cat is also excited to get me more involved in AFAP which she is now also running. Lastly, it's getting close for me to make my first donation of crocheted items to hospitals and women's shelters. I had planned on doing that in the middle of October, but considering that time has come and gone seemingly in the blink of an eye, the middle of November is my new goal. In related news, I'm hoping to complete the Articles of Incorporation for my charity, With Love, by the end of the month, hopefully (they're tricky little devils to write!).

That's pretty much the meat and potatoes of the last couple of weeks. Oh, one more thing, in happy news, I finally got one of my financial aid checks, and am now the proud of owner of my very own MacBook Pro, otherwise known as my version of heaven! :) That's right, I almost forgot, speaking of all things tech-ie, I also got a new cell phone, the BlackBerry Storm! My hubs contract was up for renewal and since Alltel just officially became Verizon, we renewed his contract with them and they were running a special on BlackBerries, buy one, get one free, and so we did! See, not all that's happened to me has been bad! :)

Before I sign off, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all those who expressed their concern and well wishes for me while I've been gone. Your support was so very much appreciated at a time when it felt like everything was going wrong, receiving a thoughtful comment literally made my day, and helped renew my faith that not all humanity sucks. :) Thanks again! I seriously have the BEST followers in the blogosphere! :)

I just re-read over this post, so much for "abridged,! Stay tuned this week for more posts to come!

M.I.A. Part 2

2009-10-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

From my lack of posting lately, it would appear as if I’ve dropped off the face of the earth. In truth, it’s just taken me a lot longer to get over this whole heart infection thing than I had anticipated. A lot, and I mean, a lot, has happened in the last few weeks that has tested my sanity to the fullest.

I’m trying hard to catch up, and I’m glad to say that finally I’m making some “slowly but surely” progress. Sometimes it feels like one step forward, two steps back, but such is life.

Right now my biggest priority (besides me health) is finishing my final paper (can you believe that my first term at BU is almost over?) which is due Tuesday. Once that’s done I hope to get back to my normal blogging groove.

In the meantime I just wanted to let all of my awesome followers know that I’m alive and well and anxious to return. Also I wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the get well wishes and support I’ve received from everyone! I appreciate all of the encouragement and concern so very much!

PS – For smaller updates you can find me on Twitter and Facebook. I’m updating those a little more regularly as they only take like a second to write! :)

M.I.A.

2009-10-08T13:22:00.001-07:00

I’ve been a little MIA this week (reflected in my lack of new posts) so here’s the skinny on my absence.

Monday night I started to feel icky. Early Tuesday morning I started to have chest pains and shortness of breath. When it didn’t go away my hubs decided it was necessary to go to the Emergency Room. I’m not a fan of ER’s, but then again who is, so it took some insistence on his part, but finally I agreed to go. The end result was that I had “Atypical Chest Pain” caused from an infection of the muscle of the heart , also known as Myocarditis. Many things can cause this from a simple viral infection to an autoimmune disorder (which coincidentally my Primary Care Physician believes I might have due to a specific set of symptoms I’ve had for the last five years, and has recently referred me to a specialist for further evaluation).

There is no treatment per se for Myocarditis, sometimes they prescribe steroids but there is conflicting results on whether or not they actually work, so typically they just treat the symptoms and most cases resolve themselves in time. Those that don’t resolves themselves can lead to bad things like Congestive Heart Failure, but there’s no reason to worry about that at the moment.

The ER staff stabilized my vitals, then sent me home. They instructed me to continue with my prescribed medications (as many of them would treat my symptoms) and to avoid physical activity for the next few days, hence why I’m not at work right now. They also said if I don’t feel better within 24 hours to follow up with them or my Primary Care Physician. Yesterday I still felt pretty icky and today, while for the most part my chest pain is getting better, every now and then it hurts like Holy Hannah. Meanwhile my shortness of breath is directly related to the amount of physical activity I do, getting much worse when I’m moving around. So, I’ll see how things go today and if I’m still having problems, I’ll call tomorrow morning to get in and see my PCP before the long weekend, but really I’m just hoping I start to feel better.

One Lovely Blog

2009-10-05T01:53:00.001-07:00

I had some very happy news last week, Mesina over at “And Then There Was Me” bestowed upon me the awesome “One Lovely Blog Award.” I am so honored and touched to be the recipient of this fabulous award and more so because it came from someone’s who’s writing is truly phenomenal and serves as a huge inspiration to me. Thank you Messina!

The rules of receiving this “lovely” award are to pass it on to 15 other bloggers I’ve newly discovered. It’s taken me almost a week to write this post because I’ve been trying to determine which 15 I shall bestow it to. I’ve been doing some serious blog walking lately and it’s been quite difficult narrowing it down, but alas I have made my list.

The fabulous and lovely bloggers who I am nominating for this award are (in no particular order):

Laura from “My Best Day Ever” – Initially I was totally captivated by her very different, very artistic blog design, then I read just one of her posts and became a follower in 2 seconds flat. They’re most often quirky, fun and about everything from parenting to cooking to randomness.
Rachael from “Little Red Door and a Whole Lot More” – Her blog reminds me of a spread from “Better Homes and Gardens” and the first time I came across it she had the most to die for salad recipe in time for fall. In fact thinking about it is making my mouth water. Yum.
Krystel from “Army Wife 101” – She has a fantastic blog that is not only cute as ever, but is also a GREAT resource for Army Wives! Thanks Krystel!
Jessica from “Baby Davis Michael” – She is beautiful (inside and out) and her blog is the same! Her posts are straight from the heart and she is one of the nicest, sweetest bloggers I’ve met in my blogging journey!
Leigh from “Leigh vs. Laundry” – She is absolutely HILARIOUS! Her posts are also the perfect blend of insightful and honest. She writes about being a mom, her misadventures in homemaking and anything else that comes to mind.
S.E. Sward from “Black Holes and Macrame” – She has the best writing tone, clearly displaying her clever humor and brilliantly honest observations about life. Her blog is about a little of everything (girl after my own heart) and the minute I stumbled upon it, I was sucked in, huh, just like a black hole! :) Plus I totally dig the black against purple look!
Heather from “Theta Mom” – I cannot believe it took me this long to find this blog!! She’s a mommy blogger, and while I’m not a mommy her attitude towards blogging and life in general, is straight up genuine and sincere, and what hooked me instantly! For mommies her posts are honest, resourceful, and underlined with a fun undertone. Plus her blog design is beautiful!
That Girl from “That Girl Blogs” – This blogger is seriously dedicated, continually putting up new content and completely devoted to blogging! Additionally, she is a stupendous writer with witty insights into family and the world around her.
Confessions of a Country Girl from the blog with the same name and “Confessions of a Book Junkie” – I love her blogs! She’s simply genuine and as a result so her is writing, which coincidentally is also good. Both blogs have posts fun undertones, and her book blog is a wonderful and fun places for book lovers to frequent!
Nettagyrl from “Nesty Nachos” – She is an aspiring writing (another girl after my own heart) and an all-around awesome chick with attitude! Her posts vary about a little of everything and her blog design is pretty sweet too!
Tammy from “My Organized Chaos” – She’s a Canadian mommy with a totally rockin’ blog! She hosts tons of giveaways, and gives insightful and helpful reviews. She’s the mother of baby girl twins plus one five year little girl, and somewhere in there she manages to blog about her life as well. PS – Her blog is positively beautiful!
Nanny Goats in Panties from the blog with the same name, she is oh so FUNNY and posts a little about everything. Her posts are wonderfully well written and gleaming with wit. Her blog is a fabulously fun design with clean easy to read lines.
That One Mom from “A Day in the Life: Chronicles of an Only Parent” – This is such a fun blog! She’s comedic honest and genuine. Her posts reflect these traits and cover a variety of subjects from parenting alone to dating. Always an entertaining read!
WhiteSockGirl from “The Joys of My Splintered Small Town LIfe” – This blog is one of my faves! Phenomenal in writing style, tone and stupendously entertaining content! She’s witty, and brutally honest which is reflected in her blog through and through!
Mary from “The Adventures of Mommy Maestro” – She’s a mommy blogger full of fun, witty, often resourceful posts relative to all things mommy related and a lot of things life related. She’s got a fun attitude and reading her blog is always enjoyable!

Congratulations ladies and thanks for making the blogosphere such an amazing place! Also, again many thanks to Mesina from “And Then There Was Me!” I really appreciate this absolutely lovely award!!!

New Addition

2009-10-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

For a very long time now the hubs and I have been wanting a dog. We have debated endlessly over big dog versus little dog, the hubs obviously wanting the former and me the latter, but we decided that when and if the opportunity presented itself to get a dog when we would evaluate it further at that time. That time came yesterday.

My Manager from the Thrift Shop had a dog (a Fox Terrier) she was trying to find a good home for. The dog was a year old and the family, although they adored her, they simply didn’t have the time to devote to her that she deserved. The hubs and I went to her house yesterday to meet her and we instantly fell in love.

Meet our newest addition to the Norton Family:

Meka Norton

She is just the sweetest, smartest (albeit a little hyper at times) dog ever! Of course as a new doggie mama I’m completely biased. :)

She’s already house trained and responds to commands like sit, stay, shake, and lie, and she’s not a barker or crier! We found out last night she’s not a huge fan of bath time, but even still, she really is a great little dog! Especially considering she’s in a totally new environment with new owners. Thus far she’s handled the transition really well, and granted it’s only been a day, but still, I think that says something about her awesome rockin’ character!

I’ll be writing much more on our new addition, but right now I’m off to battle the crazy bargain shoppers that make their way to the Thrift Shop on the one Saturday a month we’re open for our “Dollar Sale” (everything in the store-excluding consignments-is a dollar)! People start lining up after 8:00 and we don’t open until 9:00. I just wanted to get a quick post out to celebrate our happy news!

Five (Plus Five) Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-10-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

1. Worcestershire Sauce is basically an Anchovy ketchup. (I knew I didn’t like it for a reason.) :)

2. Lincoln Logs were invented by Frank Lloyd Wright's son. (Like father like son, only on a smaller scale.) :)

3. The city of Mt. Vernon, Washington grows more tulips than the entire country of Holland. (Either Holland doesn’t make as many tulips as I thought, or Mt. Vernon makes a whole LOT of tulips). :)

4. There are almost twice as many people in Rhode Island than there are in Alaska. (What a trip, but not surprising when I think about it.)

5. Ralph Lauren's original name was Ralph Lifshitz. (No wonder why he changed his name.) :)

**Bonus Facts:

*The white part of your fingernail is called the lunula. (There’s seriously a name for everything isn’t there?) :)

*The ball on top of a flagpole is called the truck. (Huh, wonder why?)

*An animal epidemic is called an epizootic. (Now this word is just fun to say!) :)

New Yorker’s probably know these last ones, but I always wondered how these neighborhoods got their names, so I threw them in anyway!

*Tribeca stands for TRIangle BElow CAnal street.

*Soho stands for SOuth of HOuston street.

Today’s facts were provided by Deb and Jen’s Land O’ Useless Facts! Thanks ladies!

Tick-Tock

2009-10-01T09:55:00.001-07:00

There is such a thing as a biological clock. I know this because mine is blaring at me like a tornado warning siren. It’s loud and relentless and it’s driving me crazy. Let me explain.

Prior to the emergence of my biological clock, I had no desire to have children. I didn’t go all ga-ga over babies, and I didn’t put a pillow under my shirt imagining what I would look like pregnant. I was quite content and happy being me and doing my own thing. Besides, I had more than one health issue that made the notion of me having kids seem like not the greatest idea.

After I hit 30, strange things started happening to me. When I would see a mother with her baby, I would be drawn to them. When I would see tiny infant clothes, I would stop to look at them. When I saw children playing in the park, I had a tug in my heart. What was going on? I couldn’t understand why I was having such a reaction to these types of situations when previously I was completely indifferent.

Then I heard it, a subtle “Tick-tock, tick-tock.” It was faint at first, at times I barely heard it at all, but as the days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months, it grew louder and louder until is started to sound like my morning alarm clock, a piercing, “Rerh, rerh, rerh.” Then it would simmer down again, and when it did, it’s message became more clear, “Tick-tock, tick-tock. You’re time is running out.” It kept on in this pattern for a while, alternating between the alarm mode and then the message mode.

It seems like everywhere I turn these days, everyone is pregnant. I realize this may seem like a mellow-dramatic generalization, but seriously, the preggies are everywhere! Family, friends, blogging buddies, customers at the Thrift Shop, aquaintances at the Commissary; everywhere I turn, there’s another one. Though it’s my preggie friends and family members that seem to have the biggest impact on me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them, truly and deeply, but at the same time inside I feel a little pang of sadness mixed with jealousy (ick!).

In a nutshell, here’s the deal:

My mind says: You never dreamed of having children. You are very happy with your life and the life you share with your husband. You are actively pursuing your dreams of becoming a lawyer, and have many other engaging and fulfilling pursuits and activities in your life. You have a number of health issues that would have to be seriously addressed, if not fixed all together, before it could even be a remote possibility. Not to mention, your immediate future is shaky and uncertain. You literally have no idea what your husbands future in the Army will hold from one day to the next. He could be medically discharged tomorrow, or he could (if the right people were found to help) rehabilitate and be given the chance to re-class and stay in until you finish law school (the latter would be ideal). What sense does it make to bring a baby into the world when you don’t even know if you’ll have a place to live or a job to support him or her. Not to mention, having a baby would make completing law school VERY difficult.

My heart says: Having a baby would be an experience of a lifetime. You and your husband would make good parents. There is never an ideal time to have a baby. Adding a baby would be challenging but infinitely rewarding too.

So, that’s the conflict logic versus the insane desire to have a baby. I say insane because truthfully, I don’t want to want a baby. I liked it so much better when I was just going along my merry little way without this fairly consistent feeling rising within me.

Some days I’ll see a baby and my heart will melt, or I’ll find out someone dear to me is pregnant and I want to be too. Then some days I’m so happy I have the options to do whatever my heart desires, that I have the opportunity to fulfill my educational goals and consequent career goals, that I can be me with no restrictions. I do this dance back and forth daily (and I’m not EVEN going to go into the societal pressures and influences related to this subject. I’ll save that for another post). It’s a vicious little cycle!

Meanwhile that damned biological clock just keeps getting louder and louder. If it were a tangible object I would’ve thrown it at the wall by now. “Tick-tock, tick-tock . . .”

Nip Tuck

2009-09-30T11:20:00.001-07:00

Me and the Hubs were watching a show earlier on E about celebrity plastic surgery. This sparked a conversation on what (if given the opportunity) we would change about ourselves.

The truth is, I’m pro plastic surgery. I mean hey, if you have the money, and you want to do it, why not? This is not to say that I don’t think some people take it too far, using it as a means to try and outwardly fix an obviously internal problem (like low self esteem), because I’m sure that happens a lot. However, by and large I think most people who have plastic surgery are just trying to correct a part of their body they either don’t like or cannot get the way they want with exercise and diet alone. I’m all about “to each their own.”

