Get off yer high horse

People amaze me. They always want to call someone out for doing something. Yet it's ok for them to do the exact same thing. Oh but they can justify what they're doing. No, you can't it's hypocritical and makes you look like an ass. I'm just disgusted by what's going on.

Ok now that I've ranted, here's a little background info. A supposedly A-list blogger is attacking a lot of "Mommy" bloggers and people who work for pay to blog companies. He went so far as to call one person pathetic, mentally-ill and actually laugh that she has trouble making ends meet. Now this same person also writes paid reviews and has a ton of sponsors but for him it's ok? I think not. He's a jerk.

I do understand that some people don't get the pay to blog movement or don't agree with it. And that's fine. You don't have to understand it or like it. I just don't think you need to go around name calling those people who do partake in it.

Whew rant ova!

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Joke of the week

Pigs Are Mothers, Too...

After three crop failures in a row farmer Jones could not pay his loan at the bank. "Give me one more chance he pleaded. Don't take my farm, we'll be broke and homeless."

The bank manager comes up with an idea. "OK, one more chance but not with crops. No one fails at pig farming so we'll finance the purchase of five sows to start you off. Your neighbor down the road has a boar pig and you'll have to take your sows to him so the boar can service them. In a few months you should have a bunch of little piglets all ready for market.

Farmer Jones collects the five sows, loads them into his pickup truck, drives to his neighbor and unloads the five sows into the boar's pen. They then go back to the farm house and have a couple of beers.

When enough time has passed they go back to the boar's pen and load five happy sows into the pickup. Farmer Jones asks, "What if it didn't take?"

"That never happens with my boar," replies the neighbor.

"But how can I tell for sure?"

"Look, tomorrow morning observe your sows. If they're rolling in the mud, it took, if they're on the grass, call me."

The following morning farmer Jones observed his sows strolling on the grass. He calls his neighbor who instructs him to bring them back. He rounds them up, loads them into the pickup and drives to the boar's pen where the whole process is repeated.

Unlucky farmer Jones has to load them in the pickup and take them back four times. On the fifth morning he is so worried he can't look. He stalls for half an hour then asks his wife to look. "I hope they're not on the grass, dear."

"Well they're not," says his wife.

"Oh finally, then they're rolling in the mud!" exclaimed the farmer.

"No..."

"Well what are those fool sows doing?

"Well, four are trying to climb into the pickup and the fifth managed to climb into the cab and is trying to honk the horn!!!"

Last week was busy

It was actually super busy with Thanksgiving, shopping for the upcoming holidays, work, school. Whew, I'm getting tired just writing all of that. I missed the joke of the week last week because I wasn't really online as much as I usually am. I would just get on, write a quick post or two then log off.

I'll try to find a really good joke today.

Dinner and a movie with Johnny Depp

Yeah I'm supposed to have dinner and a movie but not with Johnny Depp. But we will go see Johnny Depp in his new movie. I always loved Johnny Depp since I saw him in Edward Scissorhands. He was so vulnerable that he made me fall in love.

I've always liked his movies but Pirates of the Caribbean was one of my favorites. When he looked at Kira Knightley and shook the rum bottles while saying "Welcome to the Caribbean". Classic. I just loved that line. That movie was weird but I loved it. That's my favorite movie so far.

Now I'm excited about the new movie Sweeney Todd. I can learn more about the movie when I visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site. He's hooked up with Lance Burton who is directing him in yet another movie. These two work so well together so you just know the movie will be good.

You can also visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace to find out what the movie is about. Or I can give you a brief synopsis. Sweeney goes to jail unjustly. Getting out he vows revenge and opens a deadly barber shop. Hey, guess who else is in the movie? Sasha Baron Cohen as a rival barber. That is too funny.

I can't wait to see it. It's the last time I'll get to hang out with my friend before he leaves town. So I get to hang with my favorite friend and see one of my favorite actors. Good times man.

I need new shoes

And I can't find one stinking pair that I like. I've already been to two stores and I'm going to another store either tonight after work or on Friday after work. I'm just looking for a pair of everyday flats to wear. I have a pair of pumps and a pair of shoe boots with a heel. I need flat shoes now.

If I don't find anything I like, I'll try to find a pair of shoe boots with a small heel. Who knew shopping could be annoying?

I need a vacation

Seriously. I am so depressed right now. I have a lot going on some positive and some negative. The negative is very personal though and it's hard to deal with. I've been trying to soldier forward as best as I can but it's really hard right now.

