Brand loyalty?

Did you really think I wouldn't notice? Come on...don't even start with me!! Hello, I know you too well! As much as we are together all day long, you have to know I would catch on to your scandalous scheme. I am with you several times a day and with all that handling, trust me...I know you. I know when you are *different* and I do not appreciate your sly moves. I feel cheated!

Dear Quilted Northern,

I have used your bathroom tissue, the 12 pack of double rolls, for the past 10 years. I do not buy any other brands. Ever. Quilted Northern double rolls are exactly what I look for in TP. Absorbent in all the right ways, sturdy yet gentle, never leaves lint and I know exactly how many squares I need for every job that arises. Yes, I have OCD much.

My complaint is that without warning, you have decided to cheat each roll by 1/2" and did not bother to lower the price! How dare you charge the full price and not trade a full sized roll?!? Here, let me demonstrate. I had a roll left from the last pack I purchased. You'll notice the old roll on the left. Exhibit A:

Compare this to the roll on the right purchased last week. Now, I will include a ruler in the shot just to show the actual 1/2" difference. Exhibit B:

Shame on you! I've noticed a trend with companies starting to make smaller packages for the same prices. Candy, toilet paper, what's next? So much for brand loyalty. The brands we are loyal to are NOT loyal to us these days.

Yeah...I noticed. If I were still in school, I would get myself one of those cardboard displays and make a great showcase with percentages and shortages, instead I will blog about your sly dirty secret that is now out of the bag!

Dinner for 1 at the car wash

Friday night after work I decided to go by the car wash and give my car a good once over. It's been a long, long time since I've washed or vacuumed it and frankly, it was filthy inside and out! I love using those clean up wipes for all the interior surfaces and knobs and dials. It's crazy how fast a car gets dirty!

Now I don't know about you but I can sometimes be surprised what ends up in the floorboard of the back seat. Partial drinks migrate back there along with junk mail and papers of all sorts. I've even found gloves buried under there, if that gives you some indication as to how long in between cleaning it all out I get around to.

So the first thing to do is clear out all the trash in preparation for the industrial vacuum which will suck in anything that will fit through it's nozzle in a 2 foot radius. That's $.75 and 2 minutes well spent!

Suddenly I'm aware of a man at the trashcan near my car. And he's rooting around in there. You know, not just walk up and toss...but pulling things out! Ok, searching for 'treasures' of some sort like usable clothing that has been tossed, I get that. These are hard times we're having! No, no...he proceeded to pull out a partially empty Gaterade bottle and opened that puppy up and took a big ol' drink off it like it was fresh from the store! Who the heck knows who had their lips on it before him or even how old it was!!

Now, you might think that was pretty gross but I have to be honest with you when I say, this was NOT the first time I've seen this happen-at this car wash even. I had been there another time and a man was 'dumpster diving' and drank a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink! Now *THAT* is sick!! Bleh, seriously, I may have just thrown up a little in my mouth at the memory of seeing it.

Dear Lord,

Please let this have been the same man. Surely there aren't 2 people doing this in the world?!

I pretty much figured no one would believe me so I grabbed for my camera. By the time I got it out, he had moved on to the next couple of trashcans where he scored a motherload of various breads. As you can see here, he is lining them up on top of the trash can (of course) and bagging them up to enjoy later.

He then walks off enjoying what appears to be a *scrumptious* bagel, carrying his prized bag of loot. Dinner for 1, car wash style!

Curiosity can lead you into charted territories

Sometimes when I'm sitting at my desk at work, I get the distinct feeling my desk and the floor are vibrating. Kinda like an earthquake's after shock. Now for the most part, I get that these things happen on minute scales from time to time. Also, sometimes there are crews blasting in the vicinity of our office location due to the construction of the new casino, like we need another one of those here in St. Louis. But I digress.

So my curiosity got the better of me today and I decided to try and find a real time seismograph. Of course, I couldn't find one but I did find the SLU website showing screenshots for recent seismograph readings. Can anyone reading this blog help me interpret this reading from 8-3-09?

Seriously, that's freaky! What do the various colors mean? Other readings listed from around Missouri, Southern Illinois, Tennesee and the like, show similar activity at the same time. I'm sure this is more common that we are told but still. Freaky!

Count me in...

I've been thinking about alot of random things lately. One particular thought that lingers is how lazy we are these days with all our modern inventions. I remember hearing my grandma talk about making soap. Yeah, making it into bars to wash their clothes and persons. What???