That said, if given the opportunity I’d do it in a second! I’d get a boob job (bigger and lifted), a tummy tuck, liposuction on my thighs and bootie and veneers. If I had a killer plastic surgeon that I really trusted, I might even get a nose job and see about making my face less round, but those are not high on the list, the others are. I’ll admit, I freely believe these parts of my body could be enhanced by plastic surgery and while I am trying to get more exercise and tone up (hello, I just got my Sketcher Shape-Ups for this reason) I’m not ashamed to say that taking the easy route on this certainly appeals to me. Granted I guess that depends on your definition of easy. In reality plastic surgery is very evasive and quite painful, or so I’ve heard, and easy may not be the best way to describe it. Fast, on the other hand, might be a more fitting a word, at least in comparison with how long it would take working out to yield the same results.

Many people disagree with the very idea of plastic surgery, saying that we should accept would God gave us. All I can say to those people is, God must’ve given you a tight ass and perky breasts! If you had mine, you’d think twice. :)

Like I said, I very much take the stance of “To each their own,” and my “own” is, that if given a chance, I’d be nipped and tucked in two seconds. :)

Thoughts anyone?

Things That Go Bump in the Night

2009-09-29T11:00:00.001-07:00

There’s a ghost in our house. I swear. The hubs and I have noticed some strange happenings going on for awhile now and at first we just dismissed them as the normal creaks and moans that an old house makes, except that we don’t live in an old house, we live in a fairly new apartment. Hmmm. Then we dismissed them as quirks within the electricity, and while that one is possible, it got harder to dismiss these “nothings” when we started to see things like shadows move about from one side of the room to the other, while we sat in our recliners side by side each other watching them move (who’s presence by the way was totally interrupting an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, so inconsiderate). Anyway, neither previous dismissive explanation could justify that one.

Initially it started off small, like hearing odd noises coming from the back bedrooms like something had been knocked off the night stand. They were pretty frequent, a couple of times a week and eventually they evolved into louder noises, sort o f sounding like something had been thrown against the wall. On more than one occasion me and the hubs would jump up and go running to see what it was, only to find everything in it’s proper place. After a while, whenever we heard these noises we’d simply look at each other, raise our eyebrows and then turn our attention back to the TV or our laptop screens, or whatever we had been doing prior to the noise. Still the noises of unknown origin continue.

Then came seeing things. One time I was in my bedroom putting away folded laundry into our dresser when I saw in my peripheral vision my hubs walk out of his man cave room and down the hallway. I could even hear the sound of his bare feel hitting our faux wood flooring as he walked. I thought this was odd because he almost never walks around barefooted and because I thought he’d been in the bathroom not the man cave room, but I quickly shrugged it off, and didn’t think about it for more than half a nanosecond. Shortly thereafter having finished putting up the laundry, I went to put the basket back into the laundry room across the hall, when I realized he had been in the bathroom. How did I know this, because HE WAS STILL THERE! Icy chills went up and down my spine at that realization. What or who had I seen walking past our bedroom down the hall, I don’t know? Again, I dismissed this as my eyes playing tricks on me.

I could’ve easily convinced myself of faulty eyesight being the culprit, if my very rational and logical hubs hadn’t started seeing things too. I found him saying more and more, “Did you see that?” The “that” he was referring to usually consisted of shadows out of the corner of his eyes walking across our hallway, or across the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, or like the one I spoke of above, moving across our living room. The thing is, that even the obvious ones are not so obvious, because the unexplainable is never obvious and your first reaction is always to dismiss it.

Then there was the time when I was emptying the dishwasher and something tugged at my shirt. I’m talking a genuine tugging like someone trying to get my attention. That one made me stand up straight and take notice of my surroundings, and it definitely got my attention.

Oh, and then there was the time I went to shut off my AC (it’s like a small window unit, but instead of being in the window it’s mounted into the wall) and it started freaking out beeping off and on uncontrollably like it was having some sort of combination epileptic seizure with Turret’s outburst. This lasted for a whole minute straight, which when something like that is happening, seems like forever!

And of course, let me not forget to tell you about the mysterious scratch my hubs woke up with one morning. He had gone to bed the night before with his face in normal order. In the morning he awoke to find a scratch across his cheek. He’s a chronic nail biter and therefore has none to speak of, and doubly therefore could not have done it himself. As for me being the source, while yes there are definitely times I’d like to scratch his eyes out because even though he’s a great husband, he is after all still a man, it wasn’t me. My back had been hurting a lot that night so I slept on my recliner. Hmmm.

There are many more examples I could offer, but I think by now you’re getting the jist of the situation. Any one of these occurrences by themselves is innocuous and given enough time, explanations could be found for all of them. However, if you put them all together, they can appear to be something else entirely. Also, I want to interject that thus far, while some of these goings on have been very strange (to say the least), I’ve never felt in danger or the presence of any distinct negative energy around me. So if there is something here, I believe it’s harmless and merely trying to communicate with us in the only way it can.

There’s a running joke right now between me and my hubs about our ghost and my tendency to be neurotic. In the window above and behind our television I have curtains in the form of two panels. It is my biggest pet peeve when these panels come apart at the middle exposing the curtain rod underneath. I’ll be sitting in my beloved recliner, reading, or watching TV, or on my laptop, completely engrossed in whatever I’m doing, then I’ll look up and see they’ve come apart in the middle. All I can see is that blasted curtain rod glaring at me. I have to immediately stop whatever I’m doing so that I can get up and fix it. I must do this five times a day. The joke is that our ghost, having observed my neurotic behavior, now pulls them apart just to have a few laughs at my expense. :)

Additionally, my neighbor/friend Reese has a friend who lives a few blocks over and she too has had similarly strange experiences. I wonder what the history for this area is, as Hawaii has a lot of legends and myths surrounding the supernatural. There were a lot of battles fought on this island, and the island isn’t all that big, so it’s theoretical that something could’ve happened here. Who knows, anything’s possible.

You know how when you’re watching a scary movie and inevitably the big-boobed-blonde goes to investigate the inexplicable noise she hears and you scream, “Don’t you stupid crack ho! He’s just waiting to kill you!” Then you turn to your friend who you’re watching the movie with (because like you’d ever watch a scary movie alone) and say, “What a stupid biatch! I would never go check on a suspicious noise alone, on a dark and stormy night! Duh.” Too bad real life isn’t as obvious as a scary movie. In real life we don’t expect Michael Meyers to be the source of that noise in the other room, instead (much like big-boobed-blonde) we go and investigate it. There have been a couple of times as of late when I go to see what’s making that strange sound from the back of the apartment that I have stopped and thought, “Am I the big-boobed-blonde I so despise?” This is hilarious because I’m neither blonde nor big-boobed, but I am beginning to think people in horror movies aren’t quite as stupid as I previously thought. It’s all about perspective.

So, do you believe in ghosts? Or, do you think the happenings in my house are just random, innocuous occurrences with justifiably explanations? Personally, I do believe in ghosts and I also know that I have an overactive imagination, but you know what they say, “real life is stranger than fiction.” After putting the pieces together for over a year, I’ve come to one conclusion, there’s a ghost in my house. I swear. :)

Check it Out: Eastwick

2009-09-29T00:57:00.001-07:00

Today, thanks to my handy dandy DVR, I watched the premiere of the new series “Eastwick” on ABC. It originally aired last Wednesday, but I hadn’t had a chance to watch it until today, and the first episode did not disappoint.

Intrigued by the promos, I was very excited to check this one out! As a fan of the original movie (which was actually based on the book by John Updike), I knew there was some serious potential in creating a series around it, and props to Maggie Friedman for taking the reigns and doing just that. The setting is the very quaint and small New England town of Eastwick. The story (for those of you who aren’t familiar with it) centers around three strangers: Kat (Jaime Ray Newman, Joanna (Lindsay Price) and Roxanne (Rebecca Romijn), who meet one day after making a wish at a fountain at the exact same moment and become friends. Soon after a handsome, rich and quite charming (albeit a little evil-but we’re not supposed to really know that yet) man, Darryl Van Horne (Paul Gross), moves into town.

He then begins wooing each of the girls, who at times have their reservations about him but are enchanted by him none the less. The nuts and bolts of the story lie in that each of the girls has certain powers which become more evident throughout the show, and that the wish they made not only binds them together but starts a chain reaction of a series of events that unleash magic and trouble throughout Eastwick, with Darryl Van Horne at the center of the Mayhem.

I thoroughly enjoyed this pilot, as it was both interesting and entertaining! It had a quick pace that kept the plot moving forward while introducing new elements simultaneously and seamlessly. Each of the actors brought something to their character that made me like them more than those in the actual movie. That’s saying something considering I don’t particularly care for Rebecca Romijn in general, but her performance was not only solid, but dare I say, good? I think so.

So, if you’re looking for something new to watch on Wednesday nights, or if you just like things of a witchy-supernatural nature (like me) then I highly recommend you check this one out!

PS-If you want to see this episode, it’s available to view on ABC’s website!

Featured Follower: CreativitE

2009-09-28T20:21:00.001-07:00

This weeks featured follower is Erin Bassett and her blog/website, CreativitE. Her home on the internet is seriously a primo collection of all things crafty!!! She’s been scrapbooking for over 10 years and screen printing since January. She’s a bona fide craft addict and her work is AMAZING!

Her site is so fun and chock full of such crafty ideas and projects for sewing, scrapbooking, mixed media, cards, green crafts and of course YuDu screen printing! She also has some very handy tutorials relative to her crafty pursuits. I like her blog because the layout is clean and eye catching. It’s easy to find your way around and there is just a ton, and I mean a ton, of info on it. Great job Erin! Keep up the rockin-awesome work!

If you’re into crafts or wanting to be more crafty, this is THE blog for you!

You Rock!

2009-09-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

I have often said that my followers and commenters are the most AWESOME people in the entire blogosphere, and I truly believe that! So, I was thinking today, what could I do to say thanks to them. Hmmm . . . . this is what I came up with. I’m going to start doing a weekly “Featured Follower.” This means at least once a week, maybe more, I will do a quick post on one of my followers or commenters blogs as a way to say, “Thanks for the follow, thanks for taking time to leave a comment, and mostly thanks for indulging my crazy writing by reading it!” :)

I will also show props by writing a status update on it on my blog’s Facebook Fan Page. It will just say the followers name, their blog name, a link to their blog and a one line description of their blog. My Facebook Fan Page is linked to my Twitter account, so it will be blasted across the Tweetosphere as well!

This is just a little something to say that all of you rock and seriously, thank you for supporting me and my blog. I have truly been blessed to have met some of the most phenomenal people through blogging (which is one of the many reasons I enjoy it so very much)! Like I said, you guys are the BEST! Thanks from the bottom of my heart. :)

Nice Place to Visit . . .

2009-09-28T10:04:00.001-07:00

Do you like where you live? Is it your idea of ideal, or would you rather be somewhere else? Sometimes we live in a place by choice, but many times we live in a place because that’s where we grew up, or that’s where the jobs are at, or that’s where our family is, or (as in my case) that’s where the Army sends us. Where would you live if you could live anywhere? Why? What do you like about where you currently live and what do you really not like about it?

Living in Hawaii is definitely interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we came here and had this amazing opportunity . Obviously living here can be an absolute BLAST and unlike anywhere else in the world. The beaches are of course phenomenal and the natural beauty, history and culture provide a very unique and rich (and no, I’m not talking about money) once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, believe it or not, there are some distinct downsides to living here, and these are just a few of them.

Everything is so super, uber, beyond expensive! I’m talking ridiculously, make you crazy, expensive!! For example, a gallon of milk off post is right around $8.00, coffee creamer is $7.59, and a Frappucino in Waikiki is $8.72! Now you might be thinking, but you live on post, so you can shop at the commissary where things are cheaper. and that’s true. There is absolutely no way we could afford food here if it weren’t for the commissary. Even still, it’s more expensive than any grocery store I’ve ever been too on the mainland. If I can get out of there spending less than 50 bucks, I call it good, and that’s only if I have a few (in between major grocery trips) items on my list.

Also, they have some chain restaurants here like Chili’s but their prices are not the same as the mainland. I went out once with a friend and all I had was the soup and salad combo and a soda. We also split a basket of endless tortilla chips and my portion was $24.00! Are you kidding me? Oh, and let me not forget my favorite example. I love those plastic three drawer storage units, they’re great for my crochet and scrapbook stuff. I bought one at Wal-Mart in AZ for $13.88. Here the exact same thing at Wal-Mart sells for $30.00. I kid you not. When we went home to good old Arizona at Christmas, we felt like rock stars because everything was so cheap and our money was stretching so much further!

Speaking of Christmas, there’s another drawback to living here. It’s a tropical climate so it’s the same temperature (within 10 degrees) all year long. At first that seems ideal, at first. But after a year or so, it’s starting to get old, really old, at least to me it is. My husband on the other hand, he loves it. He loves warm, and even downright hot weather. Not me!!! I get really irritated when I got hot, and truth be told, I sweat just as much here as I did in Arizona. Sure it’s like 20-30 cooler here, but it’s also at least that many degrees more humid.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, and I missed it last year (our first year here), but it really didn’t bother me because I was still totally infatuated with living here. Not this year! I’m totally bummed that we don’t get a fall here! In Arizona the summer’s are grueling bordering on flat out miserable. I mean when the wind blows it feels like a hair dryer and when you open your car door, it feels like when you open you’re oven, not fun. But then, sometime in September, the temperature starts to drop at night and in the evening and then by October the days start getting nicer and nicer, and after the intense temperatures of the summer, it’s such a relief! Yup, I love, love, love, fall! Here it’s been a hot and humid summer, but there is no relief in store and that thought seriously makes me sad and even a little mad (I know that’s not rational, but hey, it’s what I’m feeling right now).

Christmas is a joke, mainly because since it’s been the same temp the whole time, it doesn’t even feel like Christmas, despite the stores being decorated and a Christmas tree sitting in my living room. Like I said the first year it didn’t bother me, in fact it was kind of fun because it was different, but now I yearn for some traditional weather and the traditional holiday experiences that come with it!

Another frustrating aspect of living here is that the roads appear to have been designed by a drunk man randomly stumbling along with a crayon drawing haphazard and nonsensical lines. Getting around here is impossible! When I first arrived I would go out to explore, that stopped real quick after I kept getting lost and it would take HOURS to find my way back. I should interject, I’m good with reading maps, but maps prove to be pretty useless when more than half the streets do not have street signs to let you know what street you’re on!!! I mean, how in the hell are you supposed to navigate, if the streets are not labeled? Wait, to be fair sometimes there are street signs . . . . about two centimeters big! Even Superman with his freaking x-ray vision would have a hard time reading them until he was right up on them! I’ve tried downloading directions from MapQwest and Google and have ended up in the middle of nowhere when I was supposed to be at a movie theater.

Lastly, I was very spoiled living in Phoenix, because our extensive freeway system worked in a grid. If you missed your exit, you simply took the next one and turned back around, easy peasy. Not here. If you miss your exit, you better hope you packed some food, water and a change of clothes, because it’s going to take you a few weeks to get back home! Once we missed our exit and the next one wasn’t for 13 miles!!! We ended up on the other side of the island, I swear. The freeways here are absolutely NOT in a grid system, as far as I can tell there isn’t any kind of “system” to speak of. You have no idea if the exit you’re getting off of will have one to get back on the freeway going the opposite direction. It is a total nightmare!! You might be thinking, “Just go to one of those fabulous beaches. That will take your mind off traffic.” Huh, not so much. I live about 10 minutes from the North Shore, home to some of the best surfing in the world, too bad there’s only one two-lane road that goes around that entire side of the island! The traffic gets so bad there (particularly in the summer) that it has taken us two hours to drive what should’ve been 30 minutes. That is a total deterrent for me to go to those fabulous beaches.

