The Angst of the Birthday

It's been a couple of weeks since my 27th birthday....oh, I'm not good with math or numbers, so I just estimated. Anyhoo, all is well regardless of being another year older. Many people dislike birthdays for different reasons:

they don't want to get older

they're upset that it isn't their birthday

then, there's Henry....... View the Glog about Birthday Angst....make sure to scroll to the bottom and click the audio arrow to hear Henry's reaction to my birthday wish....

BLOCKBUSTER Summer Escape Rentals

Well, BLOCKBUSTER has done what they could to stay in the game with the movies On Demand, the Tivo partnership with Amazon, Netflix and all of the other deals out there. This is a really good one!!!!

You can rent 2 movies and tell them you want the Summer Escape. You will get the 2 movies for $15. You can keep them out for 1 week.....BUT....during that week, you can turn them in and exchange them for 2 others for FREE..... You can do this as many times as you'd like or as often as you can during the week. I managed to get 2 for $15, exchange them for 2 others - watch them, then exchange them for 2 more....that was 6 movies in 24 hours (it has rained NON-STOP in Maryland!!!!) for the $15.... AND, I wasn't done.... I exchanged them a couple of more times during the week.

I'm on my second round of this. Here are some of the movies I've seen, recommend, DON'T recommend - BTW, none of this is based on Oscar-level, movie critic or other knowledge....just on what I liked (or didn't like), and what cracked my ass up:

MY LIST:
Tropic Thunder
The Departed
Taken (OMG - Amazing! I love Liam Neeson, I will buy this to watch over and over again)
Bolt
Hotel for Dogs
Night Train (really bad, don't bother!)
Crossing Over (amazing, thought-provoking, straight to DVD [with Harrison Ford] movie about immigration...reminded me of CRASH, but for immigration issues v. racial issues)
Nothing But the Truth
Traitor (Don Cheadle is THE BEST!!!! Get this movie, it is amazing and worthy of many kudos!)
Nights in Rodanthe
My Mom's New Boyfriend (REALLY funny movie with Meg Ryan & Antonio Banderas + others...cracked me up)

Use the comments to recommend more....I've got the following:
Out of Sight
Noises Off!
Rumor Has It
The Family Stone

What I did on my Summer Stay-cation

With some vacation days remaining which had to be taken prior to June 30, I decided to take them, but stay home. The timing worked for a couple of reasons: kids' last day of school, puppies getting fixed, me in need of a break from work.

So, here's a quick run-down of what I did:

• watch the puppies, keep them from picking at their stitches, carry them in and outside to keep them from using stairs, keep them from digging and playing in the dirt to avoid infection - SOLUTION: Put them in baby onesies (size 0-3 mos) so the site was covered from dirt, doggie picking, and any other potential dangers - BTW, they still got infections cuz I couldn't keep them from jumping, running, playing, and generally irritating the site. Anti-biotics are almost done and have cleared it up with no problems.
• hang out with my kids since school was finished and try to keep them occupied in a useful, productive manner - RESULT: My son cleared out some clothing which didn't fit and helped with laundry.....by putting a load of khakis, towels, and sheets in the washer at one time when I told him to do those 3 loads by the time I got home....NICE! My daughter tried to perfect her manicure and learn how to best style her hair. GREAT!
• cleared out 2 dressers and 1 bookcase RESULT: now have bags of clothing & books to give to charity. SWEET!
• shopped Whole Foods for the first time - RESULT: Best Salad Bar dinner, plus bought and enjoyed hummus & roasted pepper/eggplant dip - potomacfinefoods.com
• played Top Chef on my computer almost non-stop
• Hosted/Supported some online chats for the courses I support at work, plus do some other work that needed to get done within a certain timeframe. (yes, on my vacation, but it really needed to get done and I wanted to do it rather than have it passed off to someone else).
• discovered that falling asleep on the couch whlie watching movies and waking up the next morning isn't as fun OR as comfortable as I thought it would be.
• FINALLY - took/taking full advantage of BLOCKBUSTER'S Summer Escape rental package. I discovered this when I went in to rent 6 movies for me & my kids to watch over the last week. The clerk told me that instead of paying over $30 for 6, I could pay $15 and take ony 2 out, but bring them back and exchange them for 2 more AND do this as many times as I wanted to within the week. RESULT: I watched the 2, took them back and exchanged them for 2 more, took them back and exchanged them for 2 more, etc. AMAZING DEAL!!!!....and it continues! I will be posting a list of the movies I have watched and asking for recommendations in an upcoming post. I will also be recommending (and NOT recommending) other movies, so LISTEN UP!

