Oh Happy Day #25!

8/25 - Blogging Awards!!!
Especially when they are from one of my heroes. According to Cormac over at Cormac Writes, I'm a Kick Ass Blogger. I think he's just being kind, but I'm not crazy enough to turn it down. :P

So here it is...

Instructions:
1. Choose five other bloggers that you feel are “Kick Ass Bloggers”
2. Let them know that they have received an award.
3. Link back to the person who awarded you.

So now I get to the really fun part, passing out my own awards 'cuz thems the rules. So which 5 blogs do I think Kick Ass? Keep in mind that Cormac Writes would most definitely be on this list, but since he gave me the award, apparently I don't get to give him one back. Darn the luck!

1. The White Horse - and not just because it's written by my bestest friend. This guy not only writes really well, but he is one of my favorite writers of all time. Be sure to check out his archives for some gems that really show off his immense talent.

2. On The Turning Away - Terry is one funny guy and he definitely doesn't look at life like most people do. And that's a very good thing.

3. what if this is as good as it gets? - Again, not your usual view of the world. Anyone seeing a pattern here? What if I told you they're all my friends too? :)

4. Boobs, Injuries, & Dr. Pepper - This chick is seriously funny. Seriously. And has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. I don't know her personally. She's not even an online friend of mine, but that doesn't stop me from reading her blog like a voyeur or stalker. No worries, I just get lost in the crowd of her MANY admirers. I don't mind just as long as I keeping getting the RSS feed to her blog. :P

5. Gluten-Free Girl - I stumbled onto Shauna's blog two years ago after seeing something about her on the Food Network. One of those little snippets between shows. I don't have Celiac's, but as a diabetic I struggle with carbs and most carb-filled food is also full of gluten. So living gluten-free interested me. And Shauna's blog really spoke to me. She's on hiatus at the moment after giving birth last month, but there are plenty of archives to keep you busy until she gets back. And some very yummy recipes. I don't have to live gluten-free and I don't, but I do eat a lot less of it than I did and it's been quite good for me.


Okay, that was harder than it looks. Simply because there are so many people out there that kick some major ass. If I left you out, don't worry. It's not because I don't think you kick ass. It's because I only had 5 to give out. :)

Oh Happy Day #24!

8/24 - Lazy Days!!!
You know the ones I mean. When you have absolutely no plans whatsoever. No need to get dressed unless you want to. No need to leave the house unless you want to. Hours & hours to fill with reading, television, music, naps, or nothing. Whatever your heart desires.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to crawl in bed with the puppies and take a nap.

Oh Happy Day #23!

8/23 - Living Somewhere That's Not Flat!!
I had to go run several errands this morning. Most of them were near my house. The bank, post office, and Walgreens are all within blocks of my house. McDonald's too. Hey, a girl has to eat breakfast! :P

Unfortunately, a girl also needed to get her tire looked at. It went nearly flat then suddenly stopped losing air. I didn't trust it, so I went in search of a Discount Tire. I had two choices. The closest one is in a not so nice area of town. Literally on the other side of the tracks. Normally, that wouldn't really have bothered me since I lived in the 'hood in Houston, but today I figured I'd stay on this side of the tracks.

I set off in a direction I have yet to go since moving here. The Google Maps directions were easy enough and I'm always up for a little exploring. So off I went, hoping the tire held until I found my destination since I wasn't sure what was really wrong with it.

They tried to fix the tire, but it had a piece of metal in it plus two plugs from two previous repairs. One of them was actually a temporary plug that should have never been left in there. Since the tire was on the car when I bought it just over two years ago, I knew nothing about this. I'm lucky I didn't have a blowout the guy said. So a new tire is what I needed and $141 later I leave. I'm not in a bad mood, but I'm certainly not as happy as I was. Driving home, I crested a hill and was presented with a view that made me smile.