Speaking of beaches, whenever you see pictures of Hawaii that’s what you see, the phenomenal beaches with amazing sunsets and gorgeous water, and yes those are all accurate. What you do not see in those pictures however, are all the ghettos in between. I’m talking scary, drug laden, crime heavy, ghettos the likes of which make South Central LA look like a paradise! Is it really any wonder though, I mean given how expensive it is to live here, no one, not even the locals, can afford it, thus, all these economically depressed neighborhoods develop. The one closest to our house, 10 minutes away, that I have to drive through to get to Wal-Mart in the next town over, is so bad, even the locals avoid it at night!

If I had my choice, I would without a doubt, live on the east coast, probably somewhere in the New England area. I completely adore the east coast! It’s got so much character! Each house is unique and not a cookie cutter replica of the next one (like in Arizona). It seems like every five miles there’s another historical landmark, which is so very cool to me! However, the best thing (in my humble opinion) about it, is the AMAZING seasons! There are actually four of them over there! Wow, what a concept! I was in Connecticut in the fall once, and I almost didn’t leave. The view from my hotel room looked like a Normal Rockwell painting! It was magnificent. Right then I new, if I ever had the opportunity, I would live there. I’m hoping that one day (perhaps after I’m a lawyer) we’ll be able to. I’ll need to be a lawyer for sure because it’s expensive too, but after living here, not nearly as bad as I once thought!

So, I’ve given you the 411 on what living in Hawaii is really like, and how if given a choice I’d be in Connecticut tomorrow. What’s your take on where you live? Do you totally love it and never want to leave, or are you itching to go somewhere else? Just some food for thought.

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-09-25T13:32:00.001-07:00

1. When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home to a sellout crowd, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city. (Wow, Nebraskans must really love their football if enough of them get together to make the 3rd largest city in the state! Go Huskers!) :)

2. The metal part of a lamp that surrounds the bulb and supports the shade is called a harp. (I wonder which got their name first, this or the instrument? And, I wonder if you rubbed the metal if it would sound like a harp?)

3. Point Roberts in Washington State is cut off from the rest of the state by British Columbia, Canada. If you wish to travel from Point Roberts to the rest of the state or vice versa, you must pass through Canada, including Canadian and U.S. customs. (Boy I bet that’s a pain having to go through customs each time. Crazy that it’s part of the states even though you have to go through Canada, weird.) :)

4. The phrase "sleep tight" originated when mattresses were set upon ropes woven through the bed frame. To remedy sagging ropes, one would use a bed key to tighten the rope. (And I thought my mattress was uncomfortable. Mattresses sure have come a long way!) :)

5. A baby oyster is called a spat. (Too funny!) :)

Three Bonus Facts!

*A Holstein's spots are like fingerprints -- no two cows have the same pattern of spots. (I bet that’s helpful to the CSI’s if they suspect one of murder.) :)

*According to the ceremonial customs of Orthodox Judaism, it is officially sundown when you cannot tell the difference between a black thread and a red one. (What if your color blind?) :)

*Shrimps' hearts are in their heads. (What a trip!) :)

Today’s facts were provided by: Deb & Jen’s Land O Uselless Facts!

What Would You Choose?

2009-09-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

I live on my laptop. I’m on it first thing in the morning, right before I go to bed, and off and on most of the day in between too. Considering my blogging, school, email and writing, not to mention Twitter and Facebook and you have to figure, I’m on it constantly. The only time I’m not, is when I’m at work.

When I’m away from my laptop, my BlackBerry is my best friend. Even when I’m on my laptop my Blackberry holds a special place in my heart. It’s not only a mini computer, it’s a camera, mp3 player, and oh yeah, a phone as well. Not to mention my favorite feature, the simple but effective text message.

Speaking of special places in my heart and mp3 players, my iPod is always close by. I listen to audiobooks religiously on it, watch my favorite movies and TV episodes, and of course jam out to music as well. Also, if I get caught in a long line somewhere, I have Yahtzee to occupy my time.

What is my point to all this rambling? Don’t worry, I have one. The hubs and I were talking the other day about if we had to give up all but one “recent” techno device (so not like the TV, the microwave or electricity, etc) which one would you keep? Without hesitation he said, laptop.

For me I had to debate for a minute, it came down to my BlackBerry and my laptop, but in the end my laptop won. My life runs through my laptop, literally, (to be fair it does through my BlackBerry too, but I could survive with just one if I absolutley had to). The bottom line is, I simply cannot imagine living without a computer, although last year I had to. It crashed and was not repairable, eventually I was able to get a new one (thanks Grandma), but the months I had to endure without, were not fun. Thank God I wasn’t going to online school at the time because that would have been, ugh (shiver), I don’t even want to think about that nightmare.

And so I now pose this question to you, if you had to give up all but one “recent” techno device, laptop, cell, mp3 player, digital camera/video camera, etc., which one would you keep and why? Just a random little question to spark some interesting thought. :)

Shaping Up

2009-09-24T11:03:00.001-07:00

For about the last month or so I have been wanting a pair of Sketcher Shape-ups. You may have seen the commercial, girls walking around in shoes that are a throw back to the Dutch wedged clog, while the announcer bills them as being the ultimate way to get in shape while going about your daily activities. Since I’m desperately trying to lose the weight I gained post my back surgery (I’m down 13 pounds, but it’s coming off so slowly!), anyway I thought these would be the perfect compliment to my routine, particularly wearing them to work, as I’m always running around and sweating like a stuffed pig over a spit. It’s pretty safe to say that I’ve mentioned these in conversation to just about anyone I’ve spoken to in the last month, the hubs, friends, co-workers, random Jane/Joe on the street, you name them I’ve talked these shoes up to them.

My Grandma, being the generous and sweet person that she is, took note of this, and sent me money this past weekend to purchase them. I was beyond excited. They rock! I immediately put them on after buying them and wore them the rest of the day while I ran my errands. They’re actually the strangest paradox of comfort and well, just plain weird. They’re weird in that they don’t feel like it normally does to walk in shoes, and yet it’s not necessarily bad, just weird. After a while though the weirdness goes away, and then it’s back to normal.

So, how is it that these shoes can:

Firm calf muscles
Reduce cellulite and tone thighs
Firms buttocks muscles
Strengthens the back
Improves posture
Improves blood circulation (which helps boost metabolism and stamina)
Tightens abdominal muscles

Fortunately the shoes came with a handy DVD and all encompassing pamphlet to explain. According to the pamphlet the shoes are designed to simulate softer, uneven surfaces like when you’re barefoot walking in sand, which then “forces you to engage muscles not normally used when walking on hard ground. Not only does this strengthen your muscles, but it also increases blood flow and reduces the impact on your joints and lower back.” Additionally it gives you instructions on how to maximize the benefit by walking in a rock and roll step, meaning step down with your heel and roll off your toes, this step in combination with the technical design (a whole page in the pamphlet) is what leads to a firmer, healthier you.

I’m so ready to get these babies out on the open road and really see what they can do! I’m going to start wearing them daily in place of my flip flops and my normal Sketchers. We’ll see how it goes. In the beginning (as with any workout) they advise to start out slowly and only wear them for 25-35 minutes at a time. So I’ll have some other shoes handy in case I need to change. They also mention that it’s normal to be sore for the first few days/weeks of wearing them. Regardless it should be interesting, and I’m really hoping they hold true to their claims so that after a while I’ll be a trimmer, fitter version of myself! :)

Where’s an ice skate when you need one?

2009-09-23T12:28:00.001-07:00

You know that part in the movie “Castaway” with Tom Hanks where he uses the blade on an ice skate to remove a tooth that had gotten infected and was giving him mad amounts of pain? Every time someone mentions that movie, that’s the first thing I think of, and every time I see that scene I shudder so much that the people around me think I’m having a seizure. Anyone who’s ever had a toothache knows the horrific pain that comes along with it and how desperate you become to try and alleviate the pain, we’re lucky enough to have dentists, but stranded on a deserted island he did what he had to do. There were moments in the last 48 hours of my life, where if I had had an ice skate, I might have been tempted to do the same.

First a little back story. I need a lot of dental work. Let me emphasize A LOT of dental work. We’re talking like two more root canals, a couple of extractions, a few bridges, and some fillings. I didn’t have dental insurance for a long time, which coupled with some weird mouth anomaly I have, and voila this is the result. I’ve been working on it a little at a time for a while now (I’ve already had two root canals) but it’s expensive. Very expensive.

My insurance covers a certain percentage up to a certain amount, and then the rest is all me. Just to give you an idea of the cost, one root canal WITH my insurance is still $836.00. Ouch. That definitely puts a crimp in the old pocketbook. So like I said I’ve been doing it a little at a time. Even if I had all the money to do it right now, this is not the kind of stuff you could have done at one time, obviously not in one sitting. These types of procedures you’d have to spread out over weeks, even months depending on which one we’re referring to, so my “slow and steady wins the race” attitude had been working out, that is until Monday night anyway.

Let me backtrack for just a second to say that Sunday I started to have some pain. I’m pretty sure I know which tooth is the nasty little culprit, but I can’t be 100% positive because there are two distinct possible suspects on that side. Also adding more confusion to the mix is that sometimes a tooth on the bottom can make the top hurt and vice versa because of all the nerve endings. So I took a high powered anti-inflammatory called Mobic (you only take 1 every 24 hours and you are not supposed to take any other anti-inflams during that time like ibuprofen or aspirin) and I felt better. The rest of Sunday night and all day Monday, I had no problems. Unfortunately this would not last.

I went to sleep Monday night and everything was still A-OK. Around 11:00 (an hour or so after I went to sleep) I woke up from pain in my mouth. At this point it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t at least just fall back asleep. Then, I woke up again at 1:00, this time it hurt worse, so I put a little Orajel on it, and after 10-15 minutes or so, it wasn’t as bad, and once again I fell asleep. I wish the rest of the night could’ve gone like this, because at least it was somewhat under control, too bad that wouldn’t be the case.

Now let me just say that I’m no stranger to pain. I have chronic pain as a result of a back injury and consequent surgery. I’ve had 7 surgeries in the last 10 years (I’m only 32) ranging from simple ones like having my gallbladder out to more extensive ones like having a mass removed from my pelvis that had overtaken my entire left ovary and thus they had to take the ovary as well. That particular surgery (I was later told) was the equivalent of a c-section. My point is I’ve been through a few things medically speaking and pain is a regular part of my life. That said, let me just tell you that mouth pain from a toothache or abscess is probably one of the worst types of pain to endure.

At 3:00 I woke up in searing, throbbing, horrific pain. The entire right side of my mouth was KILLING me! It’s the kind of pain that is so grading and intense, it makes me really anxious, so on top of everything I felt like I was crawling out of my skin too. Yeah, not the most pleasant situation. I didn’t even want to move at that point for fear of causing it to hurt more, but I didn’t have a choice. I went to the bathroom, and took a Mobic and an anti-anxiety pill. Then I lathered on the Orajel and went to the living room (so as not to wake up the hubs-no point in both of us suffering) and waited. I really thought that this would take care of it. I’d been through this before with another tooth right before I had my last root canal, and this treatment had been very effective. Not Monday night it wasn’t. After about an hour of this horribly grading, aching, throbbing, intense pain, I realized that it wasn’t going to do the trick. So, I got up and took two aspirin and a 400 mg ibuprofen (a total no-no), but I was desperate for relief. I also lathered on more Orajel, which at this point my supply of that was starting to run really low.

I waited some more, and still nothing. It was at this point that I started thinking about Tom Hanks and his ice skate. We don’t have ice skates (really not necessary in Hawaii) so I started to think of alternatives I could use instead, anything to get the blasted tooth out! This pseudo plan fell short because given the intense state of pain I was in, I wasn’t able to keep hold of a thought for longer than a nanosecond.

By now it’s just after 4:00 in the morning. I usually take my daily back meds at 5:00 when I wake up, and I decided it was close enough that I could just take them then, hoping they would help with the pain. Let me interject here, that I have plenty of pain meds in my house, but for tooth pain they don’t really work. In fact, usually the only thing that does work is an antibiotic which I didn’t have. But, like I said, I was desperate. So I took my morning back pain meds, and an hour later I began to feel some small semblance of relief. At least the pain wasn’t as intense and I could focus on a thought for longer than a half a second. The thought I kept focusing on was, “Call dentist as soon as they open!!!”

So I did, he wanted to see me ASAP and set me up with a 10:00 AM appointment. I called Kim, my Manager at the Thrift Shop, and gave her the bad news that I wouldn’t be in to work that day. Then, there was some brief confusion as the hubs and I coordinated transportation to two places at one time. Right now we only have one car. Well, actually we have two, but the second one isn’t legal yet (long story) I would normally chance it in this kind of situation, but I had to go on post to get gas, and since there’s always a chance you could be the one they’ll do the full inspection on, which includes checking registration and insurance, things we do not yet have, it was out of the question. We finished working out the ride situation, and before I knew it I was sitting in the dentist chair.

The end result was emergency dental surgery to the tune of $512.00 in the form of an extraction of a back molar and the removal of the roots of one very-infected-on-the-verge-of-abscessing-tooth removed (later it will have to have a root canal). He also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic, and sent me home to take it easy. I had to have this huge wad of gauze in my mouth placed in the spot where the molar used to be to suck up the blood, yeah, I know so gross. In fact even as I write this post nearly 24 hours later I’m still utilizing the gauze because it’s still bleeding, not nearly as much as yesterday, but the gauze is a little pink, therefore there has to be some bleeding still, right? I really hope the “protective clot” forms soon. They warned me about dry sockets, and that’s the LAST thing I want or need for that matter.

Last night I had a much better night’s sleep. I woke up this morning sore as all get out, but that’s to be expected. At least the uber-intense-throbbing-aching-kill-me-now-pain is gone, and seriously, at this point that’s all I really care about. I’ve had toothaches before, but there was something about the intensity of Monday night’s pain that was unprecedented in my history with toothaches and consequent pain. Fortunately I didn’t have to resort to an ice skate removal but I can totally understand how someone could be driven to that extreme.

I’m a Geek

2009-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am a total geek. I freely admit this. I love books. Not just books for entertainment value, but I also love reference books, I told you, I’m a geek.
After last week’s reading assignment for my BU class, I realized I needed a good dictionary. Not just the one I picked up at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago for a whopping $3.97, but a big, full of the most obscure words, can find any random word TS Eliiot or Gertrude Stein decide to use, kind of dictionary. This weekend my wish was granted.
I should also mention, I adore bookstores. I could spend hours in Borders or Barnes and Noble just looking at the rows and rows of freshly bound, crisp paged books. I don’t even have to purchase any to be happy, just being in their presence, is enough for me. However, if I get to take some home, it’s an every happier day.
Yesterday was that day. I got the College Edition Webster’s Dictionary (hardback even), the one the Associated Press uses. Exciting! I also got the Webster’s Vocabulary builder, a new edition Webster’s Thesaurus, a style guides, a grammar guide, AND the official MLA citation book. I could’ve died I was so happy! I’m so set for my undergrad degree, although I’m sure I’ll find a reason to to buy more reference books throughout the next couple of years. Like I said, I’m a geek. :)

Are you a junkie?

