Gobble, Gobble...

Chalk it up to "I spoke too soon" – we all went to bed late the night before Turkey Day – mainly due to the “what’s been going on with you” chats. The entire house was peacefully asleep and then the phone rang very early in the morning….the only one awake was the turkey and a bleary eyed M-O-M. We went from calm to rage and chaos within five minutes. One person's lack of disclosing a “minor” detail because they were trying not to be a nuisance caused such a commotion. It was resolved within half an hour but not without waking everyone up and uttering our famous “You’re ruining (insert whatever event is being celebrated here)!!!!” line at least five times.

I am very happy that I still have both of my parents in my life - so many of my friends don't. But sometimes, you just have to yell “AUGH!”

The day ended up being fun and I stopped to appreciate the little things - like the bowl of olives that no one eats when they sit down to dinner but that are grazed on all day long as you walk past the table. It’s actually rather amusing – you find yourself making excuses so that you have to walk past so you can grab an olive….and never more than one at a time!

Beep, Beep!

Ever notice that no matter where I am, I have a tendency to want to be somewhere else? I want to do everything, experience everything and enjoy myself. I have my priorities, but there are so many things going on to choose from! I know what it is - I don't want to miss out on anything.

Last night I got to sit and paint ceramics with some friends - something that I normally would not be able to do on a Tuesday night since I live so far away from them. Yet, it was something that I wanted to do ever since I found out that this group does it. (again, check out what I said in paragraph one)

I was originally supposed to do another whiplash tour in order to play taxi to part of my family, but the fates decided that after sitting in traffic for a few mind numbing hours last night, I was free of that duty today.

And why did I sit in traffic yesterday? The answer is simple - it's my mailman's fault. He's always at my place between a certain time and I wanted to take the movies that I knew were coming that day with me.....I sat and waited instead of heading out....I waited as long as I could........but he never showed......the end result was the traffic....

It was so bad that I was tempted to start drinking the wine that I had in the car......we weren't moving so how illegal could it be?

New Moon...

I knew that I would enjoy the next movie in the Twilight franchise, but they did such a great job with this one! Actually, it felt like a reunion with the characters.

Much better than the first movie - all the characters emote more and the CGI wolves are amazing!! Even when the first one skulked out of the woods, all full of growls and bared teeth, I could not resist saying “Puppy!!”

I loved the tattoo concept for the wolf pack, the Volturi were just menacing – all they had to do was sit there is stoney silence and the appearance of Carlisle’s car made me tear up just as it did in the book.

Oh, Jacob - I know that Taylor isn’t 18 yet, but HOT DAMN! The entire theatre erupted when he took off his shirt the first time. He worked hard to get that body - it is amazing....ah, to be young again....(he actually is more jacked than Edward)

I also walked out of the movie just wanting to hug Jacob – Taylor captured the pain that his character feels so well!!

And darling, darling Edward - how can you continue to look so dashing even as you break Bella's heart (and ours too?) Your tortured soul was shown so well…..

I can’t wait to see the movie again!

Parallels....

Silly, silly Universe....

I ask you for clarity.....

And you give me the extreme from both sides, so there is no clear choice.....

Leaving me exactly where I was before......

Mini Adventure....

I had a mini adventure yesterday – it was planned out, but it had the feeling of hopping in the car and just driving – the sun was shining and I did not have a strict agenda – just some things that I wanted to do.

The used book store that I have mentioned before was having an anniversary sale. I have been reading a lot of magazines lately but I want/need to switch back to books – I have a bunch waiting for me now! (including the bio of Dog the Bounty Hunter and Michael Flately - come on – for $1.50 each, I could not say no!)

The area’s nearest Sonic was there so I had my cherry limeade fix as well. Freaky thing was that as the car hop (on roller skates!) handed it to me, “Don’t Stop Believing” came on the parking lot’s speakers….yeah…that song is still stalking me.

And there was the required stop at the former Danvers Mental Asylum since I was in the area - that building just takes my breathe away. The rent to live in those apartments is ridiculous but if I had the money, I probably would move there.

Hey...Isn't That.....

I know that this is exactly what actors hate to hear/try to avoid in their careers, but it weirds me out when I have seen them for years as one character on a TV show and then they go onto another long running TV show.

And I am one of those people that will watch a TV show or movie and then try to figure out where I know the actor from....

Alan Rickman will always be the Sheriff of Nottingham even though I do enjoy him as Snape.

Jenson Ackles will be the guy from Days of Our Lives, not Alec from Dark Angel or whoever he is on Supernatural.