In Houston, the only hills are the overpasses of the freeways. It's flat. Real flat. Like you can see something coming for about 100 miles kind of flat. Dallas isn't like that. We're not talking mountains, but it ain't flat. It was just nice to get a view of where I live from a different angle. A new perspective is always refreshing.

What new perspectives have you discovered today?

Oh Happy Day #22!

8/22 - Gas for $3.41 per Gallon!!!
A year ago, if you would have told me that I'd be happy about that, I would have said you were crazy. Of course a year ago, gas was a dollar less per gallon. I was so excited to fill up this morning and it cost less than $50. I drive a Taurus people so we are not talking about a huge tank here either. Here's hoping the prices keep going down. If this keeps up, I might even be able to afford a road trip. I mean I've been in Dallas since March and I've only been to Ft. Worth once and that was for work. :P

My next vehicle if gas starts going up again. :D


So what made you happy today?

Oh Happy Day #21!

8/21 - Writing!
I don't get to do it often enough and sometimes when I have the time then my muse is off vacationing somewhere far more fun. But when I do have the time and the inspiration, writing makes me happier than just about anything in the world.

My dream would be to one day get paid to write. Then again, that might take all the joy out of it. I'm willing to try it and find out though. :P

Stay tuned. There is more happiness to come.

Oh Happy Day #20!

8/20 - Good news from my doctor!!!
My iron levels are still way below where my doctors want them to be, but they are now high enough that I will not need a blood transfusion. Let the happy dances ensue. And someone be sure to do one for me. No transfusion for me, but my doctor's orders didn't change. I'm to take it as easy as I can until they figure this all out.

So right now that means I feel like I can fly, but I can't. But my heart is soaring. One more difficulty has been overcome. My EGD & colonoscopy are still scheduled for 9/8, but with a little luck and a lot of prayer my doctors will know what's wrong with me after that.

Until then, this little beauty will have to do my flying for me......

So, are you playing your own version of the Glad Game yet? You should be.

Oh Happy Day #19!

8/19 - Eric Dodge!!!!!!
Eric is an up and coming country star. He's got a lot of talent along with a great band. His band includes his brothers, Andy & Ashton. Wendy Darling introduced me to Eric's music. She's a big fan and while I thought he was talented, I wouldn't say I was an immediate fan. I'm just not that into country music.

One Tuesday evening she was trying to log onto his online radio show and needed help. So every Tuesday for three weeks, I logged in and listened to the show while I tried to help her log into the chat room that accompanies the chat. Now I'm hooked. :D

Shamelessly, I will now plug his CD's "Why Not Today" & "Since I Let You Go" which you can buy here. Please check him out. You can also download his song "Last Real Cowboy" from Country Weekly's website here if you'd like a little free listen.

And even more shamelessly, I will plug the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Telethon Online Auction (www.gomdaauction.com). Eric was nice enough to donate two signed CD's to our auction. Did I mention that he's also a very sweet man? You can bid on them here. And while you're there, feel free to browse. After all, it is for a great cause. Not that I'm biased or anything. :)

And did I mention that Eric is cute too? :D

Oh Happy Day #18!

8/18 - Rickrolling!
Yup, I got Rickrolled by my brother today. It was my first time too. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or be angry. I mean I was at work and this particular version was quite loud. Plus there was the whole unable to close the browser window thing. Of course a little alt/control/delete action and it was easily nixed through Task Manager. All the while alternating between laughing and singing along.

Yeah, I said it. I sang along. Sue me. I'm a child of the 80's. You know what else? I owned this song on a cassingle. You want to make something of it? Actually, I probably still own it since I haven't gotten rid of my old cassettes yet.

You know what the best part was? I called him on my way home from work and told him all the details just to make him laugh so hard he nearly hurt himself. Even though we were both headed towards the same house since we live together, we still talked for nearly 20 minutes. Both of us laughing until we cried.

BTW, I didn't put the link I was Rickrolled with in here. I linked to Wikipedia & the Muppets version of a Rickroll. I'll save the link that got me for later use. Mwahahahahahaha!