2009-09-21T05:30:00.001-07:00

Bad things are happening over at my house. Some of you might recall a post I wrote a about a month ago about how I finally caved and got a Facebook account. I had resisted doing this for a very long time, my feeling being that since I blog and tweet, how many public online venues does one person need, seriously? In the end I caved, not for me, but for my blog. I wanted to start a fan page to help promote it, and couldn’t do so without starting a page for me first. That seemingly innocent and otherwise innocuous act has lead me down a dark path, one I fear there is no return from. I have become a Facebook junkie.

The concept of Facebook to connect with friends old (those you knew long ago and lost touch with--as tends to happen in life) and new (even those living in the apartment directly below you) is a simple one, in fact the brilliance lies is in that simplicity. You then get to write “status” updates which publish to your “wall” and allow all the people you have have established as “friends” through friend requests. Your status updates can be literally about everything and anything and like Twitter (only longer) can provide a nice little mini-blog. For me however, the addiction was born of another element of the Facebook experience, the applications. In fact a reader of my blog was even kind enough to warn me about these devilish little things saying, “Soon enough you'll get pulled into the quizzes and applications and all time wasting things too.” If only I had listened, I had no idea how prophetic her words were.

It started slowly and innocently. A few quizzes here, a few simple apps there, little did I know these were “gateway” applications, leading me closer and closer to the hard stuff. The first application that began to eek up oodles of time was, “SuperPoke Pets.” In this one you get to adopt an animal and then give it a cute place to live called a “habitat.” The more you play with your pet, feed it, clean it, and tickle it, the more points you get. You can even have play dates with your friends pets for more points. Oh, and let me not forget to mention the part of the app that wastes most of my time, “Petsketball.” In the section of the app called the “Arcade” you will find two more ways to earn points, one of which is a basketball game where your pet attempts to make as many shots in a moving basket in a designated amount of time. Not only do you get the opportunity to earn more points here, but you can also earn badges, and badges are typically high honor in the Facebook app world. Ultimately the more points you acquire, the further you climb through the different levels of the game. You also get to buy new habitats and cute new things to put in those habitats with your points. A fun way to shop when your low on cash and the mall is out of the question. This app was particularly dangerous for me because for about the last year or so I’ve really wanted a dog, but since me and the hubs can’t agree on the size and kind, it’s been indefinitely put on hold. This app was a way to channel those maternal urges for a pet. :)

“SuperPoke Pets” was only the beginning, because tonight it lead to “Mafia Wars.” Since I joined Facebook I noticed the different “Mafia Wars” alerts and announcements of my friends achievements. It sounded fun, and I was curious, but it wasn’t until one friend sent me a request to join the game that I finally decided to see what it was all about. “Mafia Wars” like the title suggests gives you a chance to play like your Tony Soprano. I’m not going to go into the details of the game because I’d be writing all night, and since I spent the better part of the last four hours playing it’s already 1:30 in the morning, and I’d like to go to bed before my alarm goes off at 5:00, but I will say that it is absolutely and completely addictive.

As if things weren’t already bad, and getting horribly out of control, I then stumbled upon “Vampire Wars” from the maker of “Mafia Wars” and with a very similar interface and objective, but instead of being in a mob family, your a vampire in a clan. This was the absolute worse app I could’ve found considering my odd and often macabre fascination with vampires. Needless to say I was totally sucked in, no pun intended. :)

So, upon finding these two apps I then spent the rest of the night going back and forth between the two. This system worked really well, because just about the time I’d run out of “energy” (the mechanism by which you can make your character do things) for one game, I’d switch to the other so it could rebuild and then vice versa. I had so much fun I managed to get to Level 6 in “Vampire Wars” and Level 8 in “Mafia Wars.” I also added numerous badges and trophies to my characters. Like I said, these are so over the top addicting that at this rate I’ll be looking for a 12 step program next week. (Which reminds me if anyone knows of a 12 step program for blogging would you please let me know, thanks.) :)

None of this bodes well for my husband, who was already despising Twitter and all that consists of is tiny 140 character updates. I fear now for the life and safety of my laptop, I’m afraid he’s going to take it and hold it hostage for the ransom of one home cooked meal and a load of clean socks. :)

Like I said at the beginning of this post, there are bad things going on over at my house. An act to further my blogging addiction lead to creating an entirely different one. As a result, I’m quickly coming to terms with the fact that I’m a Facebook junkie, are you? If so, which apps have spawn your addiction? I’d love to know that I’m not alone in this, and besides there’s safety in numbers. :)

What’s Your Reading Habit?

2009-09-18T20:36:00.001-07:00

One of the post topics those of us participating in Book Blogger Appreciation Week were asked to write, was to answer a few questions about our reading habits. Not only would our readers then learn a little about us, but we could then ask our readers to answer the same questions and learn a little about them too! :)

Q: Do you snack while you read? No, not usually. However, I do tend to snack a lot when I do homework and when I’m writing.

Q: Do you have to read to the end of the chapter or can you put the book down at any point? Because these days I read whenever I have a free moment, I’m constantly putting my book down at random points off and on all day.

Q: What was the last book you bought? I just bought two yesterday, the MLA Citation Guide and a new Webster’s Thesaurus. Not exactly riveting reading material but much needed none the less. :)

Q: Do you prefer series or stand alone? I enjoy both, but I’m really pretty partial to books that are part of a series! Especially if they’re great books and I enjoy the writing, because then I have more to look forward to!

Q: Do you have a favorite time of day/place to read? As previously stated, right now I read whenever I get a chance, but if I have a lot of free time on my hands, I like reading first thing in the morning over a cup of coffee or at night, right before I go to sleep. :)

Q: Do you prefer print or audiobooks? I like both. They’re both fun depending on the situation. For example, if I”m driving, cleaning or crocheting I love audiobooks because I can do two things at once. However, nothing beats a good old-fashioned book to cuddle up with! :)

Q: Is there a book you find yourself recommending over and over again? I tend to recommend two books the most, “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Piccoult and “I KnowThis Much is True” by Wally Lamb. Both are absolutely phenomenal and definitely worth checking out (no pun intended)! :)

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my reading routine! So, what are your reading habits?

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-09-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

1. The smallest human penis ever recorded was just 5/8 of an inch long!

2. 45.2% of people pee in the shower.

3. The word Tips is actually an acronym standing for 'To Insure Prompt Service'.

4. The energy of a discharge of an electric eel could start 50 cars.

5. Women wishing to enter Canada to work as strippers must provide naked photos of themselves to qualify for a visa!

Today’s tips were provided by Hooked on Facts.

Bonus Facts:

*The "you are here" arrow on maps is called an ideo locator.

*For a short time in 1967, the American Typers Association made a new punctuation mark that was a combination of the question mark and an exclamation point called an interrobang. It was rarely used and hasn't been seen since.

Today’s “Bonus Facts” were provided by Deb & Jen’s Land O Useless Facts.

Blogging Milestone!

2009-09-16T20:57:00.001-07:00

I am so very happy to report that my blog has just reached 100 fabulous, rockin’ followers! When I started blogging (seriously) I had hoped I would live to see the day I would hit such a phenomenal number, and definitely thought it was a pipe dream to want such a thing in just 2 months, who knew!

Many, many thanks to all those sweet, amazing and wonderful people who follow my blog! Your support is incredible! Getting to meet and interact with such awesome people from all over the world is one of the reasons why I am a total blogging junkie! Seriously, I need a 12 step program for my blogging habit. :)

All Points Bulletin

2009-09-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

I am looking for my motivation, has anyone seen it? She ran away last night, as I was turning in my three page paper for my BU class around midnight. I was in the process of trying to convince her to kick in earlier next time, when she went postal! She said, sooner would mean more money, and when I refused she went on strike and left! The nerve.

Now, here I am today with a to do list resembling the population growth rate of China and with my motivation nowhere to be found. Did you know that if everyone in China walked by you in a single file line, the line would never end because of the rate of population growth? That is my to do list. Obviously a list of this magnitude needs some serious motivation to go along with it. So, I went out this morning and put some fliers up on telephone poles around the neighborhood. The picture on it was old, but hey, how often do we get around to taking updated pictures of our motivation? I mean we always have the intent, but does it ever really happen?

I figured someone would’ve seen her by now and called me, but no such luck. I hope she didn’t find a way to get off the island, after all, she could’ve motivated someone to buy her a plane ticket. Crap. This isn’t looking so good. Do they still put pictures of missing abstract concepts on the side of milk cartons?

So, if you see a little motivation walking around with a picket sign that says, “No more slave wages! Motivation isn’t a right , it’s a privilege,” or on the side of a freeway exit ramp with a sign that says, “Will motivate for a pink Mac” please let me know. Thank you.

In My Mailbox!

2009-09-16T04:43:00.001-07:00

I’m so beyond super, duper excited! Today I got the book, “The Art of Disappearing” by Ivy Pochoda in the mail! I will be reading it for review after “A Circle of Souls!” Once finished, the review for “The Art of Disappearing” will be available on Amazon too. I’ve got some serious reading to do, and I can’t wait! This post is extra appropriate given that it’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week! :)

The plot for this book sounds particularly interesting in that two people, Toby and Mel, who’ve not known each other for long, fall in love and get married quickly, like the next day. Toby is a magician, and after bad things happen in Vegas with his magic, they move to Amsterdam to get away. Once there they meet other “real” magicians who take them in. Through a series of events here, their marriage begins to unravel and Mel’s forced to wonder, is love constant or susceptible to Toby’s magic. In the press release and other author reviews, it was compared to “The Time Traveler’s Wife” which I loved, so I am so excited to see how this story unfold!

Note: Both books were compliments of either the author or the publisher/publicist.

Check it Out: Funny Blog Post

2009-09-16T04:28:00.001-07:00

During my blog walk yesterday I found the most hilarious post called “Dumbest Quotes Ever” on the blog “Anything and Everything.” If you need a laugh, it’s totally worth checking out!

What makes a scary movie scary?

2009-09-15T08:49:00.001-07:00

Do you like to be scared? I LOVE to be scared -- in the comfort of my home or a movie theater when there is actually no real threat present. Unfortunately, horror movies are a huge gamble, because I have found, more often than not, they aren’t actually scary, but instead either gory, lame, or both. So, keeping this in mind, what makes a scary movie scary? I guess a better way to ask this very subjective question is, what scares you?

This weekend the hubs and I watched “The Last House on the Left.” It was a suspenseful movie, it was a gory movie, but a scary movie? Not so much scary, but more like disturbing. Honestly ghosts and the supernatural are more scary to me (usually) than movies about serial killers, or just plain sociopathic killers are. This is where the subjective part of the question comes into play.

For me, while movies about crazed killers can be suspenseful and certainly make you jump, the movies that tend to stick with me and have a long lasting heebie jeebie affect on me, are those about other-worldly things. It’s kind of ironic, things that aren’t considered by and large as “real” are more frightening to me, than very real murderers or rapists etc. Maybe the reason why the supernatural is scarier to me is because I believe it is very much real, or at the very least CAN be real.

Ideally I prefer movies like “The Others” just a good solid story that can really creep you out! There’s no gore, no violence (really), and not even any cussing for that matter. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind a swear word or ten, as quite frankly, I’ve been known to talk like a sailor myself if the situation permits, or even if it doesn’t. :) But the point is, that gore and excessive use of the F-word by themselves, do not a scary movie make.

Over the weekend I came across “Night of the Living Dead” circa 1990. Honestly, it made me laugh that at any point this movie was considered horror, as not only was it NOT scary, but rather, it was quite hilarious! I’m sure back then, given what special effects were capable of, it was the cream of the crop in that moment. However, this is where I would make my argument that a solid storyline can overcome all other obstacles. Special effects, does not necessarily equal scary either, as “The Others” was not full of special effects, and yet, it made me turn the lights on in every room I entered for the rest of the night!

What are some of your favorite scary movies and why? What really scares you? Don’t be afraid (no pun intended) to let me know what you think! :)

New Crochet Projects

2009-09-15T02:29:00.001-07:00

Despite the hectic nature of my schedule as of late, I have managed to finish a few crochet projects. All of them, with the exception of one, were hats I created, but sadly I don’t have a pattern for any of them. Most of them are variations of the hat patterns I’ve previously posted anyway. But if you see one you’d really like to make, then drop me a comment or an email and I finagle the pattern out for you! :) Given that fall is just around the corner, many of these are hats were created using autumn-esque themed yarn.

The flower on this hat was made by using the Double Shell Flower Pattern by Yarncat:

This last hat I made using the Jacqueline Hat Pattern from Yarncat and the flower was made using Lazy Shell Flower pattern which is also from Yarncat.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

2009-09-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

I am happy to announce that this week is Book Blogger Appreciation week! A fun way to pay tribute to those who read the good, the bad, and the ugly, then take time to blog about it to give those perusing the vast blogosphere the nitty gritty skinny on what they read! Additionally, it gives us an opportunity to celebrate books, and personally any time I get to do that, I’m happy! I will be participating in this weeks festivities, which just means that some of my posts this week will be themed around book bloggers.

I’ve always read a lot, but I plan to start writing real reviews, not just two sentence snippets, on what I’ve read, starting with the book I’m currently reading, A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi. I’m half way through, and I cannot wait to finish because a) I really want to see how the book ends, and b) I’m really excited to write the review! I’m reading a little slower than usual right now just because I’m reading a lot of other works for my BU class, but regardless, when I’m finished the review will be posted ASAP! :)

I’ll also probably be reviewing Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte since I have to read it for my BU class this term. Surprisingly I have not yet had the opportunity to read this book before now, and in talking to a lot of my friends neither have many of them, thus a review on it might just be either the incentive needed to pick it up for the first time, or steer clear from it for good.

In the meantime if you’re jones-ing for a good book review here are a couple of great blogs to help you get your fix:

CHECK IT OUT: Book Blogger Appreciation Week Site and all the giveaways associated with this week here.

Mad Money Giveaway Winner

2009-09-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry, my cable and thus internet went out this morning. I just spent the last hour and a half on the phone to fix the problem. (The irony is that I actually wrote this post yesterday afternoon and saved it, so I could easily publish it at Noon (EST) which is actually 6:00 AM in Hawaii. Sigh.

Without further ado, the winner is: Anne Molino from The Molino Family Blog and I Heart Giveaways Blog! Congratulations Anne! I will be sending you an email in the next 48 hours to get your mailing address, but you can email me in the meantime to speed up the process if you’d like! :)

Wow! The response to this giveaway was phenomenal! Just to give you an idea there were 676 total entries! It also generated 312 comments and 19 Facebook Folllowers!

Many thanks to everyone who participated!

This was my last giveaway for a while, the next will probably be around Christmas, but you never know, if I have the money or think of a particularly great idea then there might be another one before then! If you want to know when the next giveaway is announced, just join my mailing list! I will email the members of my mailing list at the same time as, or before I post the giveaway on my blog! It’s a good way to keep tabs of the giveaway goings on here at Angela’s Soliloquy!

Thanks again to everyone for entering and congrats to Anne!

Mad Money Giveaway Ended

2009-09-12T13:11:00.001-07:00

My “Mad Money Giveaway” has officially come to an end! Many thanks to all those who participated! Stop by Monday (9/14) @ Noon (EST) to see who the lucky winner of the $50 Visa Gift Card is! Have a great weekend!