Danny from Without a Trace showed up on CSI Miami recently.

The redhead from Eight is Enough showed up on CSI Miami.

Jerry from Boston Legal is now a coroner on CSI Miami.

(wait a minute….the majority seems to be going to Miami…..Is it a sign that I need to go to Miami!?!?!)

And then there are the actors that you have seen in one powerful role and you can’t see them any other way.

Lawrence Fishburne will always be Morpheus and Morpheus does not belong on CSI behaving as a mild mannered CSI/college professor.

Gary Sinese is Lieutenant Dan, not the CSI NY guy.

Anothony LaPaglia will be the gun-waving lunatic from Mixed Nuts, instead of the Jack in Without a Trace.

Christian Slater will be the guy from Heathers and Pump Up the Volume, not a cop with split personalities.

And Hugo Weaving….despite his stint as Elrond in LOTR could not get away from Agent Smith…..complete with people in theatres ending his lines with “Mr. Anderson”…as in “Cast it into the fire! Destroy it!….Mr. Anderson” and “Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November…Mr. Anderson” (I swear, it was not me that did it!)

Journeying the Journey....

I give up.

I can't avoid the song.

It is stalking me.

I will embrace it.

Plus Rock of Ages and Glee have given me a new way to enjoy it.....well, that and an incident at someone's wedding last November....

Don't Stop Believin'.....

Extended Dealsmithing High....

*Gasp* I am in awe of today’s deals…..

Remember the Toys R Us gift card that I got yesterday? I spent it at Babies R Us on majorly clearanced items so I can give a plethora of onesies to my friend that just had a baby. Throw in some baby wipes that I got a great deal on and it’s a pretty decent gift!

The cashier was actually admiring my deal at the register and then his eyes bugged out of his head when I told him how I got the gift card. Tee-hee! Yeah, I don't pay full price, there’s no need to.

And then I hit Bath & Body Works - armed with a coupon and a dealsmithing mindset. Antibacterial soap - usually retails for $5, sometimes goes on sale for 3 for $10.....This week it's 4 for $10. And I had a $10 off your $30 purchase coupon.

Bought myself 12 soaps - each cost about $1.67 before tax. (OOP was about $22). They are never that cheap!! And yes, I have a use for them, I didn’t just frivolously buy that many soaps.

Twilight Timeline...

I have friends that are not Twilight fans, but they don't bash the series every chance they get....then there are the others....this post is not for the latter…

From ‘Twilight’ to Real Life: This Year in Vampire History
What was going on in the world when the vamp milestones were occurring.

