Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Have a safe and fun one!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy almost Halloween!

Ring, Ring, Ring

That's what I heard at 3 a.m. this morning. Surprisingly, I was still up. If you're new to this blog then you probably don't know that I work nights, so being up at 3 a.m. isn't really an insane thing for me.

I'm not going to lie, I debated on whether or not to pick up the phone. But, since I am a great friend I answered the call and was happy that I did. I'm sure most of us have had those nights where we drank too much and the thought of driving home isn't even an option. I know that I have made a call or two begging for someone to come and save me. Well, that is what happened last night.

Two of my friends called and apparently had a little too much to drink and begged for my rescuing. So what did I do? I hopped in the car and drove the 15 minutes or so to go pick them up. I picked them up and since they lived so close to me, I took them home. Of course, just dropping them off was not an option... I had to come in and socialize since I was their saving grace. We hung out, they forced me to play Gears of War 2 and we watched some of Twilight. Interesting huh?

Before we knew it, it was 6:30 a.m. and I was freaking out. I was soooo tired and needed to get home to catch at least a couple zzz's before work. So I said my good-byes and they thanked me about a million times.

So what's the moral of the story? I am that friend that will come to your saving grace if you need me. I told them I better be getting a good Christmas present. :)

Looking for parenting tips?

Just go and stand in a gas station parking lot, you'll learn tons of great parenting advice. OK, so that was complete sarcasm, and you should almost always never do the things that most parents do while at the gas station.

For example:

Today I was running into the store to get my caffeine fix before work. I frequent this gas station for the simple fact that it is right by my place. Unfortunately, not the most upstanding people also frequent this place. So what happened?

Well, I got out of my are and was approached by a young girl, probably 10 or so. She asked me if I had a cigarette that I could give her mom. After giving her I'm sure a dumbfounded look, I proceeded to tell her that I did not smoke and therefore could not give her mom a cigarette.

Soon as I walked in the woman behind the counter of the gas station asked me if that girl was pestering me. I told her that she asked me if I had a cigarette to give her mom. I guess the woman was rather unhappy because she got on this tangent about how ridiculous it is to use a kid to do those things. She said that she was a mother herself, and couldn't imagine that. I told her that I couldn't imagine letting a 10-year-old run around a busy gas station parking lot. The poor kid could have been hit, or much worse stolen.

We both agreed and she proceeded to tell me that the woman had her kid outside all weekend asking people for various things. A few seconds later the mom came strolling in with a few quarters or something. The gas station attendant refused to sell anything to her. I was shocked! The woman began to yell and cuss at her. The attendant told the woman that loitering is not permitted and that if she did not leave and came back again that she would call the police.

Here I was standing in the middle of two women arguing. I was close to freaking out, I didn't feel like being pulled into a fight. So I left my change on the counter and told the attendant to have a good day. It will be interesting to see if the woman brings her kid out to do her dirty work again.

After seeing all this happen I just couldn't believe some of the things people make their kids do. It is really sad and makes you wish that those people couldn't have kids. While kids need discipline and structure they do not need to be out peddling money out of complete strangers.

Can I punch you please?

I have never wanted to punch an old man before, but this week may have brought the worst out in me. I'm not sure if he is on some sort of false power trip, but he is a co-worker to me, not my boss and he has pushed me past my patience level. Thank God we have a weekend coming up, or I could probably find myself fired. Sad thing is, I had a four day work week after requesting Monday off... maybe he is just jealous.

It all started Tuesday when he walked by me and apparently heard music coming from my headphones. He proceeded to tell me that I should turn that down because I am annoying people. Well first, the only reason he heard my headphones was because the weren't in my ears and he was leaning over my shoulder. Second, I don't sit next to anyone that works the hours I do. The 3 cubicles next to me were empty. So what was my response? I turned them louder. I hope he heard them at his.

Wednesday, he became the clock watcher. I walked in 10 minutes late (after staying 15 minutes late yesterday) and he had the nerve to ask me if I had "overslept or something." I told him no, but I came in later to avoid having to write down overtime. Well, last night I ended up having to stay 30 minutes late. I wanted to tell him to bite me.

On Thursday, he decided to nitpick everything I did. Because we are so short handed I often find myself picking up more work than the people's job I do already. I find this happening more and more as the days go by. Well, yesterday I had to help do some copy editing (which I loathe). It was so last minute, we were pushing the clock to hit deadline. Apparently I missed a few things as I quickly skimmed the stuff to make sure we weren't writing curse words in the copy. Well, after deadline he apparently copy and pasted everything I missed in an e-mail and sent it to me. Is this necessary? Don't get me wrong, everyone makes mistakes, but when we are so close to deadline I don't feel this is necessary.

He also nitpicked my e-mails and corrected the fact that I didn't capitalize everything. Seriously???

