Jinky!!! Is that you Scooby?!?!

(Ok, I do apologize for the bad camera phone picture, Terry took it as we were traveling on the highway so it didn't turn out great.)

This made my day! T & I were driving to Toledo when we saw the coolest van EVER!!! The Mystery Machine! Yes, someone had painted their van to look JUST like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo!!! SWEET!

Since our picture is a little dark and not the best, I posted the cartoon version. Seriously, besides having an old man in the front of the van you would have thought this came straight out of your TV! It was a bit of a mind trip when we first saw it, had to do a double take like...is that really the mystery machine?!?!?!

HAHA! Thanks who ever you are, that totally made my weekend!

Movie Review

T & I went Christmas Eve to see Sweeney Todd and I have to say I LOVED the movie!!!

First, going to the movies at 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve was very nice.....there was NO ONE there!

Second, this movie was just SO great! I don't typically like scary movies and I am kinda particular about how people adapt to put song into movies like this. (Rent - hated it; Annie & Little Shop Of Horrors...two of my favorite movies ever!)

Anywho....I was very happy with this movie! I thought it was great and had some of my favorite actors (Johnny, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman) And with the cast and Tim Burton directing....how could it be bad?!?!?! Funny, scary, beautiful color...AWESOME!

Done, Finished, No Mas, I am Over It, I Can’t Take Another……

DESSERT!!!

Yep, I am 100% done with desserts of all kinds (for a bit at least)…especially in the cookie form! This happens every year around the holidays, it is just too much sweetness for one person to handle. The sweet tooth gets some extra action beginning in October with Halloween and doesn’t seem to officially stop until V-Day in February!!

But I know I have reached my limit when this morning at work I saw another plate of Christmas cookies and wanted to throw them into the trash. Not that the thought isn’t extremely kind and appreciated!

So I bid you a fond farewell you sweet treats, please don’t take it personally - but I can’t handle another chocolate chip, iced Christmas tree, ginger bread man, or even a sprinkle!

Until next year…

Yours truly,
Jenn

Year In Review

Last night as I was finishing up some Christmas stuff I started thinking about the new year. I got very excited about all that could or would be happening in 2008 and then I started thinking about everything that happened in 2007. I always try to look for the good, and though this past year hasn’t been the easiest – I started to think about all the wonderful things that came out of 2007! And shit, if life was easy all the time what would be the point of living it anyways. So after thinking about it I realized that with all the great things that happened and things not so great but that I learned from, 2007 turned out to be a really good year!

I am sure there are more, but these are a few “highlights” from the year. What are yours?

My Year In Review:

-T & I celebrated our 1-year anniversary!!!
-T & I have been in our house for one year.
-A bunch of babies were born!! Some new additions, but not all are: Macey Jo, Ivan Christopher, Colby Chad and Adelina (the newest…blog to come)
-We went to our friends awesome wedding in October and saw some friends we haven’t seen in awhile! ;)
-We got a Wii :) YAY
-I lost my job, got a 4 months “vacation”, and in the end got a new job with some wonderful and kind people
-I have some new friends in my life!
-My friend S. got married and there were a couple engagements!
-My sister finished her first year of college and is half way done with her second – we are SO proud of you K!!
-My brothers have made me feel way old b/c the first turned 18 and the second will be getting his driving permit soon! eek
-Got my hair chopped……remind me never to do this again!
-A few of my dear friends all got new and well deserved jobs this year.
-Went to my first ever Hallo-weekends at Cedar Point..It was AWSOME!
-Went to a casino for the first time ~ Interesting
-We hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for both T & my families
-Have some new blog readers – YAY!
-I have learned to stop and “smell the roses”.
-And I love more than I have every loved and appreciate those around more than I ever have before.

What are yours???

P.S. Is it Year IN Review or Year END Review? Or doesn't it matter??? :)

A new store to love! (And therefore had to write a lot about it!)

This weekend I checked out Sally’s Beauty Supply Store – and I have to say I love it!!

I wanted to put some reddish/brown low lights in my hair for the holidays but didn’t want to (A) Spend $100 to get my hair done at a salon – it typically costs that much with a tip b/c my hair is so thick they use extra stuff – and (B) I don’t want the uncertainty of using a box brand and ending up with who knows what color on my head – I have been everything from orange to black with that box stuff!!

So I went to the above-mentioned store, which I had never been to before. I have to say I love it! I was a bit overwhelmed at first b/c I didn’t know what stuff to get and didn’t know what would work for me, but I asked one of the ladies working there (who was also a beautician) and she helped me find the right color and explained how the coloring works! And it is SO easy!!!

And the prices are very reasonable! You don’t have to be a member or a beautician to use the store but I did buy the $5 year long membership and ended up saving $5. 20 on my first purchase! If you think you will keep going, like I know I will, that is the way to go! If you have the membership most of the products you get a certain percentage off. But even if you don’t take the membership the products are still very reasonable. I got a very good hair color product and it was $4.99 for the cream and the solution to mix with it was $2.99. I also bought all the start up stuff like the brush to apply the cream, the little mixer bowl, the measuring cup, the cap and gloves…and my total bill was about $17.00!!! And when I do this again, I will only have to buy the hair color and solution!