c. 300 B.C.: Aro, Caius, Marcus, and their wives form the Volturi.
• Elsewhere that same year: 300 B.C. was part of the classical era — Alexander the Great of Greece spent much of the years in that time conquering other nations and spreading Greek culture East. Philosophers Aristotle and Plato spent time teaching and cultivating knowledge.
c. 1640: Carlisle Cullen born in London.
• King Charles I ruled England.
• Aug. 9: 41 Spanish delegates to Japan at Nagasaki are beheaded.
c. 1163: Carlisle changed into a vampire.
• By now, King Charles II ruled England.
• March 24: King Charles II of England issues the Charter of Carolina, establishing the Province of Carolina and dividing it between eight Lords Proprietors.
c. 1720: Carlisle finds civilized vampires in Italy.
• Jonathan Swift begins writing Gulliver’s travels.
1843: Jasper Whitlock born in Texas.
• May 22: Around 1,000 pioneers start out from Elm Grove, Mo. on in a wagon train on the Oregon trail, headed for the American Northwest.
• Dec. 19: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is first published.
• The world’s first commercial Christmas cards are printed by Sir Henry Cole in London.
• Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” released.
1895: Esme Anne Platt born in Columbus, Ohio.
• Sept. 3:The first professional American football game is played, in Latrobe, Penn., with the Latrobe YMCA team beating the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.
• Feb. 14: Oscar Wilde’s last play The Importance of Being Earnest premieres in London.
• Dec. 28: Auguste and Louis Lumière show the first moving picture film in Paris.
1901: On June 20, Edward Anthony Masen born in Chicago to Edward and Elizabeth Masen; Most likely in this year, Mary Alice Brandon born in Biloxi, Mississippi.
• The world celebrates the beginning of the 20th century.
• Jan. 28: Baseball’s American League declares itself a Major League.
• Aug. 30: Hubert Cecil Booth patents an electric vacuum cleaner.
• New Zealand inventor Ernest Godward invents the spiral hairpin, changing women’s hair forever!
• Dec. 12: Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal in Newfoundland, Canada, Morse code for the letter “S.”
1911: Carlisle helps Esme’s broken leg — she’s just 16 — and most likely moves to Chicago soon after.
• March 25: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in NYC kills 146.
• Oct: 24: Orville Wright flies for 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a glider, setting a new world record that stands for 10 years.
1915: Rosalie Lillian Hale born in Rochester, N.Y.; Emmett McCarty born in Tennessee.
• January: Typhoid Mary infects 25 people while working as a cook at a NYC hospital, and is placed in quarantine for life.
• Feb. 12: The first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place in D.C.
• May 6: Babe Ruth hits his first career home run off of Jack Warhop. Too bad he never saw vampires play baseball!
• The first stop sign appears in Detroit.
1918: Carlisle works as a physician in Chicago; The Spanish Influenza Epidemic claims the life of Edward’s parents in September. Carlisle saves Edward and he begins his life as a vampire.
• March 4: The first confirmed case of the Spanish flu appears at Camp Fuston, Kan., where a soldier becomes ill.
• March 19: The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and daylight saving time starts on March 31.
• Sept. 11: The Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago Cubs for the 1918 World Series championship, their last World Series win until 2004.
• Nov. 11: World War I ends, the armistice becomes official at 11:11.
Around 1920. Alice changed into a vampire by a worker at the mental asylum.
• Jan. 9: Thousands witness “The Human Fly” George Polley climb the New York Woolworth Building. He gets to the 30th floor and is arrested.
• Jan. 16: Prohibition begins, banning alcoholic beverages in the U.S. Doesn’t affect vampires.
• Aug. 26: The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed, giving women the right to vote.
1921: Esme’s baby dies and she tries to commit suicide. Carlisle finds her and saves her. They fall in love and are married.
• Aug. 5: Harold Arlin announces the Pirates-Phillies game from Forbes Field over Westinghouse KDKA, in Pittsburgh, in the first radio broadcast of baseball.
• Sept. 7: The first Miss America pageant begins in Atlantic City , and a day later, Margaret Gorman, 16, is crowned the winner. Somewhere, Rosalie was probably jealous at age 6.
1933: Rosalie becomes engaged to Royce King. She is beaten and abused by him and his friends and left for dead. Carlisle Cullen finds her and changes her into a vampire.
• Jan. 5: Workers begin building the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
• Feb. 10: The first singing telegram is introduced in NYC.
• March 12: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation, which is suffering through the Great Depression, in the first of his “Fireside Chats.”
• March 23: Adolf Hitler is named dictator of Germany.
• July 6: The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
1935: Emmett found by Rosalie after a bear attack. She brings him to Carlisle and he is changed into a vampire.
• Jan. 11: Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
• May 30: Babe Ruth appears in his last game, playing for the Boston Braves in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
• June 12: Louisiana’s Senator Huey Long makes the longest speech on Senate record at 15.5 hours.
• Nov. 5: Parker Brothers releases the board game Monopoly.
1936: Carlisle and family move to the area south of Forks called Hoquiam and make the treaty to stay off the Quileute land.
• March 1: Construction of Hoover Dam is completed.
• Aug. 3: African-American athlete Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics.
1950: Alice and Jasper (who found each other in 1948) find Carlisle and join his family.
• Jan. 17: During the Great Brinks Robbery, 11 thieves steal over $2 million from an armored car in Boston.
• Aug. 5: Florence Chadwick swims across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes.
• Oct. 11: The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color to CBS.
• Nov. 25: A winter storm in the northeastern U.S. brings 30-50 inches of snow and kills 323 people.
1987: On Sept. 13, Isabella Swan is born to Renee and Charlie Swan in Forks, Wash.
• Jan. 3: Aretha Franklin is the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• March 19: Televangelist Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries in North Carolina, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn.
• April 19: The Simpsons cartoon first appears on The Tracy Ullman Show.
• Aug. 31: Michael Jackson releases his third solo album, Bad.
• Oct. 14-16: Baby Jessica McClure captivates then nation after falling into a well in Midland, Texas, and is ultimately rescued.
2003: The Cullen family arrive in Forks.
• May 1: President George W. Bush lands on USS Abraham Lincoln, a U.S. aircraft carrier, and gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. A banner on display behind him declares “Mission Accomplished.”
• June 4: Martha Stewart and her broker get in trouble with the law and are accused of insider trading. Martha subsequently resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
• Dec. 13: Saddam Hussein is captured in Tikrit.
2005: On Jan. 17, Bella Swan moves to Forks. The rest is history!

http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/11/from-twilight-to-real-life-this-year-in-vampire-history/

The Deal Game...