Stay tuned for more insanity! :P

Oh Happy Day #17!

8/17 - Mr. Bean!
I caught "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" on a local Hispanic channel. Even though I don't think the person who did the voice over really got that Mr. Bean is supposed to be mostly unintelligible, it was still quite funny. I mean, what's funnier that Rowan Atkinson with a giant turkey on his head and a saw in his hand scaring the living daylights out of Mr. Bean's "girlfriend", Irma Gobb?! Definitely good for a belly laugh or two. :)

Good times. Good times. And more to come.

Oh Happy Day #16!

8/16 - Sprouts!

I just love this store! My brother introduced me to it when I first moved to the Dallas area in March. Our last move has taken us away from all of their locations and with gas prices the way they are it hasn't been feasible to shop there. But today I had a doctor's appointment that put me within blocks of our old store. So of course I went. :D

I bought some fresh veggies that I'm planning to bake with chicken breasts & linguisa sausage. I found the most gorgeous nectarines you've ever seen for 88 cents/lb. And of course I picked up several packages of my fav low carb tortillas in both green onion & garlic herb flavors. I also picked up some protein bars.


*sigh*
Happiness is good food that's good for me and organic.

Oh Happy Day #15!

8/15 - OCD works for me!
With the exception of a few minor details, I am ready for our big event next Thursday. Due to my planning in advance there will be no last minute frantic rush to get ready on Wednesday. At the risk of sounding conceited, I even impressed myself this go around. :)


More to come, of course. :)

Oh Happy Day #14!

8/14 - Books!

Books!




And more books!



All shapes & sizes, I LOVE books!



Stay tuned for more of the Glad Game. Unless I get lost in a book and forget to post. :P

Oh Happy Day #13!

8/13 - Puppies!!!!!!
I figured for the 13th I should talk about my lucky number 13. She's not really a puppy. She's a grand dame of 13 and her name is Sasha. Sasha Elizabeth Antoinette to be exact. Also known as monkey face & puddin' head.

Now that I live with my brother, I get to come home to this gorgeous face every single day......

And this one too! Her name is Amber. She is gorgeous, curious, loving, and completely devoted to Sasha.

This dynamic duo never fail to make every day a happy day!

Oh Happy Day #12!

8/12 - Watching Betty sing "Like A Virgin" while drunk is still just as funny today as it was last night. And let me tell you it was damn funny last night. :P

Love you, Bo!!!

Oh Happy Day #11!

8/11 - Karaoke with Betty!!! No, I don't get up and sing for two reasons. One, I sound like someone is trying to strangle a duck and two, the crowd would not appreciate me throwing up on them from stage fright. But it makes Betty happy so that makes me happy.

Good times were had by all. :)

And Now A Word From Our Sponsors....

Okay, not really our sponsors, but a group that could use some help. I know many of you are expecting me to talk about MDA right now, aren't you? Well not this time.

My oldest friend, Mistress Violet, is a Cub Scout/Boy Scout pack leader. Her youngest child is very much into the scouts. He has really blossomed since joining. It's been a wonderful thing to see.

Their Cub Scout pack is trying to raise a bit of money so they can keep doing all the great things that Scout packs do. All I'm asking is that if you are already planning to shop online, do it from here: http://www.visitourmall.com/cubscoutspack1015

You'll find great deals and coupons at more than 500 great stores like Wal-Mart, Nike, Best Buy, and The Apple Store. And a portion of your purchase will go to Cub Scout Pack 1015. What could be easier?

And if you'd like to donate more than a portion of your purchase, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the right person. Remember children really are our future and the Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts can help mold boys into leaders and great men.

Besides, you were going to buy those shoes anyway, right? Now you can justify buying two pair. :P



We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Oh Happy Day #10!

8/10 - Sundays!!!
Sundays mean breakfast with my brother. Usually at IHOP because the boy LOVES pancakes. Although sometimes we hit Los Lupes and have a Mexican breakfast because he loves chorizo too. Either way, I'm good because the best part about it for me is spending time with him. After years of living in different cities and only seeing each other about once a year, living in the same house is pretty cool.