They also have tons of other stuff there, but didn’t get to see everything as I was all about the hair color!

Thanks to my mom and sister for doing this for me! It took about an hour and half total and was so easy! This will definitely be the new way I do my hair!

Side note, I am not at ALL thinking what beauticians do is easy. I could never do the stuff they do, and I needed help picking out the right color for my complexion. But I do think that if you can get the right color and have someone who wouldn’t mind helping you out for a couple hours, then the coloring process itself is easy!

I Love.....

I love clear sheet protectors!!! I had to do a project today and use sheet protectors....it made me happy! I pretty much love any office supply, but there is something about having your papers organized in these that makes everything better!

I have to say that I wish every piece of paper I owned was in a sheet protector, in a binder and clearly labeled and organized. I tried a long time ago to do this, but never kept up b/c of the time and cost...but if I could, I would!!!

Sheet protectors: Making Geeks Geekier since 1937!

SNTC ~ Movie Teaser!

Here is the first teaser for the new Sex and the City Movie!!!

I am SO pumped about this movie! I can't wait till it comes out!!

May 2008!

"LUCKY"

So last night I received this little gem at a gift exchange I participated in. It is a Napoleon Dynamite vibrating/music playing toothbrush! I was totally THRILLED and surprised to receive this! I had talked about it a few months ago, Click Here for original post....but I kinda just forgot about it and never went to get one.

I have to say I used this last night and it is totally fun! My husband could even hear it when he stood by me....we were so excited and played it so many times my teeth hurt a bit afterwards! Sometimes if I brushed too fast the song would speed up and when I stopped the music stopped. Also, the harder I brushed the louder it got! This is really such a cute idea!

Thanks A. for hours of brushing fun!

(P.S. Thank you TP for your explanation on how this toothbrush works! You have to check out her explanation if you have questions on how it works!)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Exactly one year ago today T & I were getting ready to sign papers to buy ourselves a house!!! One year later I am happy to report T & I LOVE living in our new home!

It is hard to believe it has been a year!

I have to say that when we first stepped into the house I had that feeling, like I knew we belonged there. It just felt comfortable. And now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else at this point in our lives. Over the past year this house has truly turned into our home. Memories are starting to build within these walls and I can’t wait to see what this next year will bring!

(Thank you C. for helping us get this home!!!)

P.S. I will be posting pictures later tonight of some of the updated pictures in our home from recent projects!

Know who your Baby’s Daddy Is for $29.99!

I read a story online that Rite Aid has begun to sell a Paternity test kit at their stores in a couple select states for only $29.99.

Story here

All I have to say is, really?!?!?!

Wii had a GREAT Thanksgiving!

So first off, we had a wonderful thanksgiving and I hope everyone else’s was just as great! It is crazy all the planning and work that goes into preparing for thanksgiving and the dinner itself only lasts about 20 minutes….but it is worth it!!

Overall I couldn’t have asked for a better thanksgiving! It was so nice having both Terry & my family up to celebrate together. Having all those people in our home just felt nice…crazy...but nice!!!

I also have to mention the AWESOME early Christmas gift T & I got from my family. A Nintendo Wii!!!! YAY! We are so pumped about this gift! T, my sister & I have been playing all weekend (we are all a bit sore in our arms). THANK YOU THANK YOU for this gift M, D & K! I am sure I will be posting more about our Wii and its absolute awesomeness VERY soon!

Highlights from Thanksgiving:
- Having my family up!
- Having all of Terry’s family up!
- The Thanksgiving Parade.
- Got to try a Turducken ~ Very good (though I didn’t try the duck part)
- We had more desserts then regular food for dinner.
- Our Wii!!
- Nana being Nana.
- Terry’s Turkey!
- My dad’s 4 hour gravy – YUM! (did you add corn starch or baking soda?!?!)
- “The mashed potatoes are great….you just need more salt, butter and milk. Oh, you mean ALL the ingredients that make mashed potatoes?!?!”
- Being SO tired.
- Having my sister around to help me with everything! (thanks)
- My pink slippers.
- Needing a shuttle to get people to their cars.
- A wicked game of phase 10.
- Kristen getting applause from everyone for her awesome guitar playing on Guitar Hero 3, on expert level!
- Leftovers!!!

There was so much more, but these were some of my favs! I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! Now bring on Christmas!

For Those Non-Shoppers Who Like to Shop!

Ok, for all those people who do like to shop but do not necessarily like to leave the house, fight the crowds, or get up up early (you are probably an on-line shopper) but want to partake in the great deals of Black Friday here is the way to get the best of both worlds through online shopping!

We all know about Black Friday but apparently there is also something called cyber Monday which is the big kick off to the holiday online shopping. Online shopping is my FAVORITE!!! I LOVE it!

This coming Monday (following the black Friday deals) online stores will be having a bunch of online sales of their own!! Great deals, free shipping, you name it!!!

Here is a website you can go to. http://www.cybermonday.com/

I think you can shop through them, or just click on the stores and shop through the stores. Not exactly sure how their site works, but if anything it is a great link to a plethora of deals!

Just wanted to pass on to my fellow online shoppers...Monday is a great day to go shopping (from your house)!!

Can Not Cook Thanksgiving Dinner…..Must. Play. Guitar. Hero.