My travel agent is suggesting that I go to Key West. I'm scared to go there though. That long bridge that you have to drive over would kill me. I'm afraid of bridges and that one is so close to the water that I know I would have an anxiety attack.

She also told me about Trusted Tours and Attractions because they have a contest running right now. If you sign up for their newsletter you can win 4 tickets for a tour in one of 21 cities. I would choose San Diego. Not only could I go to the area attractions, I could hit a Chargers game. I could also skip on over to Mexico and visit for a day. Of course, I would have to make sure to pack my passport. I do not want to get stuck in Mexico without proper id.

I just wish I had more vacation time at work so I could skip out of town for a few days. I'll work something out though. I'm about to lose my mind.

Stupid music club

First they charged me for a cd that I never ordered or received. When I emailed them about it, they said I hadn't responded to my featured selection. It was over 3 months old so I had deleted that notification. They did take the charge off.

Today I went to order a cd to fulfill my commitment and they wanted me to pay for it upfront. I really don't have a problem with that because you have to pay for most things beforehand. But on this site, it's only certain cds. If you order one of the more popular cds, you have to pay upfront. Otherwise you can pay later.

It makes no sense to me. Just have 1 set of rules for every cd. I plan on just ordering a cd and cancelling. This club is more hassle than it's worth.

Finding a man where you can

Where did you find your partner? Did you find them in a bar, at the grocery store or in the free personals sites online? I have found a man at the grocery store before. So I know that's not a myth. That particular relationship didn't work out so take that advice for what it's worth.

I've been browsing around DateHookup.com to see who's out there. There are actually a lot of people from my area. I like the message board feature of the site. You can learn a lot about a person by what they post on forums. For instance, if a argument breaks out, can they walk away? Or do they hold a grudge against the person? You also get them in a group environment which is always very interesting.

So what about you? Would you find a mate online. Sometimes I don't think I can do much worse than I am right now.

Widget problems

Something is wrong with some of my widgets. You look at them and they will show what they're supposed to. Then you look again, and it shows up as a blank space. I don't know if it's my blog or if it's the widgets.

I need to look around and add some different widgets to my blog. I want a variety of widgets so people can have different stuff to look at.

My neighbors are annoying me

My neighbors used to be cool. They were quiet and respectful. Now they're super ghetto. I know we have some newer people that just moved in, but the majority of noise makers are the people that have lived here the longest.

Right now it's close to 1am est and I can hear their music and them talking really loudly. I just wanna go knock on their door and tell them to shut up!

Losing weight

Two years ago one of my friends had lapband surgery. That's different than other weight-loss surgery options because you get a small band positioned around your stomach. The gastric band is inflatable and adjustable. This is in contrast to getting cut, stapled, or having your stomach and/or intestines rerouted.

Since her stomach was smaller, she ate less and felt full faster. It helped to lose the weight on her own. The procedure was done in a day and she wasn't in a lot of pain. Like I said, it's been two years and she's kept the weight off. I would consider that over conventional stomach stapling. That just sounds painful.

When running multiple blogs sucks!

When you write a post that's supposed to go on one blog and realize that you've put it on the wrong blog. Then you have to delete one and put it on the right blog. That gets annoying. Especially when you have to figure out different topics for several blogs.

Oh well, such is the life of a blogger.

Monday football hangover

The Steelers lost yesterday to the Jets 19-16 in overtime. To make matters worse the Browns beat the Ravens. The Steelers are 7-3 and the Browns are 6-4. We have a 1 game lead because of the tie-breaker (we beat them head-to-head twice).

People are calling the Browns the Cinderella team to make the playoffs. There is the distinct possibility that they could challenge for the division. But they're the Browns, I'm sure they'll screw it up somehow.

Numastics anyone?

Most people don't even know what numismatics are. Numastics refers to coin collectors. A lot of people thinks that means the change that people throw in change jars at home but it's not. Coin collectors pay big money for the coins that they have. You can buy coins from the mint or a company like Monaco. You also want to use a professional company to make sure you get the highest-grade coins possible.

Rare coins can be expensive to collect but it can also be very fun to chase those rare coins. It also helps diversify your portfolio and hedge against inflation. Coins are a portable and liquid investment to keep around.