Vampire Diaries

2009-09-11T16:54:00.001-07:00

OMG, I am so beyond excited about the new series, Vampire Diaries! It premiered last night on the CW and was watched by 4.84 million viewers in the US, making it the most watched series premiere in CW history! I guess I’m not the only vampire fan out there! I had been crossing my fingers all week, wishing and praying that it wouldn’t suck (pun intended), but instead be a vamp series I could look forward to watching weekly thus filling a void that has been left since my beloved Buffy ended. Last night my wish was granted.

The premiere was a thing of beauty. The plot and story were well cultivated. The characters were both attractive (the good vamp boy, and well, even the bad vamp boy, were total hotties) and likable. The setting was beautiful as was the filming. They really hit the trifecta of television entertainment! I also really loved the songs they played in various scenes in the background. Each added to the overall story and enhanced the tone for the whole show!

So, what was it about? A hottie of a vamp, Stefan, moves to a smallish town called Mystic Falls. He’s intrigued by a sweet and pretty, Elena, who’s parents died in a car crash just a few months before. The two meet and it’s instant chemistry. Meanwhile a couple of deaths from “animal attacks” have occurred. Things get very interesting when Stefan’s brother, Damon, shows up. Damon and Stephan are exact opposites, and Damon appears to be dead set (no pun intended)on making Stephan’s existence hell. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

It actually reminded me a lot of Twilight. In fact I told my husband (who not-so-graciously) watched it with me, that it was a better representation of Twilight, than the movie actually was! I am a HUGE fan of the Twilight saga, but the movie sadly did not do it justice. The producers and directors of the next movies in that series would be well served to take some advice from the production staff of Vampire Diaries.

Speaking of books, Vampire Diaries started off by being a horror series of novels for young adults. I haven’t read them yet, although I have come close to buying them a dozen different times. Maybe now’s the time to finally check them out! If you like vamps or even just a good, entertaining show with a low but fun creep factor, then I would highly recommend checking it out! Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights on the CW @ 8/7 depending on your time zone. Check your local listings for more info.

Five Fun Facts for Fridays!

2009-09-11T14:14:00.001-07:00

I had absolutely no decision making capabilities whatsoever today and as a result there are a total of 17 fun facts on today’s list! That’s obviously way more than the “5” there are supposed to be, but oh well, I suppose it’s better than having none! :) Also, I found a lot of related facts this week, so I set up today’s post a little differently. I hope you enjoy!

1. More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

RELATED FACT - The number of text messages sent and received in a given day is greater than the world’s population. (Considering the last fact, that’s so crazy! I’d be willing to bet teenagers are responsible for at least half of these texts!) :)

2. More than 2,500 left handed people a year are killed from using products made for right handed people.

RELATED FACT - Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people. (Not surprising given the previous fact! I had no idea being a leftie was so dangerous!)

3. Most lipstick contains fish scales.

RELATED FACT - Women end up digesting most of the lipstick they apply. (I”m not surprised we end up digesting most of our lipstick, but I was surprised it contained fish scales! I wonder what purpose fish scales could possibly serve in lipstick?)

4. The higher the income, the more likely an American man will cheat on his wife.

RELATED FACT - people who are lying to you tend to look up and to their left. (At first I was surprised by the previous fact a little, then I thought, “The higher the income (usually) equals the higher the ego.” At least now you know what to look for, up and to the left equals lying, cheating, bastard!Incidentally this might also work well with children, “No mom, I didn’t break your favorite vase,” if they say this looking to the left, they’re busted! Just make sure the TV isn’t on and to the left, otherwise they could just be watching Sponge Bob or something, and accidentally incriminate themselves!) :)

5. Females learn to talk earlier, use sentences earlier, and learn to read more quickly than males.

RELATED FACT - Women have a slightly higher average IQ than men. (Interesting, but not surprising, especially given the previous fact, but really do we need further proof of how much women rock!) :)

**Bonus Facts**

*Apples are actually part of the rose family. (I guess the apple did fall far from their family tree after all.) :)

*Bananas contain a natural chemical which can make a person happy. This same chemical is also found in Prozac. (So the next time I’m having a bad day, I’ll just grab a banana, or 12 – depending how bad the day is.) :)

*McDonald’s salads contain up to 60% more fat than their burgers. (What better way to justify eating a burger.) :)

*There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats. (Seriously what doesn’t cause cancer anymore?)

*Baskin Robins once made ketchup ice cream. (I like ice cream and I like ketchup, but the two together, are you kidding me? Who in their right mind thought that would be a good idea?)

*There is more real lemon juice in Lemon Pledge polish than in Country Time Lemonade. (Sad, too bad you can’t drink furniture polish.) :)

*To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field. (That’s a whole lot of walking then to burn off a package of M&M’s. I wonder how much you’d have to walk to burn off a package of Peanut M&M’s? Scary.)

Today’s fun facts were provided by www.funfactz.com.

Entry into Bizarro World

2009-09-10T03:49:00.001-07:00

Bizarre. That’s all I can think. Bizarre. I just finished watching the movie Angel Heart for my BU class, and I really don’t know what to think. It was just so, well, bizarre.

Made in 1987, starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro and Lisa Bonet, it’s set in the 50’s in both New York and New Orleans. In a nut shell, Robert De Niro’s character hires Mickey Rourke’s (who is a private investigator) to find someone he’s looking for. His search eventually leads him to New Orleans, Voodoo rituals and Lisa Bonet. Along the way, the people he interviews to find info on the guy he’s looking for, keep coming up dead shortly after talking to him. I’m not going to tell you how it ends because I don’t want to taint it at all in the event you actually see it one day, but needless to say, it totally threw me for a roller-coaster size loop!

I watched it with my hubs, and my sweet and awesome friend Reese, who lives in the apartment downstairs and directly under mine. Reese and I were crocheting the whole time, and the three of us were talking throughout it, so obviously it wasn’t the best environment to concentrate. Also, having read the assignment requirements before starting the movie, I had a feeling I’d have to watch it a couple of times anyway.

One point I absolutely have to make is they could’ve easily condensed the runtime of 112 minutes down to 80. Despite the fact that people were being brutally killed and body parts were being cut off, the first hour and a half was unbelievably slow. So much happened in the last 20-30 minutes that it was hard to absorb it all, so I’m actually looking forward to watching it a second time just so I can make sure to get all the big and little details of the story straight. The ending was actually both the best and worst (add aggravating and annoying too) part of the whole movie, an odd combination to feel simultaneously.

In the reviews I read off IMDB and Amazon, it was billed as a superb psychological thriller, and there were some genuinely intriguing and creepy moments, but superb, hardly. After the brief plot summary on the back of the DVD case it says , “A truly unsettling film experience” and that is a sentiment I can completely agree with! Even though, I”m currently not a fan of it, the director had to have done something right, because I’m taking the time to blog about it. Who knows maybe after thinking about it and watching it a second time with no distracting factors, I’ll revise my current opinion, but for now I would sum it up in these words: bizarre, frustrating, annoying, and thought provoking. A peculiar choice of words for an equally peculiar movie.

Without a doubt, THE MOST BIZZARE PART is the seriously beyond CRAZY sex scene between Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke! I’m talking a sex scene the likes of which would make the goings on at the Bunny Ranch look innocent! I’ve never seen anything like that in a typical Rated R movie before. In fact, while reading the IMDB and Amazon reviews, I read that it was almost Rated X because of this sex scene. After watching it, I can completely understand why, especially since I watched the required unrated director’s cut, and got the full impact of all of it. (Shiver) Ugh.

I’ll watch it again tomorrow so I can have plenty of time to do the assignment for it that’s due on Saturday. I’m curious to see how I feel about it after a second viewing. So, if you’re bored, or just in the mood for a bizarre movie that will leave you feeling unsettled, a little annoyed, and a tiny bit creeped out, then you’re in luck, this is the perfect movie for you. :)

The Great Chili Debacle

2009-09-09T16:05:00.001-07:00

On Monday, being Labor Day, and like so many others across our great nation, we had a bar-b-que. Excited to have finished my first BU assignments and finally have a day to relax, while eating some fabulous food and spending some time on a couple of my favorite hobbies i.e., blogging and crocheting, I had been looking forward to it all weekend, and was ecstatic when the day finally arrived. However, often what we plan varies greatly from what actually occurs. This is one of those stories.

Hawaii may have a lot of great food to offer, but one thing you will be hard pressed to find on the island is good Mexican food, especially compared to what we’re used to at home. Recently while shopping at the Commissary, we found green chilies in the produce section. We bought some, roasted them up and OMG they were amazing! We decided that for our bar-b-que we would not only grill some more to serve with our steak (which is a surprisingly tasty combination), but we’d take it one step further and also throw in a little Pico de Gallo to go with it! I’d been craving Pico for a while, and happily near the chilies I found jalapenos too!

With the menu decided, the stage is set, and here enters our guests. (Sorry, I just finished reading Oedipus the King, for my BU class and it’s sort of rubbing off on my writing style.) Our cast of characters for this particular afternoon, was small but fun. Besides me and G, there was Reese (our downstairs neighbor and my very good friend, who’s husband is currently deployed) and Carbone (G’s friend from work who lives in the barracks and who’s fiancé lives on the mainland). It’s like we’re a support group for people whose significant others are more than 6,000 miles away. :)

Preparing for our fabulous feast was really a group effort. G, Reese, and I chopped away, while later Cabone helped G grill the steaks. I inadvertently ended up being responsible for both the chopping and de-seeding of the jalapenos and for the green chilies peeling their roasted skins off and de-seeding them as well, which I didn’t really think too much of at the time. Unfortunately later, I thought about it a whole lot! Oh, and I also mixed the Pico ingredients (including the fiery jalapenos) by hand. I know, I know, but hindsight is always 20/20.

We sat down to eat, and that’s when I first noticed that my hands were burning. Being from Arizona, I know first hand that chilies can not only burn your mouth, but really anything they touch. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when chopping jalapenos is to forget and rub your eye. OUCH! So knowing this, I sucked it up and continued eating, believing it would go away soon. Yeah, not so much.

Not only did it not go away, it began to gradually intensify, and honestly it hurt as much as when you burn yourself on the stove or iron. The only difference was that it hurt ALL OVER my hands. By this time it’s getting harder and harder to focus on anything because the pain is totally dominating my senses. Not to mention, using my hands is virtually impossible because any increase in pressure, like by holding a pen, or pushing the keys on my phone, only made the pain go up a notch.

So Reese, being the sweet girl that she is, begins to search for remedies online. At least I can take heart in knowing, that I’m not the only one who has found themselves in this situation. There were numerous search results when she Googled “chili burn remedies.” After reading some of the results out loud, I began trying some of them, sure that one would be the ticket to my burn-free salvation.

First though, I should say that what makes chili burn is something called capsaicin. It’s a chemical compound that is not water soluble, hence why when you eat something hot, then drink water you get no relief. It is however, soluble in fats and alcohol. The first remedy we tried was washing my hands in vegetable oil. Initially I was like, won’t that just sort of seal in the heat, but I couldn’t argue with the Chemistry of it all, so oil it was. Too bad it didn’t work.

Next we tried, soaking my hands in milk for about 15 minutes (the fat in the milk helps breaks down the capsaicin). While my hands were in the ice cold milk, they felt great, but shortly after taking them out, the burning started up again. This lead me to believe it wasn’t the milk providing the temporary relief, but the cold instead.

Then we tried rubbing them with salt. I’m not sure why this one was supposed to work, but several people had success with it, and by this point I’m really getting desperate. My hands, especially my thumbs, were red from the burn. Reese, poured some good old Morton’s all over my hands, and I rubbed it in. Again, no relief. Although, I did notice that between the vegetable oil and the salt, my hands were really soft, so if at all nothing else at least I found a new a cheap home manicure treatment. :)

Through the course of the afternoon, we went on to try soaking my hands in alcohol, pouring lime and lemon juice on top of them (something about the acidity reducing the hold of the capsaicin), rubbing them in Crisco and finally rubbing them with aloe vera. None of them brought me the relief I was so desperately seeking! I briefly contemplated going to the urgent care, but realized I would just end up being in pain while sitting in the waiting room, and if I’m going to be in pain, I’d rather be at home. So finally, Garret put a bunch of ice cubes in a huge Ziploc bag, a technique used as a last resort by some of the people we found online, and placed it on top of my hands. While I sat in my recliner, frustrated I wasn’t able to blog or crochet, but instead just watch TV, I seriously realized in that moment, just how much I take my hands for granted.

Finally, after hours and hours of pain, the burning began to slowly dissipate. By nightfall I was able to crochet a little as long as I held my hook gently.

There has been much debate since about the official cause of the burning. Reese and I believe it to be a combination of the green chilies and jalapenos both. Garret believes it was strictly the jalapenos. Carbone, well, his only theory was that if he had handled either one, his rough, tough man hands, would not have responded the way mine did, and he would have been fine. Don’t get me wrong Carbone’s a good guy, but the belief that a man could’ve handled it better and wouldn’t have been such a “girl” about it, made me want to run a jalapeño over a distinctly male body part to really test his theory.

Whatever the cause, I think the reason why the countless remedies we tried didn’t work was because I didn’t begin trying them immediately after the burning began. Finishing eating first, in the hopes it would just go away, was my biggest mistake. Should you ever find yourself in a similar situation, my advice would be, the second you feel it burn, or even just a tingle, take action!

Needless to say, my Labor Day did not go as planned, but the upside is that I did eventually get rid of the burn, I have a new appreciation for my hands, a new respect for chilies, and a new manicure method to utilize. All things considered, it could’ve been worse.

My First Blog Award!

2009-09-07T14:03:00.001-07:00

I’m so super uber beyond excited, this weekend Gaelikaa from Gaelikaa’s Diary has awarded me with my first blog award! She, in her phenomenal kindness and generosity, gave me the “Your Blog is Swank” award!

I will cherish this award forever because not only is it my first, but also because it was given to me by a blogger I truly admire for her spectacular writing style and because she is simply an AMAZING woman. I truly enjoy reading about her life and her perspective in her blog. Thank you my sweet Gaelikaa!

Upon receiving this award, it is advised (not ordered) to mention and link the blogger who nominated you, and then nominate and link the blogs you you admire and find “swank” and would like to bestow it upon!

Without further ado, my nominees are:

Mama Talk from Mama Talk as she always makes me laugh and her writing style is truly the best parts of intelligence mixed with wit!

La Belle Mere from La Belle Mere Confused Musings of a Stepmother on the Edge as her posts are always honest and insightful and comedic to boot! Not to mention her blog design is truly SWANK!

Marina or as I know her better Bunny B from Energizer Bunny’s Mommy Reports who’s blog is an incredible collection of all things Mommy.

and last, but certainly not least,

Jayne from Misplaced City Girl who’s blog was truly inspirational in my own journey as a blogger and who’s honesty in her postings is as refreshing as cool drink of water on a hot summer day!

A quick note to the winners, if you should simply choose to accept your award without passing it on, that’s totally okay with me, but if you have the time, and there’s a blogger out there you’d like to send a shout out too, then by all means, pass it along!

Thanks again to Gaelikaa and congrats to my nominees!

A Day at Work

2009-09-04T16:36:00.001-07:00

Working at a Thrift Shop probably doesn’t sound like much work, but it really is. From the time I arrive until the time I leave I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off!