My sister is spending Thanksgiving Break with us and with her came her guitar hero game. I have to say….I am ADDICTED!!!! I have played it a couple times before, but for some reason last night I finally was getting the hang of it! And of course, when your video game fans are not booing you off the stage, it becomes more fun! (Only one time did I feel like throwing the guitar in frustration.) I am thinking in a few more songs I may be able to move to medium! Haha (my sister is on expert – show off!)

I don’t know if Kristen can have this game going on Thanksgiving day….I will never want to leave the TV to cook dinner!

Thanksgiving Quiz!!!!

Do you know Your Thanksgiving history? Here are some questions about this wonderful holiday! Guess here, the answers will be in the comment section. Let us know how you did!!! Share your own Thanksgiving fun facts!!!

HAVE FUN!

1) What year was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?
1621
1777
1849

2) The first Thanksgiving lasted for three days! What didn't the Pilgrims eat?
Clams
Venison
Pumpkin Pie

3) Were Indians invited to the Pilgrim's first feast?
Yes
No

4) The potato is America's most beloved veggie. Why didn't the Pilgrims whip up some mashed potatoes for their big dinner?
Many Pilgrims were allergic to spuds.
Potatoes were thought to be poisonous.
Potatoes weren't eaten in the U.S. until the early 1800s.

5) Which U.S. president scoffed at the idea of a national holiday in honor of the first Thanksgiving?
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln

6) Approximately what percentage of American homes eats turkey on Thanksgiving?
80%
84%
90%

7) Which country consumes the most turkey per year per capita?
United States
England
Israel

8) The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in?
1918
1924
1936

9) What state first adopted Thanksgiving as a national holiday?
Ohio
New York
Pennsylvania

10) Why did they originally celebrate Thanksgiving? (Fill in the blank)

Talk to me.....Thanksgiving Edition

Question #4: (two questions today!)


What from this year are you thankful for?

Talk to me....Thanksgiving Edition

Question #3:

Football, games, cards, napping, parade, movies? How do you spend your time on Thanksgiving when you are not eating, cooking or doing the dishes?

Talk to me...Thanksgiving Edition

Question 2:

What is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

Talk To Me....Thanksgiving Edition

Ok, with Thanksgiving quickly approaching I thought I would do a special Thanksgiving "Talk to me.." over the next few days leading up to the big day! Plus, sometimes Thanksgiving gets overlooked...we need to give it, its time to shine too!!!

Question one:

Any Thanksgiving family traditions you remember from growing up?


Mine in the comments.

Things that make you go...ew

One of the ladies I work with, her son has pink eye! EEK!!!

Pink eye terrifies me! I don't know if it is b/c I wear contacts and put my fingers in my eye, but I always seem to catch things like that.

I have my hand sanitizer by my side...I am on the defense!

(My eyes feel itchy. Don't touch jenn, it is just in your mind!!)

SAVE SAVE SAVE!!!!

So I can not remember if I mentioned this last year around the holidays, but I am doing it again!

For those who like to save a little money (and who doesn't) I have a website you HAVE to visit!

http://bfads.net/

This is the Black Friday Ad website (aka the shopping day after thanksgiving)

This site has a bunch of stores and shows you BEFORE regular ads come out to us what will be on sale, how much, if it is early bird, ratings of the product, if there are rebates and could even have pictures!

If you go and sign up (put your email in) it will email you ads! Also, this isn't JUST for the day after Thanksgiving, they are already showing where to get stuff now!

Talk to Me...

Do you use liquid eyeliner? I love the dramatic look of liquid eyeliner but every time I attempt to use it my eyes look like a black mess! I look like something I would go as at Halloween!

I have just been using a powder eyeliner, which is great during the day but I would also like something that just gives the eyes a little more something something at times!! Oh, it also has to be easy to use...I just don't seem to be that coordinated when it comes to putting on make-up!

I have also tried the pencils, but they just seem to frustrate me!

Any suggestions, comments?

Today one of the girls I work with (who is very nice) said my skin was very “peaches & cream”.

I have never heard this expression before but I thought it was a lot nicer than the usual comments of you have such fair skin or you have porcelain skin. (I know I am pale, but I don't like that I am)

I just had to share…it made me laugh!

P.S. Real peaches & cream = ICK!

Talk to me...

So do you eat/buy natural/organic foods and or products?

I went to my first Natural Foods Market this past weekend and was surprised by everything they have. I mean besides the food they have organic pet food and products, toiletries, hair products, TONS of vitamins, household products and a range of other things I was just not expecting!

I do buy organic whole wheat pasta b/c I like it and it is just so good for you. I also buy organic chips. And when I was there I picked up some organic chocolate, cookies and juice just to try. (they were ok) But overall I couldn't imagine buying everything I eat...or even use from a natural foods market! One, it would be too expensive and two are the benefits worth it? I honestly don't know.

So I thought I would ask to see what everyones take on organic and natural products are. Do you use them? Do you eat organic foods? Do you think the benefits of these products outway the costs? Any thoughts?

Sometimes I wish it was this easy.

Observation

I would just like to point out we only had 3 weeks of fall weather. That is not NEARLY enough.

I am not happy about this cold weather :(

A Little Late....