I seriously hope today goes better and that he doesn't continue to push my buttons the way he has all week. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am a crazy hard worker that tends to become the "work horse." Maybe I should slack like everyone else?

I'm addicted

I think I have a problem, and they say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

What's my problem? Freebies! I find myself looking at different sites every day that offer free samples, free trials and even awesome coupons (I should find more coupons). I sign up for samples almost on a daily basis from shampoo samples all the way to a free silver spoon. Yes, I signed up for a free spoon.

I don't really know how it started, I just remember hearing one day on the radio about this woman called the consumerqueen. She makes a weekly appearance on a station for her "Deals of the Week." It just so happens that she announced something (I can't remember what) that I thought at the time I totally needed. So I went to her blog and signed-up so I could partake in the freebie.

It's all down hill from there. From that day on I have found myself consistently looking at her forums for free stuff that other members post. I have found a few "freebie" web sites that I regularly visit. Don't get me wrong, I have received some really neat stuff but I almost feel as though it is an addiction. I can't seem to help it with the current state of the economy. I guess my opinion is hey, free is awesome I might as well get it while I can.

Now don't get me wrong, I've always been a bargain hunter. I try to shop when things are on sale and I always look for coupons for any online purchase. I try to be as "thrifty" as possible. Maybe I learned that while being a poor college student, life was easier that way.

So I have to ask, do you have a similar (if not the same) addiction? If so, what are some of your favorite sites for amazing deals?

EDIT
Per request, here are some of the sites I visit:

Consumer Queen (you have to sign-up to find her freebies in the forum)
Shop4Freebies
P&G Everyday Solutions
Walmart Freebies
Amazing Freebies

Wordless Wednesday

In honor of Halloween, we have a jailed pumpkin!

The Wii Fit Plus ...

... beat me up.

After Nintendo announced that it was producing a new Wii Fit, I found myself very jealous. I had purchased the regular Wii Fit late January and couldn't believe a new one was coming out so soon after. Well, over the weekend I had a brilliant idea. I returned my first one and then bought the new one.

How? Well I had never opened the first one. Crazy huh? I know that sounds really terrible, but after my mom died my whole workout routine took a turn for the worst. I had no desire to do anything, so my poor Wii Fit sat in it's box on my dining room table.

After getting the new Wii Fit Plus, I was so excited to play it. Unfortunately I had to go and see Zombieland first. By the way, that movie is totally awesome and everyone should see it. Well I got home about 12:30 a.m. and decided now's the time to play Wii.

I sat it all up and began to play. It was so much fun, I couldn't believe how many calories I actually burned. But, apparently my downstairs neighbor didn't enjoy me running in place at 1:30 a.m. and he started banging on my ceiling. I totally felt like I was in an episode of Friends for a minute. I knew I would have to put my fun on hold after that one.

The next day I decided to play again. I spent quite a bit of time on the silly board. I did every strength exercise they offer, some aerobics and even a few other games. It was so much fun a time flew by.

But here we are on Tuesday and I can feel the pain of the workout. How sad is that? My arms are sore, my abs are sore and even my calves are sore. I forgot what it feels like when the muscles burn. It feels great!

So, I will keep up my Wii Fit challenge and plan on starting to hit the gym again. You'd be surprised how out of shape you get just from taking a few months off. I know I am pretty rusty.

Question:

If anyone has a Wii Fit have you found that it helps? Have you found any other games that are fun?

Mod Podge mess

Why is this called a mod podge mess?

Because right now my brain is thinking all million things that are all timely and need to be combined into one post. I mean, I guess I could post individual posts... but then you might miss something and we can't have that.

First on the list is the Cheese Festival.

I know a few of you had asked me about the cheese festival and unfortunately I have sad news to report. It was a bust! I drove an hour and a half to be surrounded by small town lovin and yellow cheesy goodness. Wrong!




There wasn't a human running around with a mouse head, there was no magician doing crowd pleasing tricks. So what was there you ask? There was a line that offered free samples of cheese. There you have it folks, I drove an hour and a half to stand in line for free cheese samples. I should have just went Sams Club, it's like next door to my apartment.

Oh, and it was a drizzly cold mess. It was so cold my feet were freezing. So in the end it sucked, but I have faith that it was a whole lot more fun the day before. I blame myself for waiting till the last minute to attend. Maybe next year or maybe not?

Second: Did you see balloon boy?

I mean seriously? Was this some sort of publicity stunt by his "Wife Swap" parents? I honestly feel for the kid. Don't get me wrong I was one of those idiots that watched and worried for the kids safety, but I think now is the time to worry about him. I won't lie, if it was my kid the belt would be coming out ... for days.

Third: Looks like a trip to Vegas is in order!

I know I will be headed to Key West in a few short weeks, but now's the time to start planning my trip to Vegas. In case of you are country fans, the man Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement. I am so excited!

