For Harry Potter Fans....

Set your TIVO on Sunday July 29 as there will be a special 1 hour episode on Dateline NBC talking to J.K. Rowling about the Harry Potter series! YAY!!!

I also heard in another interview with her a mention of a Harry Potter Encyclopedia?!?! Has anyone heard of this? It would be an A-Z account of all things Harry Potter. Things she had in her notes, back stories about all the characters that didn't make the final cut b/c they were not relevant to the story. This would be awesome!

Yeah, I am a total Harry Potter geek!

I Love....

My New Saute Pan!!!!

So my parents just got me this new saute pan and I am here to tell you this is a MUST HAVE for anyone who cooks! In fact, I dare say this is the only saute pan you will ever need from this point on!

"This Members Mark 5.5 qt Deep Saute Pan is made of heavy-gauge porcelain enamel with a superior nonstick coating. The stay-cool silicone soft-grip cast stainless steel handles are ergonomically designed for comfort and safety."

Let me tell you, this thing is huge and wonderful! My parents got it for me from Sam's Club and it was only $20 (well worth it)! The thing I love most is that the other day I made a dish with tons of sauteed veggies in a red sauce in this pan and still had room to add a pound of bow tie pasta to the pan with room to spare! Also, because it is not stick it is easy to cook lean meats and fish without a problem!

I have said this before, I am an addict for all things kitchen. But my friends, this wonderful pan is one of my new favorites and has been bumped up to my "top 5 must haves for any kitchen" list!

Thanks again mom and dad! I loves it!

I'm Still Here!!!

I am sorry for the lack of blogging recently, but I will try to get better!!!

Talk to me....

(Not my jewelry)

Ok, I have some questions on jewelry!!

I have just unpacked a box of my jewelry from our move nearly 8 months ago! (I know - sad) The jewelry was pretty much just costume/fashion jewelry...not my good stuff. As I was going through the box, I came upon some older jewelry that had become slightly tarnished and jewelry that had become tangled together.

So here are my questions.

1. How can I clean this jewelry to get it sparkling again? Some rings, earrings, chains...stuff like that.

and..

2. How do you store your jewelry? I have alot of jewelry. I keep my "good" jewelry in the boxes they came in...but have NO idea how and where to keep all my necklaces and bracelets so they won't get tangled and so I can easily access them!

Any ideas on these two things?

I Love...

So I just got a pair of Noise Reduction Ear Phones and let me tell you....I am a fan!!!

I know they look a little weird, but I have to say I LOVE these headphones! I can not wear typical ear phones (the little round ones that fit in your ear) because my ears are too small! Seriously, I have tried everything to fit those suckers in my ears and I can not for the life of me get them in my ears and when I do it hurts and they fall out when I move. So I have always had to wear traditional ear phones that go around your head, which are just annoying!

These little wonders actually go in the ear canal and are smaller and more flexible! They also reduce outside noises so you just hear your music! I am SO excited that I can finally wear these small little ear phones! YAY!

I highly suggest these, just don't turn your music up too loud when you first get these!

Talk to me....

(Sorry about the feet picture)

So question. I am trying to find a nice summer toe nail polish color and I seem to be in a rut.

I was going with clear for awhile (just because it was easy), then went to a red, tried black, and then tried purple. Now all of which were nice...but I got bored. So I was reading a magazine and saw someone with a fairly bright white toe nail polish on.

So I went to the store and tried some. However, I am not sure. Terry said it looked like white-out on my feet! (did you ever put white-out on your nails when you were a kid...I did all the time!!)

So anyways, my question is...are we doing white nail polish on our toes? Is this in style? Is it cute only if you have a tan? I just don't know about it. And how about any suggestions on cute summer nail polish for our toes?

Just Thinking...

So it has been a couple weeks that I have been out of a job and I just thought I would write down some things I am feeling and/or noticing. Now, I am keeping in mind my it is only going on week 3 and I am SURE these will change the longer I am out of a job.

1. Filing for unemployment SUCKS. It takes forever, there is tons of paper work and I hate that you have to keep up on it. Obviously they make it this way so people will get annoyed and find a job and/or stop filing for it. But I just am annoyed with it.

2. There are more people than I thought who are out and about during the day. Granted, it is summer so people are on break/vacations or whatever. But I was really surprised that it is actually busier during the day (at stores and stuff) then in the evenings during the week!

3. I am not craving and drinking coffee as much as I did when I was working. I would want it everyday and drink it a few times a week while I was working. Now, I have had coffee twice since I left! sorry starbucks!

4. I am busier than what I thought I would be. There are alot of things that need to be done around the house and I was surprised at how much I did have to keep me occupied! It is nice!

5. IF we were in the position to afford it, I wouldn't mind being a housewife. I know, I say it now...who knows how I will feel in a few weeks. But I enjoy the duties of a housewife, making dinner, making sure the bills are paid, organizing, having time to workout, laundry, (things I did before...but now have time to enjoy them)! I know it sounds 1950's....but I just like the idea of doing something that makes both me and my husband happy. (of course this will never happen....so I am enjoying it now)

6. My cats are lazy! All these little animals do is sleep ALL freak'n day. They may come out every once in a while to eat or take care of business...but they pretty much are over the fact that I am home all day and just sleep. Granted, they are animals....I just thought they did more than sleep 22 hours a day!