It is a little late, but I wanted to show off our pumpkins from Halloween! The top is from Belle & Sebastion (they helped me with it!), the middle is "pumpkin head" from terry and mine....well it was suppose to be a celtic knot. It is in the bottom, but it didn't turn out too great!

This Looks AWESOME!

So I am typically not all about the latest technology or gadgets out there. Not that there are not cool things out there, but I do not get too excited about them. I feel it is just not something I need. My cell phone is as basic as they come & I don't own an I-Pod but instead a $25 MP3 player I got from Big Lots. With the way gadgets become outdated so quickly I just don't like to BUY into the hype. (Don't get me wrong though...I have MANY other vices, technology is just not one of them!)

However, I saw a commercial for the i-pod touch and let me tell you, I think I am in love! This thing looks freak'n awesome!!! I seriously want one of these and I don't know why other than it looks cool! I think they have finally got me, b/c I can't stop thinking about how cool this thing would be!!!

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

When it Rains.....

So today I had TWO voicemails from different companies calling to set up interviews for potential jobs. I don't think I had two interviews during my entire 4 months and now this! haha Isn't that always how things go?!?!

All I can say is, you snooze you loose!!!!

We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto!!!

So last night T & I went out to have a nice dinner to celebrate my new job! (Sorry but I am trying to put that in every post I write today!!) So we didn't know what we were hungry for and T. said that sushi sounded kinda good. Now I am not very experienced in the sushi area. I have only had it a couple times and with mixed feelings about it. However, I thought it would be fun and I was in such a good mood I figured I would try something new!

So T & I went to this Japanese sushi place in BG. It is a small little place right off 75.

Let me tell you folks....this was a whole new experience for the two of us. I had NO idea what anything was, or what we were ordering!! It probably took us 15 minutes to come up with something to order. Not b/c it sounded bad...we just didn't know what we were ordering! We ordered a couple different types of sushi and then I ordered some noodle thing! It is interesting eating soup with chopsticks!! T & I looked pretty silly trying to eat our dinners!

I do have to say that overall it was really good! I think when I go back I will just order sushi and not an actual "meal". We wanted sushi rolls but didn't order any sushi rolls, b/c we didn't know what was what - hahaha! We did get some of the best fresh tuna I have EVER had and tried this sweet shrimp that was awesome! T. also ordered hot sake. I wasn't a fan, but T really liked it. It was all interesting to say the least! I know I will give it another try b/c the fresh fish was amazing...but maybe go back with someone who knows what the heck they are ordering!!!

P.S. (from previous post)

Thanks mom and dad for the new clothes!!! I think they gave me that extra confidence to help me get my new job!! Thank you, I love the clothes and love you both so much!

Oh you haven't heard!!! I got a job! (see previous post!)

It Finally Happened!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly 4 months ago today I lost my job and have been unemployed since.

However today I can finally say the words I have been SO desperate to say....I GOT A JOB!!!!!

I can't believe it!!!! Thank you MD for your help with this! I am SO thankful to have this opportunity and so excited to try something different in my life! I believe that sometimes the best things in life are not always planned....and I know that this is one of those times!

I am ready to start this new chapter, which will infact be starting tomorrow!!! I am ready for the challenge of something completely new and can't wait to see where this opportunity goes!

I GOT A FREAK'N JOB FOLKS!!!! YAY!!! :-) Bring on 2008!!!!

I also have to give huge HUGS to my husband, family and friends who have been the best support system a person could ask for. I don't know if I could have gone through this without you! It is hard to stay positive when things just don't seem to be going your way, but you all helped me through the last 7 months. I love you all so much!!!

I Heart Michael Buble

So maybe I am a little late to the game here but I think Michael Buble is adorable!!! I have always liked his music but it wasn't until watching him today on Rachael Ray that I realized how freak'n cute and talanted he was!

He was SO funny and just a charmer! He is definatly on my top 5 list now!! It is so refreshing to see a musician out there like him! I am totally buying his new(er) CD!

(To all fans I do apologize for not putting that accent mark over the *e* couldn't get it to work on blogger!)

Sorry for the Lack of Blogging....

...I just don't seem to have any thoughts in my head at the moment to share with you all :( I am empty!

However, I am getting a good supply of B vitamins and Omega-3 so those should help my brain and I should be back VERY soon!!!

(That is why boys and girls you have to remember to take your vitamins and not sit so close to the TV...or your brain will go to mush like mine has...hehe)

Ok, Pick 10 letters out of a bag and add "saurus" to the end!

So in Argentina they found what they believe is a new species of dinosaur and one of the largest plant eaters ever found! Apparently if you read the full article they grew them big over there!

But the best part is what they named the new dinosaur:
Futalognkosaurus dukei

Yes, doesn't that just roll off your tongue?!?! I think they ran out of all the cool names we grew up knowing and now they are left with crap names!!!

STORY

A Frightfully Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend (thanks to my mom, dad and sister) we celebrated my husband’s birthday at Cedar Point! We went to the park Friday and Saturday and I have to say we had a WONDERFUL time! I have never been for Halloweekends and being a person who typically doesn’t like to be scared and who isn’t a huge fan of roller coasters I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I have to say it ended up being a blast and frankly the weather was perfect and I don’t know if I would want to go to Cedar Point any other time of the year!!