What a great stay-cation! A little bit of everything, and a lot of nothing!

P.S. Did I mention that I got crabs twice while on stay-cation ;) Me likey the mid-atlantic region...

Why Isn't Everything Fixed Yet?

DISCLAIMER: I am a Republican, a staunch Repulican. I have always voted as such and am not able to picture myself ever doing otherwise. This post is not a slam on Democrats, but on the expectations placed upon politicians as a whole.

Why isn't everything fixed yet? Why is the economy still bad? Why aren't folks getting Cost-of-Living raises for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year? Why are people going into foreclosure?

WARNING: Here's where it may get dicey, but stick with my thought process, okay?

Republicans: Why hasn't Obama fixed everything? He's been in for more than 100 days. I didn't vote for him, so he must suck.

Democrats: Why hasn't Obama fixed everything? I put all of my faith in him. There was some resistance to change. I voted for a new type of administration and for change. I voted for him, but nothing has changed, so he must suck.

So, what were our options:
Young, Black, Male, Democrat
Middle-Aged, White, Female, Democrat
Older, White, Male, Republican
Greenies :)....any demographics....

Those were the dynamics from which we had to choose. I'm not sure that any one of those combinations would have been more successful than the others. Switch them around?

• Middle-Aged, Black, Female, Republican?
• Young, White, Female, Democrat?
• Older, Black, Male..........AnyParty
• Younger, White, Female.................AnyParty?
• So many others to create.........
• Really, what would have been the difference?

Why hasn't EVERYTHING been fixed? Weren't we all expecting more from this President because he was the "Out-of-the-Box" choice? He is black. He is young. He is a male with a strong wife, and two very small children. There is a swingset at the White House. There is a vegetable garden at the White House. There is a newly, adopted puppy at the White House.

Are these the things which make him more qualified? Is that why all of our problems should be fixed? Please fill my paycheck with more money on a regular basis! Please provide COL raises for everyone I know!

Folks - this man is not a miracle worker. He is a man, husband, father. Let's not place it all on his shoulders, just as we should not place all of the blame on Bush's shoulders. He, too, was a man, husband, father. Just breathe...

Love is...

Other than being higher than a mountain, and thicker than water....Love is puppies! My puppies in particular.

They are smart:

- ring a bell to go outside

- learned the "sit" command in one day

- don't piddle on my bed

They are also cute, mischevious, loving, and supportive. They took care of me last week when I was so sick....well, I mean, they didn't bring me medicine, soup, or take my temp....but, they sure did snuggle up, kiss and love me, and keep me company while I was miserable!

Here are the pictures of them after digging a muddy swimming hole for themselves after 2 days of rain :).

I'm Brilliant because.....

1. I have discovered that PMS stands for Pesky Mood Swings
2. I've figured out how to avoid doing laundry...... febreeze & weekly trips to Target to buy more underwear...... (kidding, but not far away!)
3. I know exactly what movies to put in my 5-disc DVD changer to elicit the tears needed to deal with Pesky Mood Swing - Cry-baby.
4. I have hidden my soon-to-be 15 year old son's birthday gift in the dishwasher.... pretty sure he won't find it between now and his birthday on Friday.
5. Dunkin' Donuts coffee really tastes the best, straight-up black....no cream or sugar needed.

I'm pretty sure there is more corroborating evidence to support my brilliance, but I've got to finally drag me arse to bed after waking up in the middle of the night with the need to document my high level of ability to WOW and WOO my audiences with my ever-exciting adventures and stories. G'night me friends!

Subtle differences

Subtle differences can easily go unnoticed. I suggest that we pay more attention to them.

Did you know that the word for marry in Swedish is "gifta"? (pronounced yifta). The word for poison is "gift".... something to ponder about the derivation of words.

There is a difference of only 1 letter between winner and wiener. Think about that when you think you've picked a winner, you may have misspelled your selection.

I note the above not to scare or encourage bitterness. Just make sure you think before you act, and buy yourself an updated dictionary.