7. I can't sleep. I am having a hard time sleeping....alot on my mind. In fact it is 2:30 am now and I am wide awake. I don't sleep-in either, but for some reason my mind will not let me sleep. It is getting old.

8. I like that I can meet up with my husband at lunch. We haven't been able to do that for 5 years (since college) and it is nice to see him and share that time with him during the day.

9. I am not on the computer as much and therefore not blogging AND not up on all the celebrity gossip. It is kinda a nice break from the computer world.

10. I miss my friends at work. I miss talking to them, "IMing" them, hearing about their days, joking around, seeing them, and just being a direct part of their lives. It is hard when you go from seeing people that much to not seeing them everyday. And it is definatly lonely when you are the only one home all day and everyone else is working.

So, I am sure I will have more thoughts on being home. Currently, I am giving it an A-

Talk to me....

I have to say that I love Bleach! I love how well it cleans, that it disinfects, unclogs pipes, makes bathrooms look so bright, is inexpensive, how it cleans towels, and I actually love the smell of a items cleaned in Bleach!!

I never clean without bleach!

However, I know bleach is not a "green" product. I know I could cut down but I don't think I could ever give up using bleach (especially in the bathroom). I think moderation is good. But I do want to be more aware of other means to clean that are more natural.

Here are two websites I found that show ways to clean using a natural product -vinegar.

Click here
Click here

I may give it a try. Has anyone tried cleaning with vinegar? Do you know of any other natural ways to clean? Suggestions?

So this weekend we decided to make the ever popular treat of Smores!!!!

So I went to the grocery store and was amazed to find that there are SO many options out there besides the traditional smore ingredients!!! I like the traditional and won't budge on trying anything else...but I picked up a few different items for our friends and my husband to try!!!

First, the Triple Chocolate Smore (My husbands Favorite!!)

- Chocolate Graham Cracker

- Chocolate Hershey Bar

- Chocolate Marshmallow

Seriously!!! This thing looked ridiculous and my husband couldn't get enough of them!

Also, they have toasted coconut marshmallows, Cinnamon Graham crackers, and white chocolate bars out that could all be used in some combination for smores!

I Can't Wait!!!

So I am going with the fact that I may be the only who really cares, and I am 100% ok with that....but I just had to share my excitement for the season premiere of one of my favorite shows!!

DR WHO!!!!

Yes, tonight there will be 2 1/2 hours of Dr. Who goodness as it airs two new episodes of the third season - YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond excited! My husband got my addicted to the "new" show two years ago and now I am hooked!

No comments necessary, I just had to share my excitement!!!!!

P.S. I also thnk the Dr. is pretty cute....but I like that "geeky" type!

I Love....

Vitamin Water!!!

I think I have shared my love for Vitamin water before....however I have to say that not only does this stuff taste WONDERFUL but the makers of this products are just flat out clever!

On their bottles and website they write cute little things about each of their waters! I love when people use humor to promote their products!!

I am going to share one of these messages from the "Defense" raspberry-apple flavor!

"If you've had to use sick days because you've actually been sick then you're seriously missing out my friends. See, the trick is to stay healthy and use sick days to just um, not go in. And the combination of zinc and fortifying vitamins can help out with that and keep you healthy as a horse. So drink up.

Remember, don't overdo it on the coughing and sniffling (big rookie mistake). Just stick with the ever elusive "24-hour bug". The symptoms are vague and people will actually encourage you yo stay home."

I just LOVE that!

So thank you vitamin water for not only your GREAT taste but your wonderful sense of humor!!!

Birthday Tag

Turtle Parade tagged me with this Birthday Meme! Her rules: go to Wikipedia type in your birthday (only month and day). Then you list 3 events, 2 births, 1 holiday, and then you tag 5 friends.

April 22

Events:
* 1889 - At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
*1970 - First Earth Day celebrated.
*1993 - The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.


Birthday’s: (I like this one!!)
*1610 - Pope Alexander VIII
*1923 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (d. 2006)
*1937 - Jack Nicholson, American actor
*1966 - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor


Holiday:
*Earth Day YAY!!!!

Movie Review!

The Transformers Movie....well it was FREAK'N AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved it, totally COOL and the effects were AMAZING!!!!!!!

I liked Transformers before, but let me tell you (transformer fan or not) THIS is a movie you HAVE to see!!! It was awesome!!!

I don't have any other words to describe....you just need to see it for yourself!!!!

When one door closes.....

A couple months ago I found out that I was losing my job and this past Thursday was my last day. I have been "working" the past couple months, going in with a smile and trying to be positive about the entire situation. I have many MANY people in my life and at my old job who have been SUPER supportive and encouraging during this entire thing - and for that I am appreciative beyond words. I don't think I could have gotten through any of this without my husband, family and friends pulling me through.

When I lost my job it was unexpected, done in a VERY unprofessional way, politically driven, and I felt like I had been stabbed in the back. It was complete BS. It left me scared, feeling like I was not good at my job, with many unanswered questions, embarrassed, and feeling like I had let my husband and family down. I am a planner.....and I do not deal well when there is no structure and things are up in the air.

I know it sounds cheesy but I am SO thankful to have so many wonderful people in my life and to be blessed in so many other ways that I will not allow this little bump in the road to stop me. So I just wanted to once again say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being there for me! I am realizing it is ok to ask for help and be comforted by those people around you and that I don't have to deal with everything by myself and alone.