Some things I observed from the trip:
- I am still a fan of spinning rides and roller coasters that stay close to the ground. Some of the things they have there (like the top thrill dragster) are CRAZY!

- The top thrill dragster broke while my husband was about 15 minutes from getting on! After 20 minutes they got it working but not without one car not making it over the top and coming back. Needless to say, until my husband got off the ride I was VERY nervous. You will never see me on that ride…it is a ridiculous ride!

- The last time we went was 5 years ago. I was fit, thin, and more willing to try things. Not so much any more.

- After 19 hours at the park (6 Friday and 13 Saturday) we are ALL hurting. We are not as young as we use to be.

- Going Friday was AWESOME! The lines were small and though not everything was open, you got to go on the rides that are normally packed in just fractions of the time!

- The haunted houses and the frontier land area were SO cool! I was scared but I also laughed and had a blast!

- If you have at least 4 people going stay at the Breakers Express and get their package deal! SO much money was saved by doing it this way and we got to get into the park an hour early!

- Cedar Point parking SUCKS! It took us an hour and a half Saturday night to get out of the parking lot and to our hotel that was maybe 5 miles down the road! You would think they would have a better idea of how to handle parking and the roadways in that area to help the flow of traffic! Ridiculous.

- I love Cedar Point in October! Well at least when it is in the 60’s!

- I want to be one of those people who dresses up and scares people! How fun!

- I love all the stuff they do for kids there! Between the rides and the special Halloween snoopy parade…it is awesome! Very creative!

- Corn Dogs = YUM!

- They had the Indians games on the big screen – awesome!

Overall, I am now a HUGE fan of Cedar Point Halloweekends! I know we will be back next year!

Thanks again for everything mom, dad and K…..it was wonderful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy 34th Birthday to my wonderful husband!!!!

I love you SO very much!!

I hope you have a BLAST this weekend! :-)

What the?!?!?!!?

Please take a moment to review the item above.

Yes, that is a large knife.

And yes, the top of the knife is broke off.

How you ask? NO IDEA! (maybe my mighty strength)

I went to use this knife and the top inch of the knife just fell off!! Yes, while chopping an onion the top of the knife just broke. Now this is a good knife and one of my favorites!! Even when T. saw it he was amazed at how clean a break it was.

WEIRD! (I didn't realize how strong I was!)

Finally!

Now this is what October is suppose to feel like!

Today feels perfect!

For Any Other Iron Maiden Fans!!!

Iron Maiden just announced their 2008 WORLD TOUR!!! It is called the "Somewhere Back in Time" tour and features all their old material!! AWESOME!!

This isn't right!

This weather is driving me crazy...where is Fall already?!?! It is October 7 and it is currently 90 degrees outside!!! SERIOUSLY!!

And here is the weather for the next few days:
Monday - 89
Tuesday - 73
Wednesday - 58

UGH! This is crazy.

Too Cute!

My cousin's little girl, Macey Jo, just celebrated her 6 month birthday this past week!! She is SO freak'n adorable and had to post a picture of her!!!

Hopefully I will see you soon!

Thanks for the pic Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our beautiful, wonderful and amazing mother!!!

We love you SO much and wish you a wonderful birthday!

HUGS & KISSES from ALL of us!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Jenn, Terry, Kristen, Will, Sebastian & Belle

Dove did it again!

Dove has had their campaign for real beauty. They have shown commercials that show the evolution of a person on a billboard, they have shown commercials about loving the unique parts of yourself, and they have focused on using the real women in their commercials.

Well on the today show I saw they have a new film called Onslaught out online that shows the images girls are exposed to on a daily basis and Dove is raising the issue that parents need to "talk to their kids before the beauty industry does".

Click HERE to see the film.

I am so happy Dove does this and is getting the message out there. I know as a 27 year old women it can be frustrating seeing all these ads on TV showing the extent people will go to sell "beauty" or the extent women will go to try to resemble what they see on TV. I can't imagine how young girls handle this.

Way to go Dove, I applaud you!

I love....

Queen Latifah!

I have to say that I absolutely ADORE Queen Latifah! I think she is stunningly beautiful, talented, kind, and just a great role model for women.

I just bought her new CD Trav'lin' Light off I-tunes. It is a combination of Jazz, Blues, Soul and even a little Broadway-Esq. LOVE IT! She has such a beautiful voice.

Queen Latifah, you are wonderful!

I Love.....(Fall Food Edition)

So because this is what I had for lunch today I am posting my two new favorite loves! Campbell's Select Creamy Tomato Parmesan soup & unpasteurized apple cider!

Soup first, this is without a doubt the best tomato soup I have ever had! So good! I think it is newer, I haven't seen it at Meijer but at Giant Eagle and surprisingly Wal-Mart. This is a must have for this fall on the colder nights!

