More CHA Photos Soon - I Promise!

Sorry - tonight was Idol and Millionaire Matchmaker...so I will post some more CHA pics soon. I just ran out of time tonight.

And, we are filming tomorrow morning. Which reminds me - it's time for bed!

Good Night Moon...

Blah blogging

I feel uninspired...right now atleast. Maybe I am saving up for the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show in CA. We leave next Thursday and I am excited to see/meet my crafting heros (Heidi Swapp, Donna Downey, Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth...too many more to name. We will be looking for cool product and I hear that Tattered Angels has some super cool stuff.

And, I just have to say:

1) I am so tired of seeing ads for "The Lovely Bones." I read it. I didn't like it. It was a depressing story about a little girl's murder. It is morbid and way over-advertised.

2) Loving "Idol", but how come so many people are missing their shoes after their audition? They are literally running the streets in bare feet. To me, that's just gross. Tonight, Mary J. cracked me up. I could never tell if she like the audition or not. Funny.

Happy Belated Memorial Day

Hope you all had a really great Memorial Day. Ours was family-filled. And cherry filled...

I've been super busy with my new gig - which I still love. Hard to believe it's been 1 month today!

Hope you are having a great week!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

I admit, I was bad...

Ok - so the picture taking that was supposed to happen this weekend turned into a retail therapy outing instead. But, the forecast for this upcoming weekend is supposed to be fabulous - in the 80's. That's one thing about Illinois - raining and snowing on Monday, summer-like weather on Saturday.
Had a busy day yesterday - did some spring cleaning (INCLUDING CEILING FANS - they needed it!), ran 4 miles at the gym, visited my husband's grandma in the hospital, and attended Greek Easter. Whew!
Good news, "Castle" is on tonight - so I will get my weekly dose of Nathan Fillion.
Hope you're having a great start to your week!

Today, I Feel Fortunate...

Yep, it's Monday. And, I have to admit, Monday's are growing on me. Much attributed to one of my newest favorite shows - "Castle" -

And, I have a really cool possibility/opportunity going on. I feel very fortunate. I'll share later.
Cheers to my first official follower - Megan! Yipee! And, to those of you who have been "lurking" as they call it in the blog world - don't be afraid! Follow me! I'd love to hear from you! I promise I won't bite!
Another "new" favorite show

Well, not totally new - but new to me. We rented the first season through netflix and we're loving it. I can't believe they make a whole season out of one day! That's crazy. And even crazier is the fact that Jack Bauer doesn't lose his voice with all that yelling. When did Keifer Sutherland become so dramatic?
Can't wait for Idol tomorrow. I don't know what the theme is, but I'm sure Adam Lambert is going to be, in the words of Randy Jackson, "molten hot lava baby!" He rocked it last week - even though he was a little more subdued - which I really enjoyed - he has many facets.
Crafty post coming up. Just finishing a couple of things!

Need a pick-me up?

Economy and state of the world got you down? Try reading this news story and watching this:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JobClub/story?id=7154760&page=1

And, if all else fails, I was at Wal-Mart last night and jeans with zippers at the ankles are back!

Can't wait to buy a pair of those! What a terrible idea!

Is Your Couch Meowing?

This press release was put out by the AP...

Sofa surprise: Cat found inside $27 used couch
Homecoming for kitty who was accidentally donated along with furniture

SPOKANE, Washington - The mysterious mewing in Vickie Mendenhall's home started about the time she bought a used couch for $27.
After days of searching for the source of the noise, she found a very hungry calico cat living in her sofa.
The Spokesman-Review reported that her boyfriend, Chris Lund, was watching TV on Tuesday night and felt something move inside the couch. He pulled it away from the wall, lifted it up and found the cat, which apparently had crawled through a small hole on the underside.
Mendenhall contacted the store where she bought the couch, but it had no information on who donated it. So she took the cat to the animal shelter where she works, so it could recover, and contacted media outlets in hopes of finding the owner.
Sure enough, Bob Killion of Spokane showed up to claim the cat on Thursday after an acquaintance alerted him to a TV story about it.
Killion had donated a couch on Feb. 19, and his 9-year-old cat, Callie, disappeared at about the same time.

Off The Grid

I've been off the grid...We had a very busy SuperBowl weekend with about 12-15 guests. It was fun, but a lot of work.
More later!

Sunrise, Sunset

This was yesterday's sunrise. The high yesterday was about 30 degrees. Today, we'll be lucky to make a high of 10 - I will NOT be taking any outdoor photos today.

Last Night's Idol

Pretty good dawg - but I have 2 comments:

1. Simon, you are going to let Bikini Girl pass with flying colors but debate on the guy who may/may not be too "theatrical" sounding? He's in the cast of "Wicked" for gosh sakes!

2. Out of all those people, only 12 go to Hollywood? Oh my. That must have been a long day...

Tuesday Recap...so far.

Today, I watched a historic event on television. Barack Obama was sworn in as the new President of The United States. It is monumental for our country. A symbol of great strides in equality. And, I have no expectations for him as a leader. Change. That's what I think this country is getting. Good or bad, we'll have to wait and see, I think. CNN said today that the average American is giving him 2 years to make something happen. I think he will fall victim to criticism far before that time. Good luck, Mr. O. You'll need it.