Lots more happiness to come! :)

Oh Happy Day #9!

8/9 - Laughter is the best thing ever. No matter how bad things are, if you can find something to laugh about then you know it's all going to turn out okay. And let's not forget those random gifts of laughter that happen and make a memory that you and those you shared it with won't soon forget.

You can imagine the giggles that resulted after my brother & I noticed this on the road ahead of us.

The first time we noticed it, the truck had just gone over a slight hill so we couldn't really see the truck. All we saw was his load, moving down the road. My brother and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing.

We had just about caught our breath when I said, "And me without my basketball." We lost it again. My sides hurt just thinking about how much we laughed. :)



Stay tuned for more giggles.

Oh Happy Day #8!

8/8 - IT'S FRIDAY!!!

'nuff said. :D

Oh Happy Day #7!

8/7 - I went to Ft. Worth today to help out another office at their big event. Everyone was so thrilled to have me & another co-worker there. And since it wasn't our event when we were done at 3pm we were allowed to go on home. So I got home from work nearly two hours early and I didn't have any traffic at all to deal with. Although, I did miss my exit and got a little lost. But I just whipped out my cell phone, consulted Google Maps, and was soon on my way again.

More silver linings to be found, so ya'll come on back tomorrow. :)

Oh Happy Day #6!

8/6 - A co-worker and I have spent the last two days working on getting a 1500 piece mailer out. Although it was hard and boring work, it gave us a chance to bond and to listen to a LOT of 80's music. It's a bonus that this particular co-worker never fails to make me laugh. Don't tell our bosses, but we had a good time.

More rays of sunshine ahead. :)

My Mosaic...

Apparently, I’m finding inspiration on other people’s blogs. Okay what I’m really doing is shamelessly stealing other people’s ideas. This one I got from Scarlet Hip.

Yourself as a mosaic…

The concept:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life? ( I interpreted this as what thing do I love most and therefore it’s understood that I do NOT love this more than I love the people in my life.)
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

So there you have it, er me. :)

Oh Happy Day #5!

8/5 - Happily, I have something to blog.




Stay tuned for it. :)

Oh Happy Day!

I am accepting the Happiness Challenge. I stole this bit of sunshine from Kwizgiver who got it from The Gal Herself and I believe she got it from Mo."Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world."

As anyone that knows me can tell you, I’m a bit of a Pollyanna. I’ve been known to play “The Glad Game” more than once, found more than one silver lining, followed more than one rainbow to it’s end, and wished on more than one falling star. I’m usually quite perky and optimistic. Some would say to the point of being annoying. Especially if they haven’t had their morning coffee yet. :)

So of course this idea was right up my alley. Even if I am starting a bit late. But I’ll attempt to catch up right now……

8/1 – First Fridays are my fav. The first Friday of every month you can find me at my local 2600 Meeting. Sometimes the conversations are far over my head, but all the guys are very sweet and oh so funny. The evening only gets better since after the meeting I go watch my oldest friend, Betty, do karaoke. This particular First Friday had a bonus since before the meeting I went over Betty’s house for dinner. She made breakfast for dinner. Her husband and I were thrilled. And stuffed.

8/2 – We got our first water/garbage bill for the new place and even with the deposit and connection fees I can afford my half without stressing or worrying.

8/3 – I went to the library which is always a treat. Plus, my brother and I went to IHOP and had breakfast for dinner. (Anyone seeing a theme here?)

8/4 – I finished Charlaine Harris’ latest book, FROM DEAD TO WORSE after only having checked it out yesterday afternoon. That means I get to start a new book tomorrow.

Okay that gets me caught up. Stay tuned for more rays of happy sunshine. :)

More Randomness Around Town...

More photos to share......