As for the apple cider I have been drinking unpasteurized apple cider - if you can get your hands on this stuff from a safe place DO IT. I don't believe they sell unpasteurized apple cider in most stores, but you may be able to find it on farms that sell veggies and stuff during the fall. My parents got ours from Amish country b/c they live in the town right next door. The thing about unpasteurized is that it is not for kids, people who are pregnant or breast feeding, people who are older or have a lower immune system. (I sound like a commercial...but that is my disclaimer. Don't blame me, read up on it.) When it is unpasteurized there are still some bacteria left in the drink. Now don't let this gross you out - it is perfectly fine to drink and in my opinion SO much better than regular apple cider. Unpasteurized has a sweeter, slightly thicker flavor and leaves no after taste. It is just like eating a big juicy apple! DELICIOUS!

So these are my two fall food suggestions! Enjoy

P.S. the other great thing about apple cider is making hard cider! That is what my husband is in the process of doing now for next spring. Yum!

Talk to Me...

So I was cleaning out some things in our back bedroom and came across my old camera. It is a GREAT camera from Canon! You can adjust everything manually or automatically, it has a great lens that shoots pretty far, you can change with other lenses, it looks brand new and takes beautiful pictures. The only "flaw" it isn't digital. It still takes that stuff called film.

Now when the digital camera came out I was SUPER excited. The digital camera is just plain AWESOME!!! I really love everything about it. But I have to admit, I kinda miss the good old days of film. Granted, film is expensive to purchase and develop, it is a pain in the ass to change, film can't go through the x-ray machines at the airport which is a pain on vacation, and film can just be delicate (I have lost a fair share of pictures b/c the film wasn't developed correctly).

But I feel bad, not being able to use this fantastic camera I have. I kinda miss going to get your pics from the store and the excitement of seeing how they turned out and I like the feeling of taking pictures on this "older" camera... so I think I am going to bring out my camera from time to time. You know, just to remember the good ole days (a whole 5 years ago). But I have a feeling in the not so distant future, it will only be digital cameras - which is kinda sad.

So have you gone completely digital or do you still use film? If you are digital, will you ever use film again? I wonder how long it will take for film cameras to become extinct?

New Show Review

So last night (among the 2 hour season finale of Dr. Who and the season premier of Heroes) Terry and I watched the new sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

I have to say that I enjoyed it alot!!! Infact, they had us at the Battlestar Gallactica joke (T & I love that show..and yes we are very geeky). It is definitely worth giving it another week or two to see where the show goes and if it can keep up that type of humor without getting redundant. That is the only thing I am worried about, the humor repeating itself. But otherwise, I have entered the show into our DVR so we will see what happens!

New show for tonight - Reaper on CW. Terry and I use to watch the series Dead Like Me. I want to watch this show just to see how they do the whole reaper thing. It sounds funny!

I Love...

CRAYONS!!!!!

Yes, I have to say that crayons are one of my favorite things in the world! When I am bored, or feeling down, or feeling happy, or just plain in the mood to color I bring out my crayons and coloring books! (Yes, I am 27 and still own crayons and coloring books - everyone should!)

I love everything about coloring! I love all the different colors of crayons, I love the names of the colors, and I can spend hours just coloring away! I think everyone should have some crayons and coloring books at their house! Of course you HAVE to buy Crayola (don't get the cheap wax ones - they do not color as nice)! And the BEST place to get coloring books - the dollar store! They sell those jumbo coloring books for $1!!! AWESOME!

Click HERE to Color online!!!! If you click new page it will bring up a blank page instead of the butterfly!!

Amazon.com is Amazing!

So last night (Thursday, September 20, 2007) at approximately 5:45 p.m. eastern standard time I placed an order on Amazon.com.

I ordered two DVD's for my husbands birthday which were in stock. I went with two day shipping on the order which would make the estimated delivery date Monday, September 24, 2007.

At 9:57 a.m. on Friday, September 21, 2007 I got a knock on the door. A UPS man was dropping off a package on our front step. (Now, I am expecting something else in the mail so I thought it was that.) However, to my absolute amazement, sitting on our front step was an Amazon.com box!!

Seriously...16 hours later I have exactly what I ordered on my front steps!

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!?!

I have always liked to order stuff from Amazon and have always been happy with their delivery, but this is ridiculous!!! It is like they knew what I was going to order before I ordered it and had it ready!

I am by NO means complaining - but just completely amazed by how quick they sent me my package. On the package it says next day UPS but they didn't charge me for that. :-) It is this little surprise that totally made my day!!!

I love you Amazon! Thank you for your exceptional service! I will continue to be a loyal customer!!!

Last Comic Standing Winner!!!

YAY to Jon Reep...this seasons Last Comic Standing Winner!!

I think he is SO funny!!! And I just love this show!

He is also the Dodge Hemi guy on the commercials!!!

And isn't it Ironic....Don't you think

The word ironic is sometimes used to describe events and/or circumstances that might better be described as simply "coincidental", “improbable", or “unexpected”.* To me, when something ironic happens I usually follow the situation with words or phrases such as “really”, “come on now”, “are you serious”, (or my personal fav.) “what the f&$k!”.

An example of irony:

There is a job fair that the job solutions agency told me about which is being held at (wait for it) O. Community College….my previous employer.


Yep, that God she really likes her irony!


*From online definition

FYI.....

Dole has recalled their Heart’s Delight salad mix after a bag tested positive for E Coli.

Click HERE for specific information.

The voluntary recall, issued Monday, affects all packages of Hearts Delight sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B."

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY HUSBAND!!!