I am not one of those crazy country fans, but I listen to it occasionally. But I will say I am a huge HUGE huge Garth fan. I literally cried the day he said he was going into retirement, mainly because I had never seen him live. So, if you're a country fan be prepared.... He's Back!

Wordless Wednesday

I love how there is a drawing of a finger in the pigeons mouth.

Creepy e-mail

OK, so after a rather interesting weekend that may or may not have involved going to a small town cheese festival, I returned to work to something kind of creepy.

I often get spam work mail, that is just part of the world of journalism. My company e-mail is posted in more places that I can imagine I'm sure. Pretty sad, but it's probably true. Anyways, I typically get e-mails that say something about "You just won a million dollars," "Free Mercedes coming from Iran," "Please come to my art show," "Would you like to advertise with us for free," and the list goes on and on.

But, for the first time in 3 years I received an e-mail like none other. Here is what it said:

how are you doing?
i hope you are fine,my name is Mary,please don,t be suprise to receive my message, when sarching througth ( insert company web site) i came accros your contact,because i believe one can find a very good caring,understanding and God fearing person anywhere in the world,i hope to hear from you so that i wil tell you more about my self with love and trust, and i will give you my pics thanks Mary

How creepy is that?

In other I'm a terrible blogger news:

The fabulous Moonjava over at Moonjava's Muse gave me an awesome award! I am so excited! If you haven't ever read her blog you should, she's great.

Rules for this award!

1) If you have a blog, post it on your blog with a link back to the site who gave it to you;

2) Leave them a comment on their site, email, etc. to let them know;

3) If you don't have a blog but have a website, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or other type account, post there with a link back; and

4) Pass this on to 3-10 loyal fans.

I'm passing this onto:

1) Anais @ Through Green Eyes

2) Lil' Woman @ Lil' Woman, Lil' Home

3) Tamela @ A Brunette Making It One Day At A Time

4) Kristen @ Happily Ever After

5) Wendy @ Wendy's Adventures in LaLaLand

It's like Russian Roulette

There are two vending machines in my office that I swear it's like playing Russian Roulette. And yes, I am actually writing a blog about vending machines. So yeah, these two vending machines can either drive you absolutely crazy or they excite you from the possibility of getting something random.

They are both soda machines, so that right there means you never know. The Pepsi machine isn't really all that exciting, but there is still the thrill of the game. Time after time I have put money into the machine waiting for my delicious diet mountain dew and SURPRISE I get a Pepsi. I mean OK I like a lil Pepsi sometimes, but usually when I'm heading for that machine I'm in need of an instant caffeine high from mountain dew, that doesn't happen so much with Pepsi.

The other machine is where the fun is. See it is a Dr. Pepper machine, and that is my true addiction. I often go to the machine and think really hard about whether I want a diet Dr. Pepper, a coke zero or a delicious Dasani water. 9 times out of 10 I go with the diet Dr. Pepper. Not only do you really never know what kind of beverage you are going to get, there is an added strategy to this game ... will you get 1, will you get 3 or will you get screwed none.

It's kind of sad that trips to the vending machine for a caffinated beverage can brighten my day.

Random side note:

I'm considering buying a boat. We are still having a ton of rain and I keep thinking that maybe I should get a boat instead of waiting for my car to wash away. Today I literally was drenched just from the walk to my car from my apartment. Everyone in my office found it quit comical, I in turn sat here freezing.

Wordless Wednesday

Pole dancing gone bad ...

Why Men Are Happier People

THis was sent to me in an email and I knew I had to share it with the blogosphere. Hope you find it as accurate as I did.

Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures?

• Your last name stays put.
• The garage is all yours.
• Wedding plans take care of themselves.
• Chocolate is just another snack.
• You can be President.
• You can never be pregnant.
• You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
• Car mechanics tell you the truth.
• The world is your urinal.
• You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
• You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
  Same work, more pay.
• Wrinkles add character.
• Wedding dress-$5000. Tux rental-$100.
• People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
• New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
• One mood all the time!
• Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
• You know stuff about tanks.
• A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
• You can open all your own jars.
• You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
• If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
• Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
• Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
• You almost never have strap problems in public.
• You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
• Everything on your face stays its original color.
• The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
• You only have to shave your face and neck.
• You can play with toys all your life.
• One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.
• You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
• You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.
• You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
• You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.
  

No wonder men are happier.

Weekend plans in Oklahoma?

My friend L and I had an intense discussion today about what our plans for the weekend are. Here is a clip of the best part.

L: Hey we could go sit outside the zoo ampitheater on Sunday and listen to chicken fry guy. (Zac Brown Band)
Me: Hahaha now that would be funny.
L: Cheap and redneck...
Me: We just need to bring recliners and a cooler.
L: Don't forget the rusted pickup.
Me: And a toilet seat.
L: Nah, we're high class rednecks.

Oh the plans we make while working.