Ok I'm seriously hungry right now

I'm watching Sunday Night Football, the Patriots vs. the Bills. I don't care about the game at all. I just have it on for noise more than anything. Anyway, whatever city they go to, they show what food they're serving the announcers and/or crowd just before halftime. They're in Buffalo so of course the dish is buffalo wings.

Oh man they looked soooo good. They deep fry them then coat them with the buffalo sauce. Yummo! I am getting so hungry right now. I guess I'll have some tortilla chips since I don't have any buffalo wings.

Find a date online and get lucky?

That was seriously a article on the internet talking about this. It said that one-third of woman that meet their date online, have sex on the first date. One of the reasons is because they say they feel like they "know" their date because they take so much time to get to know them online.

What do you think? Would you try one of the online Dating Sites? I know several people who have successful relationships that started online. I know one person that had a really horrible one but I think it's really the luck of the draw. If you go to the link above, you can compare the many dating sites that are out there.

They compare things like whether you're looking for a serious relationship or just to date, does the site charge or not, does the site target a particular type of single - like Christian sites or minority sites. Or you can review a particular site. There are sites like Match.com and Lavalife.com and quite a few others. So if you're not sure what you're looking for, read the review of each site to determine if it's right for you.

Who knows maybe you can find true love. Or at least get lucky.

Start another blog?

I don't know if I want to or not. It would be a travel themed blog. I already have 1 here on blogger but I would move it to it's own domain. It would only be updated 2x a month just like the one I have. I'm just contemplating moving off of blogger totally.

I need to take some time to think about this.

Joke of the week

You Can't Handle The Truth!

The following quotations are taken from official court records across the nation, showing how funny and embarrassing it is for recorders to operate at all times in courts of law.

* Lawyer: "Was that the same nose you broke as a child?"
* Witness: "I only have one, you know."

* Lawyer: "Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?"
* Witness: "By death."
* Lawyer: "And by whose death was it terminated?"

* Accused, Defending His Own Case: "Did you get a good look at my face when I took your purse?"
The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in jail.

* Lawyer: "What is your date of birth?"
* Witness: "July 15th."
* Lawyer: "What year?"
* Witness: "Every year."

* Lawyer: "Can you tell us what was stolen from your house?"
* Witness: "There was a rifle that belonged to my father that was stolen from the hall closet."
* Lawyer: "Can you identify the rifle?"
* Witness: "Yes. There was something written on the side of it." * Lawyer: "And what did the writing say?"
* Witness: "'Winchester'!"

* Lawyer: "What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?"
* Witness: "Gucci sweats and Reeboks."

* Lawyer: "Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?"
* Witness: "No. He was wearing a mask."
* Lawyer: "What was he wearing under the mask?"
* Witness: "Er...his face."

* Lawyer: "This myasthenia gravis -- does it affect your memory at all?"
* Witness: "Yes."
* Lawyer: "And in what ways does it affect your memory?"
* Witness: "I forget."
* Lawyer: "You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?"

* Lawyer: "How old is your son, the one living with you?"
* Witness: "Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which."
* Lawyer: "How long has he lived with you?"
* Witness: "Forty-five years."

* Lawyer: "What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?"
* Witness: "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'"
* Lawyer: "And why did that upset you?"
* Witness: "My name is Susan."

* Lawyer: "Sir, what is your IQ?"
* Witness: "Well, I can see pretty well, I think."

* Lawyer: "Did you blow your horn or anything?"
* Witness: "After the accident?"
* Lawyer: "Before the accident."
* Witness: "Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it."

* Lawyer: "Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?"
* Witness: "Yes."
* Lawyer: "Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?"
* Witness: "Yes, sir."
* Lawyer: "What did she say?"
* Witness: "'What disco am I at?'"

* Lawyer: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
* Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
* Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
* Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

* Lawyer: "How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?"

* Lawyer: "And you check your radar unit frequently?"
* Officer: "Yes, I do."
* Lawyer: "And was your radar unit functioning correctly at the time you had the plaintiff on radar?"
* Officer: "Yes, it was malfunctioning correctly."

* Lawyer: "What happened then?"
* Witness: "He told me, he says, 'I have to kill you because you can identify me.'"
* Lawyer: "Did he kill you?"
* Witness: "No."

* Lawyer: "Now sir, I'm sure you are an intelligent and honest man--"
* Witness: "Thank you. If I weren't under oath, I'd return the compliment."

* Lawyer: "You were there until the time you left, is that true?"

* Lawyer: "So you were gone until you returned?"

* Lawyer: "The youngest son, the 20 year old, how old is he?"