(In honor of our wedding I posted a couple of our pictures! I had to post the pic at the bottom of my dress b/c it was SO pretty and I loved it!!! The flowers at the top are an anniversary gift from my sister!)

This weekend T & I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary!!! I seriously can not believe it has been a year already! (and that we have been together for 7 years!!!) It is just so wonderful!! I am so proud of Terry and even prouder to call him my husband. This has definitely been an interesting year and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!

I love you SO much T.!!!!

(P.S. Thank you again mom, dad and K!!!!)

TBS - Where it's At!

I have to say that TBS has some GREAT comedy shows on! Seriously I could pretty much laugh my way through an entire day just watching the shows on TBS!

Some of my favs include:
Family Guy *new to TBS
Seinfeld
Saved by the Bell
The Fresh Prince..
Just Shoot Me
Friends
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Office *new to TBS
Sex and the City

Seriously...they got the market on syndicated comedy shows!!!

Way to go TBS, you bring a smile to my face!

(Tuesdays are particularly my favorite day to watch TBS!)

Talk to me....

Ok, so after 2 1/2 months and no luck finding a job the suggestion of talking to a headhunter was brought up. Side note: Headhunter just sounds scary! Like I have done something wrong!

So I googled headhunters for Ohio and the searches brought up an assortment of random websites for temp agencies and stuff. So I thought I would ask and see if.....

1. Anyone has used a headhunter/search firm to find a job?

2. Pros/cons to using one?

3. Any you would recommend?

I plan events for a living so alot of supplemental staffing places don't really work for me. But I thought if there was another option out there that might help me find a job, even if it was a secretarial job I better explore it. I only have a few more months on my unemployment and frankly - I am freak'n bored out of my mind!

So any feedback on headhunters (good or bad) would be MUCH appreciated!

My New "Addiction"

Ok, so I have a new late night addiction. QVC.

I will be honest, I never really cared for QVC. I use to make fun of the jewelry (just not my taste) and I more or less never even watched the show and didn't give it a chance. However Monday night I was looking for something to watch and saw that it was Gem Week on QVC so turned to it. I love gems and as there was nothing else on I thought - what the heck!

Skip forward a few days and the last three evenings I have turned on the QVC jewelry show and watched it for a little bit before I go to bed! I don't know if it is because it is Gem's this week or the soothing voice of the girl talking or how fast the jewelry goes or what but I am completely enthralled by this show AND the idea of the show.

Here are some things that amaze me about the show:

- Lisa, the person talking about the jewelry is really nice (on the show) and can just keep talking forever. It is like the marathon of sales pitches! She can talk about this jewelry for 2 hours straight and she is flawless. It is amazing to watch. After like 5 minutes I wouldn't know what to say!

- I can't believe how many people stay up late to watch these shows! I mean they are always selling stuff anytime during the day!

- People call in and say hi. These are dedicated QVC fans and some will even go into parts of their life and reveal maybe too much info on air. It is funny! (The calls are my favorite!)

- I can't believe how much people buy! They may have 6,000 pieces of jewelry and they will be gone in 2 hours. And things just go FAST on the show. You have to be quick!

- I wonder how much QVC makes a year. Also, I wonder how much people spend a year on QVC products.

It is like the ultimate reality show for me! And actually alot of the jewelry I have seen the past few days I thought was pretty and something I may wear! (of course some is just too crazy for my taste, but some is very very nice)

Does anyone else watch QVC? Any other products worth checking out? Right now I am just stuck on the gems, but any good makeup or stuff? I haven't bought anything, but it is fun to look!

P.S. I could see how this could be dangerous. Just sitting in the comfort of your home, looking at the pretty things on TV, credit card in hand....it could be easy to buy alot of stuff from them!

A Little Slice Of Heaven!

So last weekend T & I were invited up to Lakeside to spend the weekend with some friends. Besides the fact that we had a good time, I have to say the best part of the weekend was when we walked into the Cheesehaven!!!

Yes my friends, this amazing store is located just a couple miles from Lakeside and features over 125 different kinds of cheeses!!! It is amazing, and slightly overwhelming to any cheese lover! There are smoked cheeses, aged cheeses, cheeses with about anything you could think of added to them, spreads, basically EVERYTHING!!!

Besides cheeses this store also has a large selection of wines, candies, hot sauces, and so much more!!!

Terry & I ended up leaving with a block of 4 year old aged cheddar which is so yummy but very strong! It tastes great on salads! A smoked cheddar which is my favorite and just fabulous! We also got a cheddar & bacon spread, which I wasn't sure of but tastes just like smoked cheddar in spread form! YUM!

This place is about an hour from BG. and is open all year round. If you are up near Marblehead I HIGHLY suggest going to visit. However, if you want to try some of their cheese now, guess what - they will ship cheese!!! Check it out below!!! It is worth it! (we recommend the smoked cheddar!)

http://www.cheesehaven.com/Default.htm

Reading Is Fundamental

So I am making about 40 individual cheesecakes for a party this weekend. I spent ALL day today baking these cheesecakes in individual 4" aluminum pie pans, made sure each batch was perfect and followed the recipe to a T. No mistakes, nothing!!! I was SO proud! All that was left to do was the easy stuff, drizzling some milk chocolate and white chocolate on the tops of 40 cheesecakes!