My job as the “Donations Display Coordinator and Volunteer’s Supervisor is to make sure the donations (merchandise) is always stocked and in aesthetically pleasing way, and to manage the volunteers by assigning them tasks and supervising their work. Essentially I’m coordinating the efforts of many people and running the floor assisting customers, keeping things stocked, and arranging/rearranging donations as they come in all the day long.

The Thrift Shop on our post is very popular, especially since we’re only open two days a week. You would be amazed at how many people are waiting there each morning for the doors to open and how busy we stay the entire time we’re open. Total insanity, tons of people cramped in a tight space trying to find the best bargains before somebody else snatches them up! Honestly it more often than not reminds me of shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving when most stores have mad sales marking the beginning of the intense Christmas shopping season).

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not “hard” work, but it’s definitely busy and physically demanding work, as I’m constantly lifting items that range from not so heavy to I have to find my inner “Wonder Woman” because they’re ridiculously heavy! Also, since it’s always summer here in tropical Hawaii, I swear I sweat my body weight off in the first couple of hours of the day! It’s so very hot and even better, ha-ha, humid in the store, especially in the back donations area, that I sweat more than a whore in church on Sunday! This by the way, is not the ideal environment for a girl with no eyebrows who has to draw them on daily. Sweat is like my arch nemesis! In an effort to avoid walking around the store with half an eyebrow on one side and a smeared eyebrow on the other I’m continually asking the girls I work with if I’m still the owner of two full eyebrows.

Despite all the chaos and the buckets of sweat, I love m y job. The girls I work with are awesome, most of the volunteers are truly amazing and absolutely generous with their time and their labor, and I love interacting with the customers too! At the end of the day even though I’m usually in a ton of pain, and can hardly walk upright due to my bad back, I have a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and this might sound weird, but a sense of peace. I really feel like I’ve put in a good day’s work, it’s a great feeling.

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-09-04T13:55:00.001-07:00

1. By the law of averages you are more likely to be killed by a flying champagne cork than by a poisonous spider. Good to know, so now I don’t have to be as scared of spiders, but more scared at weddings! :)

2. Butterflies taste with their feet. (How inconvenient would it be if every time you wanted to eat something you first had to use your feet to taste it, then your mouth to eat. Inconvenient and unsanitary! Well at least for humans anyway, but since butterflies don’t walk not so unsanitary for them!) :)

3. A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death. (I’ve heard something like this before, but every time I do, it makes my skin crawl!!)

4. "Naked" means to be unprotected. "Nude" means unclothed. (By these definitions, it’s possible to be nude and naked at the same time, because if you’re unclothed, you’re definitely unprotected!) :)

5. A whale's penis is called a dork. (LOL! So basically when we say something like, “Don’t be a dork!” what we’re really saying is, “Don’t be a whale’s penis!”)

Two Bonus Facts:

*When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food.

*A fear of long words is, ironically, called "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia"

Today’s fun facts were provided by:

http://www.comedy-zone.net/

http://www.tealdragon.net/humor/facts/facts.htm

http://www.dysan.net/weird/show/646.html

http://www.berro.com/entertainment/general_interesting_facts.htm

School’s in Session!

2009-09-03T03:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my first Boston University class began and I’m so excited I could pee my pants! Well actually, come to think of it, that might be from the oodles of chocolate Pepsi I’ve been drinking while sitting at my laptop writing blog posts, but you get the picture!

I’m really excited about this class, while I know it will be challenging, so much so that every time I think about it I get the distinct urge to puke (not like projectile vomiting or anything, more like itty bitty baby spit up, but still puking none the less) I think it will also be enjoyable and interesting!

This class is designed to get us to think about what makes a classic a classic and compare older texts with more contemporary ones that are similar in theory despite the time differences!

For our first assignment were reading “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles! At least this is a story I’m familiar with, as we studied it in my “Intro to Drama Class” a couple of years ago, and will be a great way to break me in as a BU student, while also getting accustomed to online course work. We’re also reading some selected material by Aristotle, which should be fun in the way that reading a foreign language is fun when you know less than ten words of that language! :)

These classes are pretty intense. Not only is there a lot of reading involved both from our books and course materials, as well as our online lectures, but also (with the exception of this week) we have a paper due every week thereafter! Not to mention our homework, two questions answered and submitted in the form of posted discussions as well as a “thoughtful” response to another students posts. Lots to do! My first assignments are due on Saturday, and since I have to work tomorrow and Saturday (we’re only open one Saturday a month, and this Saturday is it, of course) I’ve got lots to do in the next few days! So if my posts become a lot shorter or even non-existent, never fear I’m alive and will return as soon as I finish deciphering Sophocles and Aristotle!

Today I went to Wal-Mart to get a few school supplies, and I was so giddy! I’ll admit it, I’m a total nerd. I always looked forward to going back to school at the end of every summer when I was a kid, and one of the parts I looked forward to the most was getting my school supplies!

I’m a little neurotic when it comes to paper products, thus I took a while to pick out just the right notebook and folder. My preference for notebook paper is to have dark lines to write on, so there I was in the Wal-Mart aisles looking through every cellophane wrapped package of loose leaf notebook paper until I found lines that were dark enough to meet my ridiculous standard! Then there were the pens. I’m a total pen snob! I like specific pens that write with a bold line and flow well, so once again, the hunt to find the pen that would later write my first notes as a BU student, took a little longer than it probably should have. If anybody knows of a 12 step program for all things stationary related, please let me know!

I met an Angel . . .

2009-09-03T02:04:00.001-07:00

Last week I met an angel. It’s that simple. I’ve been trying to to write this post now for a week, desperately wanting to convey every detail of the experience in the most perfect of ways, but nothing sounded good enough. So, I decided to simply tell the story and let it speak for itself.

Last Tuesday I worked at the Thrift Shop and then I had to teach an Army Family Team Building class at the NCO Academy for the spouses of the soldiers going through the Warrior Leadership Course. During work my hubs notified me that our one an only vehicle (a 98 GMC Jimmy) was not starting. The battery was as dead as Lindsey Lohan’s career. I had just bought a new battery for it last summer before we shipped it over to Hawaii, so this news was a little upsetting to say the least . My neighbor/great friend, Reese, who happened to be volunteering at the Thrift Shop that day offered to take me home, and knowing of my teaching obligation even offered to drive me to and from the NCO Academy (she’s such an awesome friend). I accepted her offer, and began to think of ways we could create money using smoke and mirrors to fix the Jimmy.

After work we rushed home, so I could hurry up and change and book it to the NCO Academy for my class which was in an hour. By the time we arrived back at our respective homes (her apartment is directly under ours), my hubs had gotten the Jimmy started, and said it was running well enough to drive. Not wanting to inconvenience Reese by making her make the 15-20 minute drive to the NCO Academy, then wait for me to give my class, I opted to drive myself.

My class was the last one of the day, so I stayed after to help clean up and talk to my friend Cat. One of the other instructors was there too, her name was Kiesha. She and I clicked instantly. She radiated charisma, confidence and wisdom, but she was also funny and sweet at the same time. All of these together made a striking first impression and before I knew it we were talking as if we’d been life long friends who'd known each other for years.

I asked the girls to wait until I started my car just in case there were any residual rebellions from my battery, after all it never hurts to err on the side of caution. Turns out I was justified in my concern. The Jimmy was once again dead. Peculiarly I had lights but the engine was quiet.

When I initially tried to open the hood, I couldn’t figure it out so I called my hubs and he said to give it a hit right on top and near the front. So in a move similar to Fonzie on Happy Days, I clenched my hand into a fist and in one smooth motion hit the front of the hood, just like that it popped open. Cat and I laughed hysterically for a minute, and then began to get to work.

I had jumper cables so we started to hook them up to my battery. Too bad Cat has a beamer she bought in Germany and we couldn’t even find the appropriate places on her battery to connect the cables to, and Kiesha has a super charged V8 engine that took up the entire front of her Lincoln Town Car so her battery was actually in the trunk and so not the easiest to get to. I should also mention none of us had ever actually jumped a car before. With the three of us going back and forth between my hood and Kiesha’s trunk, looking into each like with puzzled expressions on our faces, and holding the jumper cables like they were poisonous snakes ready to attack at any moment. we sort of looked like a scene from a movie, a comedy no less.

Luckily, the NCO Academy’s Sgt Major happened to drive by at just that moment, and he stopped to help us. Normally I really hate having to be rescued by a man, wanting always to be able to take care of myself, but at that moment, all I really wanted was my car to start so I could go home, and I was smart enough to realize that wasn’t going to happen of my own accord.

He hooked up the cables, and with great anticipation I turned the key over and absolutely nothing happened. Well, except for a few click, click, clicks coming from the ignition. I might have the knowledge of cars equivalent to George Bush in foreign affairs, but even I knew that wasn’t good. This scenario repeated itself for almost a whole half hour, and I was really beginning to sweat with worry, playing over in my head a worst case scenario of having to leave the Jimmy there, catch a ride home with one of the girls, and then, well and then I had absolutely no idea how I was going to get the situation resolved. Given the current tiny balance of our checking account and my payday two days away, it was at this point that I really began to get frustrated, stressed, sad, angry and beyond worried all at once. That’s a lot of emotion to feel after having already had such a long day! Just when I was beginning to think I would need to find a brown paper bag to blow into to prevent me from hyperventilating, the first miracle of the day happened when I half heartedly turned the keys and the engine roared to life. I was so happy I could have cried!

We thanked the Sgt Major, and while he was pulling off the jumper cables, Cat turned to me and said, “I would drive straight home and leave it parked until you can get it fixed.” I told her, that would be a great idea if it weren’t our only form of transportation.

She responded by saying, “Then drive it straight to post and buy a new battery.” I replied that I couldn’t do that either as we barely had enough money in our checking account to buy a gallon of milk, let alone a new battery. I was just hoping my hubs would be able to either “fix” it until my payday or work some sort of voo-doo mumbo jumbo over it to make it run until payday.

That’s when Kiesha turned to me and said, “Let’s go get you a new battery.” Of course I immediately said thank you (while simultaneously tearing up because it was so sweet of her to offer) but no, there was no way I could let her do that, I mean I’d only known her for less than an hour!

Then, she calmly said, “Just follow me to post, we’re going to get you a battery.” She spoke with equal parts concern and conviction, and in that moment, with the chaos of the day and the exhaustion that went along with it tugging at me from every angle, and having absolutely no alternative in mind, I simply looked at her and said, “Okay.” Here enter the water-works. I couldn’t help it, I totally started bawling. She gave me a hug and said “Just receive it.” Her kindness and generosity were overwhelming and so I cried harder into her arms.

I told her I would pay her back as soon as I got paid, and she said, “No ma’am.” Even though I’d only known her for a very short time, I knew she was the kind of woman who would stand steadfast in her decisions, so rather than argue I said, “Well, we’ll just see about that,” and we both laughed. :)

We drove to post and she bought me a new battery. While we were waiting we talked. It was one of the best talks I’ve ever had, and I talk a lot, so that seriously says something. She is one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met.

My hubs and I had so much to do the rest of the week, and it was the best feeling in the world to know that each time we got in our car, it would start and get us safely to our next destination. A peace of mind that is truly priceless.

In a lifetime, you’ll meet lots of “cool” people, but every now and then you’ll meet someone who changes your life, and Kiesha is one of those people. Her absolute selfless nature and generous spirit touched me (and my hubs) in such a profound way, that it’s impossible to completely put it into words. Needless to say that day I was inspired. Inspired to be a better me, to achieve a higher standard of living and to love and give in ways I had not previously known.

I once heard a quote that says “Along the way, God puts Angel’s in your path to help you if you let them.” Kiesha was my Angel. Thank you Kiesha!

Want a laugh?

2009-08-31T21:19:00.001-07:00

This weekend while at a friend’s house I was told to check out the website “Texts from Last Night.” It’s a website that publishes people texts from the night before, most of which were sent in a drunken state. All I can say is it was hilarious! A couple of my favorites that come to mind:

“Having a ‘I’m an SDSU Mom’ bumper sticker is like saying my daughter has STD!” I must laughed for five minutes straight!

“Checking your phone to see who you drunk dialed last night isn’t as funny when you see you had a 17 minute call to your dad.”

Sometimes you have to read for a while to find the great ones, and I have to warn you that some of the messages do get a bit risque (to say the least), but if you’re looking for a good laugh, you should totally check it out!

Boston University Update

2009-08-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update to let you know how the BU adventure is progressing! It’s been a big week for me with BU, and super productive at that! I registered for my first class, “Rethinking the Classics: Contemporary takes on the Canon.” Right now I’ll be taking one class each term (7 weeks) and there’s 2 terms in a semester (Fall I/Fall II). After this year, as long as I have a solid GPA I can double up on my classes and finish sooner, YAY! I ordered my books and they should be arriving Monday, I cannot wait to get them! Lastly, I’m in the process of doing my “Online Student Orientation,” so fun!

I have to say that BU has absolutely made me feel like a BU student, and part of the campus life, which is quite a feat given that I live in Hawaii! I have received numerous emails from varying members of the BU staff and faculty, along with BU Today and the Daily Free Press the campus newspapers, and packages via snail mail full of great info and even a BU shopping bag to help the environment! This, in combination with the online orientation, which helps me meet other BU online students, has really made me feel like part of BU life!

Also, I should know by Wednesday or Thursday of next week what my complete financial aid package will be. Classes begin Wednesday, September 2nd, and the deadline for payment isn’t until a week after classes begin so I’ll be able to utilize my financial aid and begin classes with no problem!

Also, with regards to financial aid, as a military spouse I’m eligible to receive $6,000 towards my education with the MyCAA program! I started this process in July and am so very happy to report that I completed it last week! My MyCAA money will pay for my first 2 classes at BU! How exciting! If you’re a military spouse and considering going back to school, I would highly recommend utilizing this benefit! Click here for details!

Lil Cutie Hairbows!

2009-08-28T21:46:00.001-07:00

My sister Erica is hosting her first giveaway over at her blog “Lil Cutie Hairbows!” The prize is a set of Halloween Korker Bows!

Aren’t they adorable!!! This is how they would look on:

Here are some of the other bows she offers for purchase:

Tell me these aren’t the cutest things you’ve ever seen!

Prices vary from $2-$5, so beyond affordable! Bows can be sold separately or as a set. If you are interested in purchasing, please send email her at lilcutiehairbows@gmail.com and let her know what you are interested in.

She’s also in the process of starting an Etsy Shop, and is operating under MyThreeAngels and LilCutieHairBows on Etsy!

Check out “Lil Cutie Hairbows” blog for more styles and info on purchasing!

“Mad Money Giveaway” Extended!

2009-08-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

Since this is the last giveaway I’m going to be able to do for a while, and the prize is a sweet $50 (in the form of a Visa Gift Card), I decided to run my “Mad Money Giveaway” for two more weeks!!! The new deadline will be September 11th @ Midnight (EST). Now not only will even more people be able to join in on the fun, but it will also give those who’ve already entered even more chances to win!!! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 14th @ Noon (EST).