We are so lazy now, we not only have liquid soap with a pump dispenser on top, oh no! We now have pumps that give off foaming soap suds! Are we really so lazy it's too much effort for us to rub our hands together to lather up the soap, we need a pump to dispense it out that way? What's next? A diet pill for cats?

Eh, why not? Besides, with Bath and Body works, the foam dispensers come in such wonderful flavors! LOL My fave for the kitchen is Coconut Lime Verbena, just in case anyone wants to pick one up for me as a gift sometime. Or Dancing Waters is great for my bathroom! :) (Pssst, they are on sale right now, too!)

'Deuce' bag

Today I saw a man walking his two small dogs through the neighborhood. The first thing I looked for was, well to be honest...I looked to see if the man had a poo disposal bag on hand. You'd be surprised at how many people come unprepared but this guy was packin'. Great!

What I saw next baffled me a bit.

Perhaps he was contemplating some term life quotes he received earlier in the day and just wasn't paying attention but after one of his dogs copped a squat, the man just walked on! Clean bag in hand. The poo was just left there on the neighbor's lawn! What's the point of a 'deuce' bag if you don't use it!? The City of St. Louis has provisions for feces removal according to section 10.04.310 of ordinance number 66384, for just such an occasion. Obviously he knew this because he brought the bag along, right?

Perhaps he carries the empty bag as a criticism deterrent. He cares *just enough* to keep the watchful eyes at bay. You know, if a neighbor happens along, he can put it to use. If not, the poo is as good as fertilizer and the unused plastic bag lives on for another day. Win, win, win.

Time for a new career?

In these harsh economic times, a growing number of people are considering going back to school to learn a new trade. I have considered this option. I have always been interested in forensic science and crime scene investigation. I also have a love of photography so I'm thinking......perhaps a mix of the two?

I really enjoy tv shows such as The First 48, Crime 360 or Forensic Files. I feel like I've learned alot from watching real shows like these over the years but of course there's always more I could learn. We have a client at my work who is a forensic anthropologist and she was telling me about a class that St. Louis University has that I am considering. You don't have to be employed in the field to take the class, which is nice. Not 100% sure I can afford the class, it's $850 but I can make payments on it until it's paid for.

The class is called 'Medicolegal Death Investigators Training Course'. It's a 1 week course offered only 3 times a year that covers 29 topics of study ranging from 'Are you sure it's a natural death?' to 'Identification techniques' to 'SIDS' and more! I am really considering taking this class...I mean, it's not like I'm capable of creating a new wonder acne treatment that will make millions! I certainly don't like hearing my boss say it's time to close the office because he's out of money...again! I need a little better stability and there will always be crime! How about you, considering education for a new career?

It takes a village...and a policeman and a hair dresser and a mail man...

I know raising kids in the big city can be hard. Especially when you are the kind that thrives best in a more rural setting. Sometimes, you could use a little help when you find yourself in a pinch. It's ok! That's what we are all here for, to help each other!

Take this momma for instance. This morning she was out for a walk with the kids when tragedy struck. Somehow some of her little ones found themselves down in a drain pipe unable to get out! Help! Help!

As you can see, the community was very willing to help out. A policeman, a mail man, a hair dresser and many others, all chipped in to help momma duck rescue her babies and get them on the road to safety. Of course, momma duck doesn't always understand that we are doing our best to help them, not hurt them. Communication is everything in situations like these!

Just calm down, momma duck. We're doing our best here! Here's 2 more....aww...one can't be saved. Sorry momma duck, they did everything they could!

Soon they were on a guided path to safety. So mom's out there, when you find yourself in a pinch, don't hesitate to ask for help. Someone, even a perfect stranger as in this case, is more than willing to help out in any way they can.

***************************************

This incident happened around 10 am 4-29-09 in Lemay, Missouri.

Susan Boyle's got it going on!

Surely by now you've heard this performance on Britain's Got Talent last week. Susan Boyle sang so beautifully, I'll bet Simon felt under dressed! It was like all of a sudden being at a fine operatic performance and perhaps he should have been wearing a tuxedo instead of a t-shirt.

None the less, Susan gave a wonderful performance and I really hope this isn't the last we've seen/heard from her. I read one blog that talked about her age and love of cats and the fact that she was still single gave women hope that would otherwise be thinking 'it's too late for me'. Maybe there's something to that, but doesn't she wish she would have tried before now to get discovered? She wasted alot of time and maybe she did try and nothing ever worked out. It's great that she continued to put herself out there. Maybe Simon can give her a kiss and that would kill 2 birds with 1 stone! Just joking...she hasn't waited this long to throw it away on someone like Simon Cowell! LOL

Let this be a lesson to everyone about jumping the gun and judging the book by it's cover, shall we? You never know the beauty inside of a person just waiting for an opportunity to burst out!