I thought to myself at (9pm at night) this is easy! If I can make all these cheesecakes without a problem then surely I can melt some chocolate and drizzle it on these delicious desserts!!!

Well it would have been easy if I had remembered the most simple of all rules when it comes to do anything - read the directions.

I don't know if fatigue set in or just a bit of cockiness in thinking I can do this...but I thought I don't need to read directions. But lets just say I turned "Put 6oz of chocolate into a microwave safe dish and microwave on med-high heat for one minute" into "try to create a double boiler out of things you have in your house and end up turning your chocolate into what looks like chocolate crumbles or as we called it - dirt."

Yes, I BUTCHERED my chocolate, semi-sweet morsels b/c I couldn't take the 10 seconds to read the back of the bag where it SPECIFICALLY states how to melt your chocolate. (refer to directions above) Instead I turned what should have literally taken one minute to get beautiful chocolate into 45 minutes of my husband and I trying to figure how to melt the chocolate and why it turned into dirt.

We still don't know what happened but I got smart and read the back of the white chocolate bag and in one minute had a smooth white chocolate ready for drizzling. And instead I had to drizzle Hershey syrup over my cheesecakes. (still good, but wasn't what I wanted b/c syrup doesn't get hard like the morsels. )

So the moral of this story is ALWAYS read the directions no matter how simple you think your task at hand is going to be.



P.S. I will be posting this delicious cheesecake recipe on the food for friends website later this weekend! It is seriously the BEST cheesecake I have had! However, I will be leaving off the drizzle part.

Welcome (another beautiful baby is born)!!!!

Welcome to the world the beautiful Colby Chad J.

Colby was born two weeks ago to my very good friends Jennifer & Chad!!! This is their second boy (Brady is 4) and little Colby looks identical to his big brother (well when he was born)!

We are SO very happy for your family!!! I had a BLAST hanging out the other night and holding Colby! What an angel!!!

Also, Happy Birthday to Jennifer!!!! (her birthday is today!) What an amazing birthday gift you & your family got this year!!!

Lots of love to you and your family!!!

I Love....

I LOVE these "cookies"!!!!!

This week I went over to Wixey Bakery to place an order for a small cake to celebrate our one year wedding Anniversary in a few weeks. No, we didn't keep our cake. It tasted too good and I couldn't get over the eating of something that was a year old - YUCK!

The place we got our original wedding cake is three hours away so I decided to try this place as I have heard it is delicious! And let me tell you my friends - this place rocks!!!

I got an assortment of delicious sweet treats from the bakery for my husband and I to try and we are SO impressed! However, my personal favorite are these cookies above.

I don't know what they are called, I just called them black & white "cookies" but really they are a round piece of heaven! The "cookie" is really like a cake. I believe they use yellow cake batter to make a soft cookie type treat. Then (obviously by the pic. above) half the cookie has a hard white icing and the other half chocolate. YUM!

So I have to say, if you are in the area (in Toledo off Glendale) you must stop at Wixey Bakery and ask for these "Black & White" cookies! You will not be sorry!!

(By the way, the cake we ordered was slightly different from our wedding cake. We ended up going with a chocolate cake with white icing which is what we had before. However we added raspberry filling!!! We can't wait till Sept. 16 to celebrate and eat this tasty cake!)

Just Because!

This is a picture of our friend's Chris & Silvia's baby! Baby Ivan!!

I just thought it was the cutest picture and it made me smile today!

I Love...

I Love my new HP photosmart Printer!!!

I got it for my birthday but just had my parents up this weekend and FINALLY installed it! It only took me about 10 seconds to love it!!!

Besides being SO cute, small and shinny, it is a GREAT GREAT piece of equipment to have. You can plug it into your computer and work off your computer to adjust your photos or you can plug your digital camera photo card right in to the printer and work off it. It prints BEAUTIFUL pictures that are of such a high quality!

This is seriously a must have! I am going picture printing crazy!!!

(Thanks again mom and dad!)

AVOID!!! STAY AWAY!!!

What ever you do, DO NOT COME TO BOWLING GREEN this weekend!!! (not that you really would anyways)

This week and weekend not only are the students coming back to BG but it is also the National Tractors Pulls! Yes, all of those wonderful drunk tractor pullers will be in town as well as those drunk students!!! Oh, how fun!

(My husband is on his way home from work for lunch. It typically takes him 6 minutes to get to the house from work. Today it took him 15 minutes and he saw 2 accidents on the way. Crazy!)

Just Because They Make Me Smile!

These are my two "Wrestling Kitties", Belle & Sebastian. I just took these pics b/c 1) they are just cute and 2) it is 3pm and my furry friends are still napping the day away. (they have a hard life!)

I just had to put them up here because these two cats make me smile SO much! I think pets can be SO therapeutic and help our attitudes. How can a person be upset with anything when these two cuties are laying on either side of me sleeping!

CONGRATS!

Congratulations to my dear friends Jennifer & Chad who welcomed their second baby boy into the world today! Colby (middle name TBD) was born today weighing approx. 6lbs and was 20" long!

I am SO VERY happy for them and can't wait to meet their new addition on Friday!

Take care and once again CONGRATS!!!