* Lawyer: "Were you alone or by yourself?"

* Lawyer: "How long have you been a French Canadian?"

* Witness: "He was about medium height and had a beard."
* Lawyer: "Was this a male or a female?"
* Lawyer: "Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?"
* Witness: "I went to Europe, sir."
* Lawyer: "And you took your new wife?"
* Lawyer: "I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture."
* Witness: "That's me."
* Lawyer: "Were you present when that picture was taken?"

* Lawyer: "Were you present in court this morning when you were sworn in?"

Getting my travel plans ready

For the holiday season that is. I don't want to wait until the last minute to make plans because I don't want all of the seats to get taken. I would usually try to wait until the last minute to get a cheaper airfare but because it's the holidays, I think it would be in my best interest to get the ticket early.

I don't want to get stuck with a crappy flight time either.

It's the holiday season and I need a drink already

Does your family drive you crazy? Mine does. It helps that I live 300 miles away from my nearest relatives but they can easily find ways to get under my skin. I told my mom that I was coming home for either Thanksgiving or Christmas but not both. The reason is that I can't get the days off. I don't have seniority at this job so I can only get 1 day off instead of 2.

She's mad because she wants to go shopping so she can cook her big meals. She cooks like she has a army platoon coming instead of 4-5 people. She already has her Eclectrics® Mixer out so she can make her meals. As long as she makes her sweet potato pie I don't care what else she makes. Her pies are soo good. She uses her Hamilton Beach® Mixer to mash up the sweet potatoes. She probably makes 3 or 4 pies. I get one, my step-dad gets one and everybody else shares whatever is left. Yeah me and my step-dad get our own pie. lolol. We're greedy like that. No seriously, I get a pie so I can bring it home.

I think my mom wants a new Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer as her Christmas gift. She uses her mixer so much that it's starting to clunk out. And I know she hates trying to mix all of that stuff by hand. Just in case you're wondering about her pie recipe, I've included it below. Be sure to have vanilla ice-cream to top it off. Talk about heavenly!

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup light whipping cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine potatoes and margarine. Stir eggs, sugar, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon juice and cream into potato mixture. Beat until smooth; pour into pie shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

Grieving Vikings player to get check

Todd Williamson of the Minnesota Vikings took off extra time to attend the funeral of his maternal grandmother. In doing so, he got docked his game check by head coach Brad Childress.

After meeting with veteran team members, coach Childress had a change of heart saying: "I think the important thing is everybody grieves differently," Childress said. "That's the thing that I learned, or we learned, in this. In the end, it's not important to be right, but to get it right."

Todd has said that he will donate the entire check to charity in honor of his grandmother. He also thanked everyone for their support during his trying time. I'm glad he was able to grieve and move on. I'm also glad the coach did the right thing.

Joke of the week

You vs. Your Boss...

When you take a long time, you're slow.
When your boss takes a long time, he's thorough.

When you don't do it, you're lazy.
When your boss doesn't do it, he's too busy.

When you make a mistake, you're an idiot.
When your boss makes a mistake, he's only human.

When doing something without being told, you're overstepping your authority.
When your boss does the same thing, that's initiative.

When you take a stand, you're being bull-headed.
When your boss does it, he's being firm.

When you overlooked a rule of etiquette, you're being rude.
When your boss skips a few rules, he's being original.

When you please your boss, you're apple polishing.
When your boss pleases his boss, he's being co-operative.

When you're out of the office, you're wandering around.
When your boss is out of the office, he's on business.

When you're on a day off sick, you're always sick.
When your boss is a day off sick, he must be very ill.

When you apply for leave, you must be going for an interview.
When your boss applies for leave, it's because he's overworked.

I hate putting pictures in posts

I hate adding my own pictures to my posts. If I can get a picture from somewhere on the internet that's cool. But when I have to take my own picture and post it, it's a pain. My digital camera doesn't work right so I have to use my camera on my phone. Then I have to dig out the cord to transfer files and it just becomes a mess.

I wish people would supply the pictures instead of making us take them. Some people like pictures. I'm not one of them.

Visiting NYC with the New York CityPass

My friend went to New York this summer and she had a ball. I plan on going over the Christmas holidays while I'm home visiting my family. It's not even far from my mom, it's less than a 2 hour drive.

There is so much to do in New York as well. There are plays to go to and shopping to get done. I can even visit talk shows and be a part of the audience watching them tape live. I can buy a New York CityPass for $65 and save 50% on admission prices. It also lets me skip to the front of the line. Now that's what I'm talking about, preferential treatment.