Love this pic from Vanity Fair - as Lincoln and Kennedy (I think!) supervise his work. Your days of taking it easy with your feet up on the desk are over, my friend. Time to try and clean up this mess of a country.

Onto more important things (JUST KIDDING!) - The Bachelor was on last night. My first comment is: Really. How many 2 hour episodes can we watch before we want to toss the tv out the window? Especially when it is getting pretty painful with all the claws coming out. Natalie deserved to go. Her reaction to dismissal was so reflective of what married life would be like with her - throw a tantrum, why don't you?! "Whatever!" (Those are her words, not mine.)
Okay, I think the charity thing was really cool. But, I would never feel comfortable making a "bust" of myself with some guy I barely know (no pun intended!) and ON TELEVISION FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY TO SEE! Let's get real. It's basically being naked.
Shannon got the sympathy rose - I think she's definitely next to go with all these dramatic crying bouts. The poor girl is an emotional mess.
As I've stated before, Jason is about a 7 on my scale (and the way he's checking out all the chests on these girls is not helping my opinion of him. But, I guess if they put them out there - AHEM!, then what's a guy to do?). But, I'm feeling sorry for this poor guy with all the drama going on.

Jason, let me help. I will spare you about 3 weeks of painful 2 hour episodes and pick you a winner:

Jillian. Although Melissa (the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader) is some stiff competition. I'm glad Erica is gone - now kick Megan to the curb and lose that DRAMA!
And really, how could you really have a conversation with someone and a moment where you "feel a connection" like this?

No wonder the show hasn't had much success.

Have a great inaugural Tuesday!

Moody Monday Morning

I'm labeling this post "moody Monday morning," because this is a pet peeve of mine. Ok peeps, let's review:
This, is a red light.

It means "STOP!" It means that there's probably going to be someone else coming through the intersection at anytime. It does NOT mean, "I know you've been on the road for a half hour and hit the last four red lights, so it's okay to blow this one," or "You, in the fancy-schmanzy million-dollar car, are excluded from all road rules and signals, including this red light. Go on through." I know, it's difficult to talk on your cell phone, adjust the DVD player for the kids in the back and balance the mug of steaming hot coffee from the McDonald's drive-thru all at once, but for gosh sakes, you ARE driving. Pay attention! Gunning it through an intersection could possibly KILL someone!

Maybe it's the complete lack of courtesy this shows for other drivers on the road. And, I understand that everyone, now and then, thinks they can make it through before the light changes from yellow to red. This is understandable - I am guilty of this. But, there are drivers who dart in and out of traffic and manuever like they've got their head up you-know-where and then proceed to fly through a red intersection. What is their deal?!?!?!?!

I'm so annoyed. Hope you are having a better start to your week than I am.

My Word for 2009

This is my word for 2009:

What inspired this is the Tip Junkie Blog. The other day, when I was at the gym, I saw one of those commercials about the children in Africa that are dealing with the AIDS epidemic. In the commerical, they told a story of a little boy, only 12 years old, who had just lost his mother and father to AIDS and was left to take care of four younger brothers. It showed two of the youngest brothers stooped next to the very small food bowls taking turns getting bites of food. While the 12 year old brother went without food so that the others could eat. The tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought of a mother and father he'd just lost. At 12 years old, he was now the head of the house.
I literally fought back the tears while I was ON THE TREADMILL. There are many, many times I take the things I have in life for granted. There are many people in this country that have lost a job or a house because of financial hardship. I have never been hungry because there was no food to eat or cold because I didn't have a nice warm bed to sleep in. My husband and I both have well-paying jobs and drive cars that are new enough to never need fixing. I am so very fortunate and I hope that I am constantly reminded of this throughout 2009.
Wishing you a blessed and fortunate 2009.

It's Your Birthday! We're gonna party like it's your Birthday...

Yesterday was my 31st birthday - My parents treated us to dinner.  Here is a picture of my husband and I.  It's a little blurry - we're still getting used to the new NIKON D60 - which rocks, by the way.

Happy first day of summer - i mean NOVEMBER!

ok - so I know i was just complaining about it snowing the other day, but we've had 3 straight days of 70 degree weather in Illinois and it's NOVEMBER!  That's what's so funny about Chicago weather - it's either sweltering or it's 20 below zero - nothing happy in the middle.  Temps in the 70's does not make me want to fix a turkey or whip up a pumpkin pie.  It makes me wonder, "Which way is the pool?"

Anywho - it's election day.  Did you get out and vote?  I was actually going to go this morning and try to beat the crowds at 6 am - but the bed wouldn't let me go, I swear.  So, I went after work.  It really is a toss up - Obama?  McCain?  All is know is that whoever gets in there has four years to show us their stuff.  If they can't make good things happen, they're out.  Period.  I have to admit that I believe John McCain to be in ill health and the thought of that taking puppet Palin running the country makes me shiver.  But, I don't know if Obama is too big of a change for this country...I guess we'll see.