I think this picture is one of the coolest sky pictures ever. It's even more cool that I took it myself and with the camera that my brother gave me for Christmas.
YaY me!
******

I just love a restaurant with a sense of humor. Of course that I also love Jimmy John's Unwich doesn't hurt either. :)
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My brother is the pancake king, but these very tasty 'cakes at Weck's won by a technical knock-out.
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Recently the aforementioned pancake king went to Chicago on a business trip and sent me this picture from the Field Museum. He named her Sally. I want to know how he knows it's a girl. On second thought, maybe I don't.
******

Speaking of pictures sent to my phone, a friend sent this one to me last week while we were out. Then he was amazed that I had never seen a urinal before. Why on Earth would I go into the men's bathroom? Most guys are such bad shots that they should paint targets on the urinal cakes to see if that helps. BTW, I'm not really sure what this picture says about my friend's feelings for me. Again, maybe I don't want to know.
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It is so hot here right now that I actually got wistful while looking at this picture I took of my car during my first week in Dallas. It snowed twice that week and this week we'll be lucky to see two days below 100.
******


And finally under the heading of jobs that I NEVER want to have......


In the space between the building I work in and the one next to us there are several trees. Apparently they needed trimming.

Look carefully as this guy actually cuts the branch he's standing on.

Then gently lowers it to the ground.

Actually, it didn't look so gentle and it scored a collective gasp from the crowd he'd drawn in the lobby of our building. Personally, I think he's nuts.


Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Make Your Own Band...

Months and months ago, Kwizgiver posted this fun activity. For some reason, I couldn't get step #2 to work and then it was move time. Now that my compy is set up and I can access what I started, I've been able to finish it. So here is my band & their first album. Enjoy! :D

Band: iseda station
Album: the destinies of stars

Now here are the instructions:

You are about to have your own band’s CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. Now, go to these links and start creating your totally awesome band cover!

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, post it in your own blog and see what other people can come up with!

Give it a try. It really was fun! :)

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!

Well, it's official. My Mommy is coming to visit at Thanksgiving. :) :) :)

I haven't seen her since August 2004. Her & my Pops moved to West Virginia to be near his family and to get Mommy out of the heat & all the stuff she's allergic to. I went from seeing her once or twice a week to not seeing her at all. I may be 40, but I'm a Momma's Girl. :D

She'll be here for just over a week. Now we've even got a new place with enough room for her. All we need is a place for her to sleep.

We were planning on getting a sleeper sofa to go in our loft. Then we ran across a bargain thanks to our neighbor. For a couple of hundred dollars we are going to be buying this luxurious, comfortable bed for our dearest Mommy......














What do you think, Mommy? Doesn't it look like the most comfortable bed you've ever seen? And those really nice neighbors are going to throw in the cowboy & indian sheets for free. Aren't you excited?!

See you soon, Mommy. We love you!!!


:P

Randomness Around Town...

I thought I'd share a few random pictures and thoughts with you guys......

We knew the local average IQ was falling, but had no idea it was effecting the water fowl. We also have no idea where the smart ducks cross.
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I'm not sure this is what they meant by concrete jungle.
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Too late! I not only looked, but snapped a pic with my phone.
******

Bad tire! Bad, BAD tire! And yes, I have already replaced it.
******

A humorous sign in a very cool bookstore about 20 miles from my house.
******

Same bookstore. Same humor come to think of it. I mean it can't be an accident that these two sections are next to each other, can it?
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My new glasses. Okay, they will be once I get to the eye doctor, get my eyes checked, give the new prescription to my brother, and he takes it & these gorgeous frames to work with him. You probably can't tell, but they are purple. Which makes me tickled pink. :P
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I guess that's enough randomness for now. Feel free to share any randomness you've experienced this week.

"Music's Got Control"

I suppose that since I will be 40 next week that the songs of three teenage brothers shouldn't speak for me, but they do. Or at least this one does.

These boys have talent and apparently wisedom beyone their years. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. :)




"Play My Music" by The Jonas Brothers