Just a reminder that each time you leave a comment on a different post you’re entered to win! This means not only can you comment on new posts, but you can also comment on older posts in the archive too. Another tip is to use the “Random Posts” button on my new toolbar (located at the bottom of the screen) to generate a random post, and the “Recent Posts” button to see a list of my most recent posts! Remember you don’t need to submit an entry form for comments and you don’t have to comment on the “Mad Money Giveaway Post” to let me know that you’ve commented. The way my comments are set up, notifies me each time a comment is left and what post it’s left on. From there I enter your name, and the name of the post commented on into a spreadsheet. I use this spreadsheet to track all entries including those submitted via the entry form and those who enter by becoming a Facebook Follower. For complete details on all the ways to enter, click here.

Additionally I tweet each time I put up a new post including the URL of the post, so if you follow me on Twitter you’ll be able to know the minute there’s a new post to comment on!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me using the “Contact Form” found after the post(s) on the bottom of any page! Many thanks to all those who’ve already participated in this giveaway! Now let’s have some more fun with it!

New book!

2009-08-28T17:26:00.001-07:00

I belong to an internet group called “Book Blogs.” It’s a great place to network with other book enthusiasts, especially for authors who want to promote their new books. A few weeks ago, an author named Preetham Grandhi, asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing his new book, “A Circle of Souls.” He gave a brief summary of the book, a psychological murder mystery/thriller, set in a small town in Connecticut. I was totally sold, because from his description it sounded like book I would buy and read anyway. A few days ago it arrived, yay!

I had been reading, Wally Lamb’s “The Hour I First Believed,” but I decided to put that one back on my bookshelf for a while, just until I can read “A Circle of Souls.” Wally Lamb is one of my favorite authors, and “The Hour I First Believed” is an excellent book thus far, but it’s a very, very long book. The length combined with the fact that it’s a hardcover makes it particularly heavy, so I can’t simply throw it in my purse and take it with me wherever I go in case I end up waiting in a line or something and have some time to read it. Doing this allows me to finish books quickly given that I’ve been busy lately and haven’t had as much time to read as I would like.

My thinking is that I’ll be able to read and review “A Circle of Souls” in a fraction of the time it would take me to read “The Hour I First Believed.” Stay tuned for the review of “A Circle of Souls” by Preetham Grandhi!

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-08-28T15:17:00.001-07:00

1. It is impossible to lick your elbow! Don’t you know the second I read this I immediately tried to do it! :)

2. 15% of Americans secretly bite their toes. Ewww and damn they must be pretty limber!

3. Q-Tip Cotton Swabs were originally called Baby Gays. Bizarre. I wonder why they thought that name would be appropriate?

4. 12% of Americans think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Only 12%, I’m surprised it’s not more.

5. According to US FDA standards, 1 cup of orange juice is allowed to contain 10 fruit fly eggs, but only 2 maggots. Can that seriously be true? Scary!

--2 Bonus Fun Facts! (Because they’re just fun to share and I always have a hard time deciding which ones will make the top five list!)

-Most people who read the word yawning, will yawn! I know I did!

-A group of officers is called a mess. Given my experience with the Army, I can see why that is! :)

Today’s fun facts were provided by Fun Funny Facts and Fun Factz.

Parting Ways

2009-08-27T01:25:00.001-07:00

Tuesday I officially resigned from my position as Webmaster on the Governing Board of the Hui. With school starting I’m really having to re-evaluate my priorities (family, school, work, volunteering-in that order), and reassess the amount of time I have to give to volunteering. I enjoyed being the Hui Webmaster and I learned so much doing it, but I’m just a little more passionate about my other commitments.

Army Family Team Building is an incredible program and I have learned a tremendous amount of useful and beneficial information in just the short time I’ve been involved with it. Being an AFTB instructor, is doubly rewarding because not only do I get to learn by being a part of the program, but I, in turn, get to teach the knowledge I’ve gained to other Army Spouses and potentially make there life a little easier. I genuinely love teaching (I hope to teach the law later in life), and I feel like my talents are much better utilized as a part of this program.

I am also passionate about Army Family Action Plan. It allows all those affiliated with the Army to have a voice (often a rare commodity in the military) and potentially solve problems that are causing soldiers and their families strife. My role as a AFAP Facilitator is to go out into the Army community and make people aware of this program and encourage them to take part in it. I absolutely adore meeting and talking to new people, and again, I think my talents and interests are much better suited in this program as well.

Finally, I really want to dedicate more time to starting my charity, With Love. I am most passionate about this idea, as I can make a direct impact on someone’s life in a time of need, by doing something I love doing, crocheting! I want nothing more than to be able to offer a simple gift such as a baby hat (at a time when nothing else would fit such this small and beautiful baby) that says, “This hat was made with love specially for your new baby! Congratulations on your miracle!”

So after much thought weighing the pros and cons of all of my volunteer obligations, it was the Spouse’s Club that I decided to let go of. The Hui President, being the amazing woman that she is, couldn’t have been more supportive. She was a teacher in a former life, and encouraged me to do whatever I felt I needed to do to ensure that my education would be top priority. I agreed to stay on for the next two weeks while she looks for someone new, and to help make the transition as seamless as possible. The Hui taught me a lot, and I will deeply miss it, but the time has come to say good-bye and let someone else benefit from this great organization like I have.

New Crochet Projects

2009-08-25T02:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the hats I managed to finish this weekend. I was in the mood to make flowers, and it shows! Only one of the hats I made came from an actual pattern, the other two were created by me just playing around with my hook and some yarn! I love it when those actually work out! One of my hats, I have a pattern for, the other I do not (I totally wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing!). All of the flowers I used came from here.

Helene Hat with Double Shell Flower

No pattern for this one, but the flower is a Lazy Shell Flower

The flower is a Double Shell Flower

Fun Black Toddler Hat

Materials:

Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Black)
Size H Hook

Directions:

Round 1: Ch 5, sl st to join
Round 2: Ch 2, DC same st, 2 DC in each st around, join
Round 3: Ch 2, DC same st, *1 DC in the next st, 2 DC in the next st* repeat from * to * 2 DC in last st, join
Round 4: Ch 2, DC same st, *1 DC next 2 st, 2 DC next st* repeat from * to * 2 DC in last st, join
Round 5: Ch 2, DC in same st, *1 DC in next 3 st, 2 DC in the next st* repeat from * to * 2 DC in last st, join
Round 6-9: Ch 2, DC in same st, DC in each st around, join
Border: Ch 1, SC in same st, Ch 1 *SC in next st, Ch 1* repeat from * to * around, join and fasten off.

I found some new hat and scarf patterns, hopefully I’ll have those up soon!

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-08-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

Today I just couldn’t decide, so it’s actually “Eight Fun Facts for Friday” but five sounds better in the title so I didn’t change it! I hope you find these as interesting as I did!

1. A group of crows is called a murder (No wonder why crows are so creepy!)

2. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had only one testicle (That explains a lot! No wonder why he always looked so angry/unhappy!)

3. A chicken loses its feathers when it becomes stressed (Sad, not only are they stressed, they’re funny looking too? Well, I mean more funny looking than usual.)

4. Dolphins can swim and sleep at the same time (Talk about multi-tasking! Hmm, I wonder if the dolphins I saw doing a show at Sea World were awake asleep? )

5. Thirty percent of all bingo players are under the age of 35 (This blows the stereotype straight to hell!

6. The tip of a bullwhip moves so fast that it breaks the sound barrier. The crack of the whip is actually a tiny sonic boom. (I thought this one was so interesting!)

7. A newly hatched fish is called a "fry." (Is this where we got the phrase “Fish Fry?”)

8. Turtles can breathe through their butts (This one totally made me laugh! How do you suppose that works?)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Today’s fun facts were provided by GreatFacts.com.

Accepted

2009-08-20T02:05:00.001-07:00

Oh happy day! I just found that I was accepted to Boston University!!! This is the news I had been waiting for to make my final decision about where I would be finishing my bachelor’s degree. I am so beyond excited! I have a student ID number and everything! :)

It’s such a great school, with a stellar reputation! It’s a top 100 school coming in at #54 in the US News and World Report ranking, and in a world schools ranking done by academic types in came in at #40 of 400! It’s also got the #20 law school in the nation!

Those of you who have read my other blog, know I really did not want to go to online school. However, given my current situation and not knowing where we will be from one day to the next (gotta love the military life) I felt it was my best option to ensure I would be able to complete my degree in a timely fashion.

Thus began endless research on the validity and credibility of online degrees. Throughout my search, I came across some very interesting information. For example, online graduate degrees tend to have more credibility than undergraduate degrees. The overall consensus on online bachelor’s degrees was this, it varies. Depending on the online school in question and the graduate school or employment opportunity you are applying for, it can either carry the same weight as a traditional school, or less. The majority of resources I looked at, said online degrees from traditional schools that happen to have an online degree program are the best way to go. The reason? Because these schools do not differentiate between their online or traditional programs. Case in point, my school (oh, how I love saying that), Boston University and other schools like New York University and many of the Universities of California offer online bachelor’s degree programs and once you graduate, you are simply a graduate of that institution. I cannot wait to go to graduation in Boston!

This is of particular value to me considering my bachelor’s degree is just another step towards my ultimate goal of goingto law school and becoming an attorney. Having a degree from BU will put me in a prime position to apply to the kind of law schools I so desperately want to attend, the ivies.

Even if I end up going to BU’s law school, I can’t go wrong. After all they are #20 in the country! Also, being a BU alumnus would be in my favor when applying to their law school.

My degree will be an interdisciplinary degree in Liberal Studies focusing on the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It is a philosophy based degree, which will also bode well for me in my pursuit of law school, as those with a philosophy undergrad degree, typically score very well on the LSAT. The only drawback is the cost of going to BU, a selective, private university, which will run me about 39K. Steep, but in the long term totally worth it!

I was looking at the course schedule today, and I was both excited and a little nervous. Ok, truth be told I sort of wanted puke. This program will be challenging. They’re absolutely amazing classes (perfect for me and the kinds of things I love to study), and they will definitely help prepare me for law school and practicing law, but I have a feeling they will be difficult to say the least! While I had a 4.0 at the community college (EA) I attended and was in the top 4% of my class there, this a totally different ball game and I’m scared to death (in a good way)! :)

It’s kind of surreal actually. I worked so hard for 2 years while at EA, then I had to take a year off when we moved to Hawaii. In the early spring I filed my FAFSA and began my research while seeing how things would go for us and the Army. Now a year and a few months later, what I wanted more than anything when I left EA, to transfer to a stellar university, has actually happened, and I can hardly believe it’s real. BU watch out, because here I come!

A rose by any other name . . .

2009-08-19T11:59:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share a few pics of the beautiful roses my husband brought me Monday!

Not only do they smell amazing, but they are some of the prettiest pink roses I’ve ever seen! Thanks hubby!

New Crochet Projects

2009-08-18T04:10:00.001-07:00

Even though I spent most of the weekend changing my blog layout and doing some bloggy maintenance, I did manage to finish a couple of more hats and a hot pad!

I used Red Heart Super Saver in Pink Camo to make this Preemie Hat. I used the “Creative Preemie Hat” pattern, except I changed the border to:

*5 DC’s in same stitch, skip next stitch, 5 DC’s* Repeat from * to * around.

I used Lily Sugar ‘N Cream cotton yarn in Ivory for this preemie hat, and the same “Creative Preemie Hat” pattern from above.

You’re going to laugh when I tell you what pattern I used for this hot pad, because it actually started off as a hat! I used the "Lil Sunhat Pattern” but it never seemed to drop at the sides and start shaping like a hat. I really like the look of the pattern, and I realized it would make a great hot pad, and voila here it is! I used Caron Simply Soft in Sundrop and a size E Hook, which is different than what the pattern calls for, maybe that’s why it never started to look like a hat! :)

And the Winner is . . . .

2009-08-17T09:27:00.001-07:00

Without further delay here are the winners for my “Lunch Money Giveaway!”

First 10 (The prize is a Hawaiian Souvenir Key Chain)

Kimi
Jo Bryan
Lisa Anne
Jen
Teresa
PictureGirl
Connie
Shelly
La Belle Mere
Annandonandon

The Grand Prize winner of the $25.00 Visa Gift Card is:

IceFairy of IceFairy’s Treasure Chest!

The winners will receive an email from me in the next 48-72 hours for their shipping info, but if you want to speed up the process, you’re more than welcome to email me at msangelanorton@gmail.com. Note: Shipping from Hawaii is expensive and seems to take forever, so don’t worry if it takes a a few weeks to get your prize! :)

I would have pictures of your prizes, but my batteries died in my camera, as soon as I get new ones, I’ll add a pic to this post!

Congrats to the winners and many thanks to all those who participated! Didn’t win this time? Make sure you enter to win in my current contest the “Mad Money Giveaway” where the prize is a $50.00 Visa Gift Card! Click here for more details!

Mad Money Giveaway!

2009-08-17T04:42:00.001-07:00

My last giveaway had a tremendous response, even better than my first giveaway! I’m definitely starting to get the hang of this Giveaway thing, and it’s so much fun! The next best thing to receiving something, is giving something!

When I was thinking of what to offer as a prize, I asked myself what would I want, and money was the first thing that came to mind! The “Lunch Money Giveaway” was so such a hit, not only did I decide to host another giveaway, but I decided to do it better! Too bad this is the last one for a while. I’m getting ready to start school in a couple of weeks, and I just won’t have the time that giveaways tend to require. That said, I really made up my mind to go all out with this one and have lots of fun with it!

The theme for this giveaway is wouldn’t it be nice to have a little mad money?That said, I am happy to announce (drum roll please) my

“Mad Money Giveaway”

Prize: $50.00 Visa Gift Card!

This giveaway will run much like the last one with a few exceptions. Here’s the 411:

There will not be a “First 10” element like the “Lunch Money Giveaway.”
Signing my Guestbook (if you have not already signed it) will count as 2 entries. DO NOT COMMENT THAT YOU HAVE SIGNED MY GUESTBOOK, SIMPLY FILL OUT THE ENTRY FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
Becoming a follower (if you have not already become one) will count as 2 entries. DO NOT COMMENT THAT YOU HAVE BECOME A FOLLOWER, SIMPLY COMPLETE THE ENTRY FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
Signing my Tagboard will count as 2 entries. DO NOT COMMENT THAT YOU HAVE SIGNED MY TAGBOARD, COMPLETE THE ENTRY FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
Becoming a Facebook Follower (if you have a Facebook Account) will count as 2 entries! DO NOT COMMENT THAT YOU HAVE BECOME A FACEBOOK FOLLOWER. THESE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE TRACKED SEPERATELY.
Leaving a comment will count as 1 entry (ONE PER POST). Let me clarify:
- YOU CAN COMMENT AS MANY TIMES ON ONE POST, BUT ONLY ONE WILL BE COUNTED AS AN ENTRY. ALL COMMENTS MUST BE AT LEAST ONE COMPLETE SENTENCE (NOT JUST ONE OR TWO WORDS).
- This means EACH TIME YOU COMMENT ON A DIFFERENT POST, you are entered to win. I post new posts almost EVERYDAY, so make sure to check back daily and leave a new comment for another entry! You can also comment on any post in my ARCHIVE for additional entries. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FILL OUT AN ENTRY FORM FOR THE COMMENTS I WILL TRACK THOSE SEPARATELY.
- ALSO, ANY COMMENTS NOTIFYING ME THAT YOU SIGNED MY GUESTBOOK, YOU BECAME A FOLLOWER, SIGNED MY TAGBOARD, OR BECAME A FACEBOOK FOLLOWER WILL NOT COUNT AS AN ENTRY (THAT’S WHAT THE ENTRY FORM IS FOR!) :)

That’s all kinds of chances to win! Yay for fun giveaways!! The reason I’m doing it this way is to stimulate blogger interaction not just between me and you, but you and your fellow bloggers who visit my blog. Blogging is better when we interact with each other, so let’s interact!