The Hole in the Wall game show

Have you seen this game show on Fox called 'Hole in the Wall'? It's a great concept for a game show. It's originally a Japanese game that became wildly popular around the world.

There's 2 teams of 3 players and points are given for clearing through the walls that are moving towards the players. The walls are made of thick foam cut out into different shaped openings and the players have to contort themselves in order to clear them. You also have to land in the 'play area' or else it's a 'not clear' and there are no points. Also, *just* behind the play area, is a pool of water and if any part of you ends up in the water, that's also a 'no clear' too.

The melodramatic host and over glamorized female assistant with 80's hair and scantily clad clothes are a bit over the top. But it's understandable considering there's really no 'content' to the show, there's alot of empty time to be filled considering each wall encounter takes about 15 seconds...and that includes the replay. LOL

But it's so fun to watch them try to clear the walls! When they do, your jaw drops down and you can't believe it! Some of the wall combinations are IMPOSSIBLE to clear. Literally. And then, the winning team gets a chance at the blind wall as the sort of 'bonus round' for extra winnings. They pick 1 teammate to be blindfolded and the other 2 have to give directions to how they should position their arms and legs and everything else in order to clear the wall, which rarely happens successfully. But I just finished watching the newest episode and these 3 girls just took home $125,000 for winning the game for $25,000 and they actually successfully cleared the blind wall for an extra $100,000!!! You can watch full episodes of Hole in the Wall on the website. Too funny! It's very entertaining.

It's time, to face the hole!!!

Um, ew?

How are you supposed to know if you are sick or not if your tissues are colored green already?

I just opened a new box of Kleenex and to my surprise, the tissues are not white, they are green! It's just strange is all. I wasn't really expecting to see that. I guess atleast this way, I will be all set for St. Patrick's Day, you know if I need to blow my nose that day or a leprechaun happens by and piddles on the floor. LOL

I'm just glad I'm not in jail, again.

You've got to hear what happened today...

Picture this, I'm sitting in my office at work. It's around noon, I was looking at some papers on my desk and out falls my speeding ticket that I got back in November. Remember?

Here it comes..............are you ready, are you sitting down?.................I was supposed to be in court this morning at 8 am for the ticket!!! I forgot all about it.

Do you know what happens when you don't show up for court??? A warrant is issued for your arrest! OMG! I called the court phone number provided on the ticket. The lady told me
I would have to come down before the close of today's business and pay everything plus an extra $35 to cancel the warrant! If not, everything from today would be keyed in and the warrant would be issued! So I went to the ATM of MOM and got $160 and went straight there.

Once I was there, I found out that they would take $10 as cancellation fee for the warrant and hold $150 as bond that I would appear on a new court date. Wheewwww! So the court date she gave me? April 15th. I'm not kidding!!!! I was like, NOOOOO!!! After I explained that was the ONLY day I couldn't be in court on, she said, Well, when? I said any day before or any day
after, just not that 1 day. So she gave me May 5th.

*I MUST MAKE THIS APPEARANCE.*

I don't want to go back to jail, besides, this would actually be on my record! How do I get
myself into these pickles? I am a mess, truly a mess. I guess you never grow out of the need to have your parents bail ya out from time to time, literally! I was told to keep my receipt with me for atleast the first 24 hours, just in case.

The smile of the Mona Lisa

When I was a child, some friends of ours from church told me I had the smile of the Mona Lisa. Being 10 yrs old, I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or what, so I pondered the thought and kept it in the back of my mind. Today I received a card in the mail from one of our other family friends who found a Mona Lisa card while on vacation and just had to send it to me...from on the road in Virginia on their way to Washington, DC. It's nice to be thought of but this friend insists I actually look like the Mona Lisa, not just have her smile. I agree with the smile part but I am not too sure about the rest. I have noticed that with my pudgy round face, I do tend to favor the forms and faces of renaissance artists such as Di Vinci and Michaelangelo and especially Jusepe Ribera's The Flea:

I would *really-really* love to get a print of this. It was my favorite piece in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. I also picked up a print of a painting called Woman with a candle by Godfried Schalken. I found it in a stationary store on the streets of Florence for like 3 EUR. I still need to get a frame for it. I think we favor each other, too.

