Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Printer contest

The lovely ladies at Five Minutes for Mom are giving away a cool printer! Stop by and take a look and enter the contest!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Friday's Feast

And here's this week's serving from Friday's Feast:


Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?


Hmmmmmm...... Maybe Jodie Foster? She's got a good voice - strong, clear but able to convey softness, humor and passion. Also, she does a good slight southern accent. I have just the tiniest touch of a southern accent thanks to the fact that my parents still had some of theirs when they were teaching me to talk. It's not much, but it shows up in a few words.

Or maybe Jim Dale, who read the Harry Potter series on audiobook. He's so good at doing voices and characters. I'd be very curious to discover what my "voice" and those of my friends and family "sound" like to him!


Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.)


Could anyone see her endless worth?

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose?


Geez. No idea. Not a clue. I'd be fascinated by any decade, I just wouldn't want to be anywhere a war was going on!

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.


So many. So many. Hmmmmmm..... I remember heading to a camping trip in high school late on a Friday Night and being crammed into the back of a car with my friends and Major Tom coming on the radio. I think it was the first time I'd heard it all the way through and thinking it was really cool. Yes, I'm showing my age here!


Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?


Warm water. Unless it's REALLY hot weather, in which case, I'll wash with warm water and then rinse with cold water.

Toothy questions for Five on Fridays

Here's my responses to this weeks questions from Five on Fridays:

1. How do you feel about going to the dentist?

Pretty good, actually. I've always taken care of my teeth, so I really don't have anything to be scared of. Also, I always figure that even though sitting in the chair and having a stranger stick their hands and pointy instruments into my mouth isn't exactly what I'd call "fun", it DOES prevent worse torture from happening in my future! I've heard such horror stories about root canals and reconstructions that I REALLY want to avoid that in the future!

2. Describe your worst dental experience.

When I was a kid, instead of seeing dentist in our local area, we would see my Uncle, who was a dentist in my dad's hometown. Since we made the 6-7 hour trip a few times a year, all we'd have to do is tell him in advance when we'd be there and then we'd get Saturday morning appointments for the whole family.

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, I was so excited because I had my first loose tooth just before we went to see my Uncle. It was just barely loose -- not even enough play to call it a "wiggle" yet, but still - it was my first one, so it was exciting to me. When we got to his office, I proudly opened my mouth and presented my ever-so-slightly tilting tooth. He said, "well, look at that" and reached in to wiggle it himself. Or so I assumed. Instead of merely giving it a curious poke and wiggle, he grasped my tiny little front tooth in his massive meaty fingers and YANKED IT OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!

I'm surprised I haven't needed therapy considering the shock, pain and dismay it caused me to suffer the demise of my first loose tooth in such a violent, unsatisfying and shocking way!


3. Describe your best dental experience.

When I got all four wisdom teeth removed the summer before I went to college, it was much easier than I'd expected. Again, not to say it was fun, but I was expecting so much worse that it was actually a pleasant surprise to find that the swelling and pain were very manageable!


4. Do you floss?

Of course!

5. Would you consider wearing braces as an adult?

As a matter of fact, I'm seriously considering doing just that! I had braces as a pre-teen and over the years, my teeth have started to migrate slightly from their assigned places. It's not bad right now, but I'd like to do something about it while it's still an easy (and relatively painless) fix. One of these days, I'll get around to making the appointment for an orthodontic consultation, so don't be surprised to hear that I've got braces or a retainer!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Thursday 13

Well, the Powerball jackpot is up to an estimated unbelievable $300 million for this Saturday, which got me to thinking........ what would I do with the money if I won?

Thirteen Things I'd Do with the Powerball Jackpot (not necessarily in chronological order)

1. Take the cash option.

2. Hire a very good lawyer and accountant to help me set up accounts to handle the money. I imagine I'd have a variety of short-term and long-term storage solutions for the funds.

3. Pay off all our debts
-- credit cards, house, car, student loan, home improvement loan.

4. Renovate our existing home. I love where we live. The actual house is alright, but our location is GREAT! Our neighbors are GREAT! Plus, I really don't need to live in a mansion with acres and acres of lawn to keep tidy and neat and green. What I would like would be a new kitchen, a sun room, a balcony and sky lights for the bedroom, a finished basement, a garage and just a little more space. On our current budget, it's going to be a long time before all those things happen; with a Powerball jackpot, we'd just move into the house up for rent a few houses down while all the construction was going on and then move back into our old, yet new, home when it's beautiful and done!