As far as the activities that it includes there is a Circle Line Sightseeing Tour, and tickets to several museums including the Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. We can also take a trip to the top of the Empire State Building.

Me and my mom try to do something different every year for the holidays. We're both pretty excited about going to New York. It's awesome there at holiday time. Especially with the tree and ice-skating in Rockefeller Center. I just hope it doesn't snow. I don't care as much about the cold, in fact I welcome it. I have a lot of cute winter clothes to wear.

Steelers on Monday Night Football

Oh man I wish I could have gone to this game. The Steelers honored their 75th all Steelers team. There were some great players there. People like Bradshaw, Stallworth, Swann, Harris, Bleier, Woodson and so many others. I was really surprised to see Greg Lloyd.

But the game? Holy heck, it's the start of the 4th quarter and the Steelers are crushing the Ravens 38-7. Ben got temporarily knocked out of the game. He's back up and throwing but he probably won't come back into the game.

And James Harrison!!!!!!!!! Deebo is killing it today. He already has 3.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and 9 tackles. And it's the start of the 4th quarter. I know he's gonna be the player of the game.

They're really showing the all time team something. You gotta impress the all time greats!

Biotene - A Review

I tried Biotene toothpaste for tooth sensitivity. My teeth are very sensitive. I don't even chew food normally. I chew it on the sides of my very back teeth. Anything too hot or too cold really bothers me. I didn't know what to expect from Biotene but I was pleasantly surprised.

I guess I should say that this was a free sample which is why I tried it. I probably wouldn't have thought to buy it on my own. I tried a different toothpaste that's supposed to be "sensitive" and I didn't like it at all. It was really thick and it didn't feel like my teeth were clean.

The first thing I noticed when I tried the Biotene was the taste. I usually use minty toothpastes so this was definitely something different. It tastes like candy. It's also a low foaming sensitive toothpaste. I don't like that very much because I love when my mouth is all foamed up, I know the toothpaste is working. It felt really mild on my teeth and once I was done brushing my teeth felt really clean. My teeth felt really smooth which I liked.

All in all, I really like Biotene and will continue to use it. Now I hope I can find a coupon for it. It's really hard to pay for a product after you get a free sample!

Blog maintenance

Today is blog maintenance day. I need to go in and clean up old links. I have tracking images that need to be removed because they are over 60 days old. I also have pictures that aren't showing up correctly so they are being removed.

I'm pretty bummed about that because one picture was of the Phillies in suits and boy did they look good. Maybe I'll have to troll around and find that picture again.

Registration is starting

I've been trying to register for school for the past 2 weeks. I should have gone to capella university instead of my school. It's a online school so I would have had an easier time registering for new classes. I also would be able to take the classes I really wanted to take.

It's an accredited university so my degree would mean something and it wouldn't just be a piece of paper. I could also get my Masters degree online. That would save me so much time and be super convenient.

It's not too late for me to make that move.

Torre to L.A.

Well it's official. Joe Torre is the new coach of the L.A. Dodgers. Don Mattingly is also expected to follow him as the new bench coach. An interesting aside, Mattingly's son is in the Dodgers minor league farm system.

I'm not looking to see Alyssa Milano's face all over. I like her and all, but she's the Dodger spokesperson. Yeah, I don't know why either.

Joke of the week

A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to
preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my
sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17."

The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon,
the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know
how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister
smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will
now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."

I don't like fall

It's already getting cold outside. It's in the low 50's. It might snow next week. Just flurries but still are you kidding me? I can't take this already. I want it to be in the 70's year round. Yeah I know I live in the wrong city. Hopefully, I'll be able to remedy that in the next 18 months.

Moving to a warm weather location

First let me say that I hate winter. I've always hated winter. I hate the cold and especially the snow. I've considered moving to Florida for 2 or 3 years now. As I get closer to fulfilling my commitments in the city I live in now, it's becoming more of a reality to move.

I don't want to buy a house because that's too much work. I would consider buying a W South Beach Condo. First of all, it's right in the middle of South Beach, which is the hottest part of Miami. It's close to shopping, the airports and marinas. The property is set up as one of the most exclusive condominium developments in South Beach. There are on-site spas, business centers and best of all, a private beach and private cabanas. That should be expected in Miami right?

I just need to make it through at least 1 more winter.