Anyway, I may not be "beautiful" by today's standards, but my "classic beauty" would have fit right in a few hundred years ago! Here's a shot of me on a train station platform in Swindon, Wiltshire, England in September 2007.

What are the odds?

Sometimes you are fortunate enough to find money on the street or a parking lot or the pocket of an old jacket. Woo hoo! Usually it's not high dollars...a penny or a nickel, maybe. If you are *really* lucky, maybe a quarter. Or if you are **really-really** lucky, like a friend of mine a few years back, you will find a flying $100 bill on your way home from work. But I digress.

So, what are the odds of finding a dime? I almost NEVER see one of those. Ok, better yet, what are the odds of finding 2 separate dimes within 24 hours? It happened to me this week. Is someone trying to tell me something? The first one was at the gas station and the second one was the following day on the back parking lot of my apartment building. Odd, huh?

Name that pill

Seriously.

I don't take pills very often. Today I was having some issues with my carpal tunnel and decided to take an ibuprofen. I go into my purse and grab my bottle of Aleve...that's right, I keep all my pills in one bottle, sue me. So I pour them out into my hand...I find 2 different kinds of Aleve (gel covered tabs and stick-to-your-tongue tabs) in there and orange ibuprofen in there and these:

Is there anyone out there who knows what kind of pills these are? There's no writing on them so I can't look them up. Honestly, I have no ideas to work with either. I didn't take any, cause I would have no idea what to expect! I could have a BM or headache relief or a period! I can't recall where they came from. I wouldn't imagine they are prescription with not having any kind of writing on them. I can't figure it out...Anybody wanna guess?

Croc Flat Iron Review

If you are like me and have curly and/or wavy hair, you probably already know what flat irons are. I have one at home already that is, well, let's just say it's a cheapy that I could afford at the time. I recently ordered the Turbo Ion's Croc flat iron. When it arrived in the mail, I was so excited! I took it home that night and could hardly wait to try it out the next morning!

Who knew there were so many different flat irons out there anyway! They all seem to be special in one way or another. Some are metal some are ceramic. Some are for wet to dry styling, some work only on dry hair. I always start the day with towel dried hair after shampooing and conditioning during my shower. With my old flat iron, I had to blow dry my hair and then use the flat iron to style it just so. This gets to be time consuming. I like being able to complete 2 tasks in one going from towel dried hair to dry and styled at the same time.

My new Croc flat iron came with directions for the temperature settings for my specific type of hair and styling method as well as information assuring me that the loss of moisture during the damp to dry process doesn't mean my hair is being damaged.

A little better explanation from the website explains it like this:

This iron features a patent pending, built-in turbo ion generator. This generator emits 5 million negative ions per square centimeter. Ceramic plates generate 6 times more ions then metal irons, and seal the cuticles of hair to prevent split ends, reduce frizz and retain hair's natural moisture, oil and color. Its top-of-the-line ceramic heating element allows for quick heating, quick cooling and an even distribution of heat across the plates.

The iron heats up in just a few seconds, you can watch the temperature go up, up, up on it's digital display! The temperature settings go up to 430 F, I find that 340 F is a good setting for me. I've also noticed that it maintains your desired level of temperature as you use it, unlike some that cool off as you are waving it around and with repeated strokes.

It's a big time saver and the 1.5" flat plates help in that matter as well. The plates line up well too, as I've encountered others that hit first at the end leaving less pressure to the inside of the plates against your hair. Actually, my old cheapy one at home tends to pull individual hairs in that section, so I have to be careful not to get too close to that part of the plates.

The iron has a nice 8' long swiveled cord and is light weight, about 12 oz (according to the website). Which is nice with my carpal tunnel these days. The Nano silver coated dual cover keeps the temperature of the handle to a minimum and has grips for ease of use and safety. All in all, this has been a really great experience! I look forward to many happy hair styles made easier by this opportunity! The Croc Ion flat iron has made a spectacular addition to my arsenal of hair care accoutrement. Thank you, Misikko!

Kirk Cameron is coming to my town!

I am so stinkin' excited about this!!! As you may have noticed, I sport a link in my sidebar to a website called 'The Way of the Master'. If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to go over and check it out. It's very informative and encouraging for believers and unbelievers! Click the banner to go there now or read further, then come back to it.

Today my mom comes into my office (yes we work together) showing me a bulletin from her church for upcoming events. She says, "Oh wow, sis! I almost passed right over this page, until I noticed a familiar face!" I was thrilled to find a segment advertising a conference coming next month with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. They have a great ministry and I can't wait to go!