5. Take care of our families. My parents are pretty secure, but RockStar's family could certainly use a little financial help. We'd finally be in the position to do that!

6. Fund HandsomeBoy and CutiePie's college fund.

7. Adopt TWO daughters. Maybe from Russia, maybe Ukraine, maybe Kazakhstan, China, Vietnam, heck... maybe even the good ol' USA! All I know is that I'd start on a homestudy and start getting ready to expand our family!

8. Through our adoption agency, WACAP, I'd send money to the boys' orphanages that cared so well for them in their early years. I'd also make a large donation to the agency to help them in their quest to find families for children all over the world.

9. Set up scholarships. I'm not sure if I'd do this locally, for my college, my high school or what, but I'd definitely do this!

10. Donate a large sum to the Rescue from which we adopted BigRed. They do such good work and take remarkable care of the dogs. I've always been very impressed with their committment and results. As they've grown bigger over the years and have reached out to help more dogs, their expenses have also increased.

11. Help my synagogue. We are a smaller suburban shul that does not have a very rich membership base. In our current expansion plans, there is so much that we cannot do because the money is just not there. I'd definitely contribute a sack of sheckels to help make the place more inviting and a great place for the community to grow, learn, worship and celebrate together!

12. Take some really great family vacations -- an African safari, tour the Costa Rican rainforest, RV around the Western US national parks (Zion, Bryce, Arches, Grand Canyon, etc....), skiing at Killington, etc..... We'd also travel back to Russia so the boys could start to understand how their lives might have been. They're too young to fully understand, but I think it would create a good foundation for them.

13. Invest my money in good places. I'd like to support business and causes I believe in and that could make the world a better place. Also, I'd give money to Cancer and Diabetes Research.


Wow, that was fun. I'd love to have the chance to actually do those things. Honestly, I wouldn't be the type to blow through the money or spend it on ridiculous things. Sure, I'd enjoy myself and so would my family, but we'd still be real people. I'd really want to share the gift with my friends, family and the world at large. I have to say - I think I'd be a model lottery winner. So many people are ruined by large wins, but I think I'm up to the burden! I'd sure like to try!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Friday Feast

And here's my answers to this week's Friday Feast:


Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?


I try to follow FlyLady's advice and do a load every day, or at least as soon as I've accumulated a full load, which is never more than two days! I will admit that on the rare occasion that I really let the laudry get out of control, I'll pick a complete outfit or two out of the pile and wash that first, buying myself at least a day or two until I'm in crisis situation!

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?


Who says I EVER have to consider myself old???? Honestly, I don't think I'll feel old until/unless I reach the point where I can't do things I want to do.

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?


Adopt a daughter to complete our family. I'd like this to be a short-term goal (i.e. less than a year), but it's going to be a mid-range goal (2-4 years) if it happens at all.


Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.


Well, it's something I heard, not read, but still...... One of my co-workers was telling me that out of the 20 kids she graduated high school with, SEVEN of them have died in the ten years since graduation. That's 35% of her graduating class!!!! Apparently, a lot of them lived in a "rough" section of town and have fallen prey to violence. Tragic, just tragic!

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?


About an 8, thankyouverymuch!

Dog Days

Here's this weeks meme from Five on Friday.......


1. Are you a dog or cat person?

Both, actually. I currently have 1 large dog and two cats. I love them all and they each give me a different kind of furry love in return.

2. Do you have a dog? Have you ever had a dog?

I had a dog (crazy mutt) when I was a baby, another dog (mean runted mini schnauzer) during my teen years and have had a wonderful, happy, well-behaved, loving Golden Retriever for just over six years now. I can't imagine NOT having a dog in my life now.

3. What is your favorite breed of dog?

I'll have to go with Golden Retrievers. They suit me well. They are, on average, fun, friendly, active, not hyper, smart but not too smart, well-behaved, easy to train, soft to pet, attractive to look at and very good with children. Of course, the personality of the individual dog is more important that their actual breed, but there are some breeds that I tend to like more than others and Goldens are the top!

4. Do you believe that dogs truly are man's best friend?

Works for me!


5. If you could come back to life as a dog, would you? Why or why not?

Sure! Especially if I could live with a fun family who would give me lots of belly rubs, treats and walks!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

You MUST read this!