Victory is mine! I looted, I pillaged, I plundered!!!

I got board games for 56 cents each!! YAY!!

I was the hero to a few moms - I got the guy with the big ladder because we needed one more game to complete the deal. And I pulled the "I see you in line without a rebate form, here take one" chat too.

The games were $3.99 each.
If you spent over $25 you got a $10 Toys R Us gift card – this week only.
And then all the games shown above had a $2 rebate through Hasbro.

Resulting in seven games totaling $3.93 before tax.

56 cents per game!

My receipt also proudly proclaimed “You saved $53”!

Return to Boondock....

I have been a fan for years.

The sequel definitely will not disappoint a true fan....

Think, Think, Think...

I am prowling for inspiration. Besides the fact that my life goals seem to have gone missing, I have a request from my brother. After making the "you always come up with great ideas since you look at life differently than I do” statement, he asked me to think of a few ideas to aid in his newest business venture. I am flattered and we have had discussions like this before, but now I am racking my brain trying to find a good idea for him.

I know that I should leave it alone and the idea will come to me - like the idea to spike the mulled cider with Cinnamon Schnapps a week ago. The beverage needed kick but I didn't know what to add…....I focus on doing my hair and VOILA! - the idea pops into my head.

If this idea works, I may have the solution to my geographical debate.....I could eventually become a snowbird! (for those not familiar with the term, it means that I would live in the North for the nice weather and then bail to the South when the cold weather kicks in)

Jam On It...

I couldn't not go....I happen to be home, there was some subtle encouragement that fun would be had if I showed up.....and I was set to pay off the bet that I lost.

I want to have fun.....I don't mind doing stuff for others as long as I get to have fun to balance out the adult stuff!

Mind Reading Church...

On my most recent trip to Florida, I attended a service at my friend’s church. This church seems to be able to read my mind and provide inspiration without getting into “Bible beating”. The sermons somehow always end up tying back to conversations that I have had while down there and are ridiculously relevant to what I have going on in my life. (even to the degree of using the statements that I have made) It’s freaky. I now plan my visits around being able to attend at least one service while down there.

On this most recent trip, I walked in and the program that they handed me said “Discover (Little Sunshine’s name)” – this was the day after I met her…….

And the sermon consisted of how we hand over the remote control of our emotions to others and let them control our reactions.

My knee jerk reaction the other day was to tweet that my feelings had been hurt and then go on about how I felt like I was being punished for having a life to take care of and that others were being rewarded for overstepping boundaries.

But I didn’t.

I stopped and thought of the remote control idea. It’s true, I can’t control what others do, but I can control how I let it affect me. (Plus someone’s unsolicited comment a few weeks ago kept my lashing out in check – it reminded me that I am doing the right thing.)

Have Some Rope....

It’s been said that if you give someone enough rope, they will hang themselves.

Still waiting.......

You have come SO very close several times – I have been supportive and listened and consoled, but the pattern seems to continue.....

I am done, done, done....beyond done.....

Whirl, Whirl, Whirl...

Hey look, I'm a whirling dervish! I’m an adult! GAH!!

In the space of a day, I went from chauffer to nurse to housekeeper to counselor to chef to….I forget the rest….

Wait a minute….I was a M-O-M!!!

Over the past few days, I have helped my Dad get set up so that he is ok to be home alone….. Getting stuff set up when someone is loopy on pain meds is always a fun time...

“FOCUS!!....I'm not yelling at you, you're just not listening....no, that is not the answer to what I asked...”

Spending time in a retirement community is also a nice way to remind you why some people should live in those communities and not drive.

I did manage to squeeze in some other things – like being elected the president of my Latvian women’s organization. It is one of a handful that still operates – they are still important to the culture, but not as much as they used to be (when the country was occupied by Commies). I will see what I can do to boost membership…trolling events for minions…or (as was pointed out by one of my friends) I will be looking for “vixens” – a spin off from the word for “pledge”.

One the day of my election, I went from a very formal event to a Halloween party – dressed as a fully corseted and masked dominatrix. (there are some very fun pictures from that night but they are not for public consumption) One of my favorites pictures is a candid that a friend took while we were touching up our lipstick in a mirror – focused on the task and unaware that we were being photographed.

I’m happy to be home…..even though I know that I will be off and running once I regroup…..