Here's the back story: When I was a teen, I became absolutely obsessed with Kirk Cameron. I often used my babysitting money to feed my addiction of new photos from teen magazines. He graced the cover of many Teen Beats and I wanted them all! I'm not kidding...I had over 2.000 photos of Kirk on my walls and ceiling. Of course, only full page or centerfolds were special enough for the ceiling. I would lay on my bed and dream about him. I'd listen to the radio and dream about him.

Reading anything and everything about him went right along with it. He always seemed like a decent guy. I never read about involvement with drugs or trouble with the law. Back then, I could tell you pretty much anything that was in print about the boy! I knew I would never meet him. Who was I? Some fat poor chick living in the Mid-West! I considered writing to him but he received thousands of fan mail everyday. There was no way he would get mine. Besides, what would I say that he hadn't heard from 10 million other screaming teenage girls? What could I say to him that would make a lasting impression?

So I decided to pray. My prayers were very selfish. I didn't pray that I would meet him. I didn't pray that if we met, he would fall in love with me. I don't think I was obsessed with him in this way, exactly. It was like I just really had a burden in my heart or something for him. It was impressed upon my heart that I knew I would never meet him on this earth so I prayed that the Lord would bring *someone* into his life that would tell him about Jesus and that he would get saved and believe so he could go to heaven and then I could meet him there! I could spend eternity visiting and not have to worry about what I look like or what to say. I prayed that way a few times, I don't know how many times or for how long. I know now that although it was great to pray for him to find God for his life, it was still wrong of me to do it with such selfish intentions.

The feeling of concern for Kirk weighed this way on my heart, until one day. Kirk's face began to fade from the front pages of the magazines. He became less and less visual in the Teen Beat scene. Then one day, much to my joy, I clipped my last photo of Kirk Cameron from publication. It was a photo of him standing with his arm around Billy Graham! From the time my eyes found that photo, that weight and burden has been lifted from my heart and mind!

So now, to see him happily married with 6 beautiful children and fervently working a ministry to help others get excited about evangelism for God, I couldn't be happier! It really touches my heart in a special way and I guess you could say, Kirk Cameron was my first real answer to prayer! And WOW what a big answer it has been! God sure knows how to show us that He has a plan and it's better than we could imagine for ourselves!

I hope I get the opportunity to meet Kirk at this conference at First Baptist Church of Arnold, MO and let him know that I prayed for him back then. I'm pretty sure he would appreciate knowing that :) If not, I'll see you on the flip-side!

Happy Leap Day 2008!

To all those people who were born on February 29th or on the off chance people got married on February 29th, I say, "Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!" You only get to celebrate once every 4 years so go big on the party and have 2 pieces of cake! :) In the case of leap birthdays, the good news is that you are waaaay younger than all the other people born that year! So hey, here's to the fountain of youth you've stumbled into! Of course, it will take much longer for your car insurance rates to go down because of your young age, but in the end, holding onto your youth is priceless, right? And now a game to entertain you! (or drive you batty, which it just might do, but I promise, it is solvable. I've done it!)

End of an era! Ode to Poloroid

Guess it's time to trade all those penny stocks on Polaroid! The company has decided to end it's production of this much loved icon of instamatic photographic wonder. So on that note I add this:

Ode to the Polaroid:

Polaroid, You were there
When I met Dweezil Zappa.
And always ready to capta’
Someone doing something they weren’t supposed ta’!

We will miss watching all the idiots
Fanning you around,
Trying to speed up a chemical process
Sealed inside and bound.

Thanks to you,
We will remember our trips to the zoo.
And all the other childhood places
We used to take you to.

We are sad to see you go,
Of this you surely must know.
It’s with a tear in our eye,
And a stack of old photos this high
That we shall say goodbye.

And now, a moment of silence for our fast acting friend of yesterday. With your help, may we always remember the good times of days gone by!

Human Tetris

This is seriously entertaining and nerve racking at the same time!

Soooo cool!

Seedless Pumpkin Carving!

My friend sent this to me in an email. I've seen it in years past but I thought I would pass it on in case there are others who like to play it and need a link or have never seen it before! Don't forget to bookmark this page so you can revisit and comment about the pumpkin carver!

(Click picture to go to the carving page.)

I made this one, but I could do it all day! This is great because you don't get your kitchen dirty with slimy seeds and candle wax! LOL Enjoy!!!