I haven't laughed this much in ages!!! You absolutely must go read this blog right NOW!

http://buggydoo.blogspot.com/2007/06/contest-humiliating-moments-in.html


Just make sure you are not drinking or eating anything and that you are seated in a comfortable chair. Be sure to read the many comments -- it's worth every moment!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Drumroll, please..........




Here is what I was hoping was in the box.......


































And here is what was ACTUALLY in the box.......





















And here's what my boys were the most excited about.......











Yep, that's right --- the cardboard shipping box! They spent about 15 seconds oooohing and aaaaahing over the Pirates of the Carribean Pinball machine and have been decorating and building with the cardboard box for at least 15 minutes already. Maybe for Hanukkah, I'll save some money and make them happy by giving them balled-up tin foil each night!!!! It works for the cats - maybe it'll work for them!

So, the moral of this story, folks, is of course "don't get your hopes up"!!!! I was really really really hoping there would be an HDTV in the box! The pinball machine is pretty cool and the boys will love it (after they tire of the cardboard box), but I was really hoping for the HDTV! The funny thing is, this contest was sponsored by Disney for Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest -- that's not even the most recent movie! The contest ended back in JANUARY! They just sent my prize now, 7 months later!

I'm not upset, because this gives me hope that maybe one of these times, I'll win the BIG prize! I won second prize in this contest, so statistically, I was pretty darn close to the grand prize. Remember - you can't win if you don't enter!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Waiting for FedEx.........

So, we get home on Saturday afternoon to find a note on the door that FedEx had tried to drop a package, but couldn't because no one was home to sign for it. Hmmmm..... that's strange - I don't remember ordering anything lately. RockStar decides to try to track the package backwards using the door tag number (this is why I keep him around -- he thinks of things like this!) and we discover that the package weighs 65 pounds and was shipped from Rockford, MN. Nope, still not ringing any bells with me.

Then I get the bright idea to Google Rockford, MN --- it turns out the mailing addresses for many many many sweepstakes are based out Rockford, MN. Now, I'm getting really interested! RockStar asked me what contests I've entered lately (yes, he actually did it with a straight face, apparently expecting me to be able to list five or fewer). I looked at him in astonishment - I've entered HUNDREDS!!!! I can hardly even remember them all. The daily entries that I try to enter a few times a week I might remember, but the "one shot" entries??? Fugettaboutit!!!

We started trying to figure out what might weigh 65 pounds. I remember entering quite a few contests about a month ago that were giving away 42" Plasma HDTVs. RockStar said, "No way - they don't weigh that much!" I had no idea, but just to check I started comparison shopping 42" plasma tvs. Guess how much the average weight is???? C'mon.... guess!!!

YES!!!! 65 POUNDS!!!!!

Of course, I very well may have won a two year supply of cat food! There's absolutely no evidence that I actually won anything particularly good. Well..... other than the fact that it weighs 65 pounds. And FedEx couldn't leave it without a signature.

So, I'm working from home this morning, anxiously awaiting my new HDTV. Or pantry full of cat food. Whatever.

Wish me luck!



UPDATE: I called FedEx to see if they could give me a better estimate of the delivery time and the woman I spoke to this time informed me that FedEx Home Delivery (as opposed to FedEx Ground, FedEx Air, FedEx Frieght, etc....) doesn't deliver on Mondays!!! They're freaking CLOSED ON MONDAYS!!!!! The guy I spoke to FOUR FREAKING HOURS ago must have had his head up his you-know-what, which would explain why he has you-know-what for brains!!!!! WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!!!!! At least they told me that the driver screwed up and had checked the wrong box on the tag -- contrary to what the driver noted on the tag, I DO have to sign in person for the package! What kind of crappy international company is closed on Mondays????? Hello? American work ethic? Business day? People paying good money for your service and people (like me) LOSING good money to sit around and wait for you sorry excuses for a common carrier to deliver my important (I hope) package?????? GRRRRRRRRRRRRR...........

I suggest that no one (NO ONE!) get in Perky's way for the rest of the day today!

Also, if that box if full of a two-year supply of cat food or some other junky prize, Perky is going to be one pissed-off little winner!!!!

Perky doesn't like it when stupid people waste her time!

Okay, I'm heading back under my rock now.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Wow! What a contest!

The ladies over at Five Minutes for Mom are doing it again! This time the prize is a fancy shmancy new TV!!! Check it out!