The contest will end Friday, September 11th @ Midnight (EST). The winner will be announced Monday, September 14th @ Noon (EST). If you have any questions regarding the rules of this giveaway feel free to email me using the email icon in the right sidebar or the contact form found at the very end of this page under the last post.

Due to the new 3 column design, my Guestbook is now located in the right sidebar under the “Email Me” icon and my Tagboard is located in the right sidebar under the “I don’t hate comments” clip art. My new Facebook Followers widget is in the left sidebar under the map titled “Where my peeps?”

The entry form is located at the very end of this page after the posts and before the Cotact Form, and was designed for easy submittal by you and easy processing for me. :) If you are doing all three items, Guestbook, Follower, and Tagboard, you can use one form for quick and painless submitting, just make sure to check each box!

Good luck to everyone, now let’s have some fun!

To Bing or Not to Bing?

2009-08-17T00:45:00.001-07:00

Earlier this summer Microsoft launched its new search engine Bing. Promoted as the first ever “decision engine,” it was designed to be their biggest competition to the almighty Google thus far. Even though I’m a diehard Google Girl to the nth degree, I’ll admit, I was intrigued by Microsoft’s

commercials for Bing, citing “search overload” as a common affliction among Google users and decided to check it out. Here’s what I found.

At first look, Bing’s search page is more spify and elaborate than the plain Jane Google page we’ve all come to know and love. A picture (that changes daily) is prominently displayed in the middle of the page and you can click on parts of the picture to gain pertinent info about it. For example today’s was a photo of Mt. Shuksan in North Cascades National Park Washington. Moving the mouse over certain parts of the picture yields info on backpacking, hiking, and the number of species that make their home near the 300 glaciers of the park. This is actually a pretty cool feature if you’re bored and surfing the web with no distinct purpose. However, if you’re a woman on a mission, as I so often am when I go to search for something, this can either be at best a distraction or skipped over all together. Besides, are aesthetics really all that important in an effective search engine? I think not.

As far as the actual search engine goes I tried multiple examples such as my name, Schofield Barracks Spouse’s Club, Oahu bait shops, how to make a three column blog layout, and the Chevy Camaro. Then, I searched the same topics in Google and compared the two. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of Google. Time and time again I found what I was looking for quicker and in fewer search results. There were two searches (how to make a 3 column blog and the Chevy Camaro) where Bing yielded what I was looking for in the same number of search results as Google but they never did it in fewer results.

Another interesting aspecet Bing offered was the categorizing of topics related to your search. When I looked up “Chevy Camaro,” on the left side in the navigation pane were clickable tabs for parts, repairs, dealers, etc. This could be helpful in narrowing down the search. However, Google offers essentially the same thing at the bottom of it’s search page. The only difference being, it’s not as “pretty” as Bing’s version.

The one redeeming feature that is very appealing is Bing Travel. In 2008 Microsoft acquired Farecast as well as their advanced technology for searching travel related items such as hotel rooms and airline tickets. Basically they have some very geeky predictive algorithm to determine the best time to buy a ticket based on past year’s rates. It does something similar for hotel prices based on the historic rates for each hotel and can even make you aware of “hot deals” within a specific geographic region. This technology is highly useful, and I can definitely see myself using this in the future. When trying to determine when exactly we should go on leave, I’ve often thought, “I wonder when would be the best time to buy my ticket and get the best deal.” Thanks to this feature, this type of fruitless wondering is now over.

All in all I wasn’t all that impressed, and a little dissapointed after the fun “search overload” commercial hype. While they definitely have a more stylized page and their aesthetics are better, I’m more interested in quickly finding what I’m looking for, than having it be pretty. Bing is the best search engine the money whores at Microsoft have put out yet, so yay for them. Unfortunately for them it’s still inferior to Google.

**Helpful info in writing this post came from this article at PCWorld.

The Great Replying Conundrum

2009-08-16T22:14:00.001-07:00

I’ve really been working hard the last few weeks to promote my blog and get more traffic and followers for it. The response has been overwhelming! To all of those fabulous people who have participated in my giveaways, left comments, signed my Guestbook and Tagboard and become followers, thank you so much! Your support has meant so much to me and I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you!

As my traffic has increased I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to handle the influx of comments and feedback. What I had been doing was personally visiting each blog of everyone who left comments on mine, as a way to reply to their comments, but as I get busier with life, because let’s face it that has a tendency to happen, I’m finding this not to be so efficient. So, from now on, I’m simply going to reply to my comments in the actual comments section. This will help me to better utilize my time thus having more of it to go on long blog walks to visit all of your blogs, and leave comments specific to your posts!

Again, many thanks for all of your support, you guys rock!

Caved

2009-08-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

For a long time I have debated back and forth about getting a Facebook account. I mean seriously, I blog and I twitter do I really need to do whatever it is you do on Facebook too? Yesterday I read an article about promoting your blog by creating a “Fan Page” in Facebook, and that was it, I was sold. In order to start a fan page I had to first create my own Facebook account, and so I did.

That’s right I am now officially on Facebook. I went into it thinking, “Ok, it won’t really be one more thing to maintain, I’ll just use it as a way to market my blog. Ha-ha. After just 24 hours with it, I’m totally hooked. I’ve found both old and dear friends that I’ve lost touch with over the years and new friends I’ve made since being in Hawaii. The combination of the tow and it’s user friendly interface makes it pretty addictive.

If you do Facebook, check it out http://bit.ly/VKmw5.

Angela Norton | Create Your Badge

That was it?

2009-08-16T19:51:00.001-07:00

Last week there was a lot of hype and anticipation about the remnants of Hurricane Felicia passing over us in the form of a tropical depression. So we geared up and prepared just in case, and all I can say is that it was totally and completely anti-climactic! The rain during our rainy season is way worse than any action we saw last week.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad it wasn’t a big deal and everyone is safe. On the other hand the anticipation leading up to it was a little nerve-wracking and in the end it was all for naught. But what can you do? Mother Nature has her own agenda and you just never know which way she’s going to roll. I’d rather be prepared and a little anxious and have everything work out, than not be prepared at all and get an unexpected weather slap in the face.

According to the latest weather reports, there are a couple of other storms developing in the Pacific right now that MIGHT effect us in the not so distant future, but all we can do for now is wait and see. Yay.

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-08-14T12:50:00.001-07:00

1. Americans did not commonly use forks until after the Civil War.

2. There is a town in Arkansas called Smackover.

3. The dot that appears over the letter i is called a “tittle”.

4. The average four year old child asks over four hundred questions a day.

5. In a survey conducted in 2000 by Kimberly Clark, it was found that men prefer to fold their toilet paper and women like to wad it.

Today’s fun facts were provided by GreatFacts.com

Check it Out: Book Giveaway

2009-08-13T10:35:00.001-07:00

Earlier while blog-walking, I stumbled upon a great blog perfect for book lovers and a fun book giveaway! To promote Book Blogger Appreciation Week Sept 14-18, and to inspire people to read and then share their opinions via book reviews, Elizabeth from Thoughts from an Evil Overlord, is hosting the “Enormous Book Giveaway” over at her blog. It ends Sunday, August 16th, so if you love to reading and saying what you think, head over their now to get in on the action!

Where did the time go?

2009-08-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

I know exactly where it went! It went into doing a web-makeover on the spouse’s club website! I serve as Webmaster on the Governing Board of the Schofield Barracks Spouses Club, or as we call it, the Hui O’ Na Wahine (Hawaiian for Club of the women). What started out as just a few revisions turned into a full on, Joan Rivers kind of facelift!

The worst part is, I still have some tweaks to make! That will have to be on tomorrow’s agenda because for tonight, I’m doing stuff for me, like working on a new design for my blog! I got a lot of ideas today working on the website!!

If you’re curious as to how I spent the last eight hours, yes eight hours, you can check it out here.

Tropical Depression Update

2009-08-11T11:25:00.001-07:00

The remnants of Hurricane Felicia, now a mere tropical depression, should be hitting us here on Oahu sometime later tonight. We’ve been anticipating this storm for a couple of days now, but it’s expected arrival date has changed continually. Originally we were told to expect heavy rainfall as early as Monday morning, but Monday came and went without fanfare and no sign of the promised rain. So hopefully the storm will finally move in tonight, because at this point, I just want it to be over with! :)

The good news is that it’s supposed to be here only through Wednesday and by Thursday the storm should’ve passed leaving partly cloudy skies as our only reminder of it. I really hope that’ the case, so that when the power does goes out (because I know it will) the electric company will have good weather assisting them in getting it back up.

A flash flood watch will be in effect later tonight and through tomorrow. Considering how much it rains here, the island doesn’t typically handle mass amounts of rain all that well. A couple of times we’ve been unable to leave our military housing site due to the flooding of the one and only road leading out. Fortunately it’s never been for very long, usually clearing up within a few hours or so. One time it did last for a couple of days, but we were on the mainland on leave so thankfully we missed it.

Right now it’s cloudy outside, with the sun occasionally peeking in here and there, but that’s definitely not unusual for Hawaii. Given that we’re about to see a tropical depression pass through, you’d expect it to be way worse. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the day unfolds!

New Crochet Projects

2009-08-09T16:25:00.001-07:00

For my fellow “hookers” out there, I don’t know if this ever happens to you, where you get a new pattern, and after investing a good chunk of time on it, about half-way through you realize, it’s just not working out. So, you try another new pattern, only for the same scenario to repeat itself, over and over again. It’s a maddening cycle that makes you want to pull out your hair!

This is exactly what happened to me last night and needless to say, I hate it when this happens! It’s so frustrating because you waste so much time and get nothing in return!!! I tried like 6 new patterns and for one reason or another none of them worked out! I don’t know if it was faulty pattern writing or faulty pattern following, but I’d be willing to bet it was a little bit of both.

Totally frustrated, and not wanting the whole night to be a complete waste, I abandoned the new pattern ship. and just use some of the patterns I normally use, when inspiration struck. I decided to play around with an idea I’d had somewhere in the evening around the time I was trying pattern #6. To my amazement, it actually worked, and the result was a completely original hat by me!! Too bad, I didn’t right down what I was doing, so I don’t have a pattern to share, but I plan on duplicating it in different colors and when I do, I’ll make sure to take note and post it here. It’s not the best hat in the world, but hey it was a little more complicated than the last hat I designed and you have to start somewhere!

Inspired with the success of this hat, I made two more! Both were for babies and using the same pattern I just sort of threw together.

Here’s the pattern. Note that using cotton, as in the first picture, gives it a different look than using acrylic.

Great Charity Hat Pattern

Materials

Worsted weight yarn
K hook

Directions

Chain 3
Round 1: 14 DC in 3rd chain from hook, join with slip stitch
Round 2: Chain 2, DC in same stitch, 2 DC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 3: Chain 2, HDC in same stitch, HDC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 4: Chain 1: SC in same stitch, SC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 5: Chain 2, DC in same stitch, DC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 6: Chain 2, HDC in same stitch, HDC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 7: Chain 1, SC in same stitch, SC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 8: Chain 2. DC in same stitch, DC in each stitch around, join with slip stich
Round 9: Chain 2, HDC in same stitch, HDC in each stitch around, join with slip stitch
Round 10: Chain 1, SC in same stitch, chain 1, *single crochet in next stitch, chain 1* repeat from * to * around, join with slip stitch
Fasten off

This hat is really easy and very quick to make, perfect for charity projects (hence the name) where you want to turn out a large number of hats as quick as possible!!

“Lunch Money Giveaway” Deadline Approaches

2009-08-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

There’s only six days left to enter my “Lunch Money Giveaway”! The Deadline is Friday, August 14th @ Midnight (EST)! The prize is a $25.00 Visa Gift Card and who can’t use a spare 25 bucks? So, don’t miss out on this great opportunity for a little free dough, I mean seriously, how often does that happen, and spread the word to your friends to stop on by and join in on the fun too!

The winner will be announced on Monday at Noon (EST). For all the details about how to enter, click here.

Gearing Up (Just in Case)

2009-08-09T13:59:00.001-07:00

When we first moved to Hawaii and I was having our land line installed, the customer service rep gave me a few words of warning. She said that since this phone would be digital it obviously wouldn’t work if the power went out. She also went on to warn me that while it’s not uncommon for the power to go out all over the island during stormy weather, it’s more common on military installations, and even MORE SO where I lived. Still giddy from being in Hawaii for the first time in my life, I assured her it would be fine thinking how often could the power really go out anyway? I was so naive. Now having lived here a year, I can tell you from experience, the power can go out A LOT!!!

Years ago to compensate for quick growth, our post (Schofield Barracks) built housing about 10 miles away, which is where we live. So while technically we don’t live on post, we still live in Army housing. Our little corner of the world is called HMR (Helemano Military Reservation) and besides housing it has a shoppette, a church, a gym and a community center. Throughout the year I’ve vacillated between loving where we live because it’s quiet and wishing we lived on post for convenience reasons. We chose to live out here for one reason, and one reason alone: it was the housing available at the time we moved here.

For some reason, the power goes out here way more than any other place on the island, and I’m not talking about for just a few minutes either. I’m talking an hour or more each time. The longest stint without power we’ve personally endured was 9 hours. (To be fair that’s nothing compared to other stories we’ve heard from fellow military families, who’ve not seen the light of day (literally) for 3 days or more! I’m pretty sure this week we will be experiencing that for ourselves.) We came to expect these outages during particularly stormy weather, but then it started to go out just for the fun of it too. For the first part of this summer it went out every week during totally sunny skies for over an hour each time! So now that hurricane season has begun I’m sure we can count on many more happy occasions sans power.

In fact, the reason for this particular post is that currently Hurricane Felicia is making it’s way towards us. Don’t panic, due to a bunch of weather mumbo jumbo I cannot fully remember, it’s anticipated to be just a mere “tropical depression” by the time it reaches us. Still, we’re gearing up and taking some precautions just in case. Besides, at some point in the next few days, the one thing I know we can count on is that at some point (and most likely for an extended period of time) electricity will be non-existent.

Things are expected to go down like this, Sunday night the trade winds and surf are supposed to kick up. By Monday morning we should be seeing rainfall, and by Monday night and into Tuesday we should be experiencing the worst of it in the form of intense rain and 30+ mph winds. It should start to simmer down a bit on Wednesday and by Thursday we should be at the tail end, if not out of it completely.

So, if you don’t hear from me a lot this week, it’s because my powers out due to the storm. If that happens I plan on getting some serious reading and crocheting done. Hey, always best to try and make the most out of a bad situation!. :)

Five Fun Facts for Friday!

2009-08-07T01:40:00.001-07:00

1 - Ninety percent of the population has an innie belly button

2 - Asparagus comes in three colors: green, white and purple

3 - A pregnant goldfish is called a twit

4 - The best selling Crayola crayon box is the set of 24 crayons

5 - Some of the titles that were considered for the hit T.V. show "Friends" were Six Of One, Across the Hall, and Insomnia Cafe

Today’s fun facts were provided by GreatFacts.com.