The Big DumpTruck

I am not a handy person. We should get that out of the way early. It would be a lie to present myself as the kind of person that Home Depot would ask to write a "How To" guide. More likely, I would write the kind of guide that they were selling at Lowe's that will apparently cause you to do something that could burn your house down.

But one of my hypothyroidism side effects is the whole clutter thing, and my addiction to buying storage materials that don't always solve the problems they were intended to solve. My most recent purchase was not storage bins, interestingly. It was actually a small metal shelving unit thingy that I bought to put in the hall closet so that I can store some of my "I have no place to put this" pots and pans.

This shelf looked to be a good size to just tuck into the closet, and the box said "No tools required!". I have some tools, but any time I don't have to use them, I'm happy.
Today, while the oil company guy was doing my annual burner cleaning [no cavities!] I decided to put the shelves together. After all, the box had been sitting in the kitchen for a few days now. All the parts appeared to be included. More than enough, in fact. There were 3 extra snap-one-y things, and there were 8 little caps that served no known purpose (they weren't listed on the parts list, nor did they logically have any place in the assembled shelving.) Speaking of the parts list, the drawings for parts C and D were indistinguishable. So that was helpful. Imagine two 2 inch lines. That's basically what they showed me. Lastly, there were 4 parts missing, I believe because between the instructions being printed and the materials being packed up, they decided to go with a different model for C and D and there was no longer a need for a separate part to connect them. They had built-in connectors.

Okay, so I figured out all the parts and pieces. I started to read the directions, which clearly said "2 people required for stable assembly". You know, there are a lot of different ways to interpret stable assembly. I'm pretty stable. Would doing this alone make me unstable?

The directions also highly recommended I use a rubber mallet to complete the last steps of assembly. Okay, show of hands: who here thinks a rubber mallet is actually a tool and therefore the "no tools needed" claim on the outside of the box is pure crap? Ya, that's what I thought.
It was getting to be time for me to go to work, because the oil burner guy was done. My shelving was pretty much the most unstable thing I've ever built at this point. I didn't have time to get a rubber mallet before leaving, so I'm just hoping the dog doesn't try to climb on the thing while I'm gone.

If you want to try to simulate the stability of my shelving, get 4 sharpened pencils and a piece of paper. Jam one pencil into each corner of the paper. Stand this up on your table. Voila. You have a paper shelving unit from Target, with no tools required!

Labels: cranky, DIY, shopping

On the off chance that you are looking for the "perfect" super ugly jacket to complete that zombie used car salesman costume you've been working on, Building 19 has a rack of some of the ugliest jackets I've seen in 30 years. Attached is a photo of my son modeling the "blue and peach striped 100% polyester" special. There is some major ugly on this rack (and the sign actually says "ugly jackets" for Halloween). Five bucks each, no questions asked. (We bought two. The red and black polyester hounds tooth makes my eyes water.)



Full disclosure: We went in there to look for a suit for my son's magician costume. He wanted a tux, I said I wasn't buying him one. On the "real" suit rack, right at the end, would you believe they had a "former rental" tux jacket with satin lapels for $20, and behind that a table with tux shirts (!) for $5? And the thing fits him like he was fitted for it. This place is better than the Salvation Army!

Labels: funny, Halloween, shopping

I bought a scarf at Target. I mean, Cole Haan. Right, that's what I meant. So anyway, I like my Ta...Cole Hahn scarf because it makes me look all artsy and stuff. I think if you saw me you would say "there goes a gal who has song in her heart and half a book on her laptop." You might be wrong on both counts, but I won't correct you. You're allowed to exaggerate about me.

But then, you look a little closer. Okay, and a little closer. Dude, personal space! Okay, and that's when you notice my right eye is twitching. I fear you will see this, and immediately think of Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies. You know what I mean. If you don't, go order one on Netflix and come back here when you're done watching it. I'll wait.

I think the eye twitch is keeping me from full fabulousness. I do plan to retire to the boudoir early this evening (the boy woke me up at 6:45 ON A SATURDAY!!! because he was having some stomach issues. "Mummy needs her beauty sleep, precious!") Once there, I will try harness the power of my awesomeness for good, not evil.

Labels: awesomeness, shopping, tired

My friend Pia used to get candy sent to her from her family in Norway. And if I was a good girl, she would share it with me. I grew to love one candy in particular, Nidar Laban Seigmenn. These are little people-shaped gummy candies, the best gummy candy I've ever had. They rule. And they aren't readily available in the U.S.

So when we were at Disney last month I found them. FOUND THEM! in Norway, of course. I bought 4 packages, which wasn't nearly enough but I didn't have my pack mule with me, so 4 was enough.

Yesterday we finished bag 3. I have one left. One measly bag. I have to find a supplier, stat. Damn you, Norway, and your delicious but hard to find candy!!!!

[Edit: Wow, iPhone spellcheck really made a good one. No, I've never had gummy candida. Yeesh. Let me just fix that.]

Labels: candy, Disney, shopping

I have an issue with my currently available shoe selection. I put on navy blue pants this morning and came to the awful conclusion that I own no shoes to wear with navy blue pants.

Someone has to fix that situation. I assume that someone is me. Unless one of you is a shoe designer looking for someone to beta test a new design. Wait, do designers beta test things? It can't be called that, right? I'm such a geek.

I also need a pair of tan sandals for work. I have some but they are too casual. Need something a tad fancier, and yet, way comfy. I think I could be trying to find something that meets those requirements until I retire.

Labels: shoes, shopping

Picked up an eco-friendly notebook at Staples the other day because the paper was thin. I'm obsessed with thin paper. I like the way it sounds after you've written on it. [Yes, I'm odd. But you already knew that.] The cool thing about this notebook is that it was made in Egypt from bagasse, which is the fancy name for "paper made from sugar cane". Basically they take the pulp of the cane that is left after the extract the sugar and they make paper out of it.

I love this paper. I sometimes write with a fountain pen and it does NOT feather or bleed through, which is amazing, given how thin the paper is. I want to ONLY buy this kind of paper from now on. My only complaint is that Staples only had two sizes of notebooks available and I was looking for one slightly smaller than 6 x 9.5. But I will suffer because it's great stuff. In the meantime, I'm going to look for alternative sources of bagasse paper. Because it's the little things that make me happy.

Labels: happy, shopping

As I may have mentioned here before (it's getting hard to differentiate between Facebook and Twitter updates and the blog itself, although anyone who reads the blog sees my Twitter updates over there on the right) Junior and I went to see the movie Paul Blart, Mall Cop because it was filmed at one of our local malls, the Burlington Mall in Burlington MA.

We FINALLY went back to the mall last weekend, after literally not going for months. We had intended to go right after watching the movie, but never got around to it (plus didn't have the money to go into the den of temptation).

So this will only be meaningful to folks who have seen the movie, but the rest of you can feel free to continue reading. One of the key things on our list was to figure out where Amy's cart was. We knew you could see a Zales in the background. That was easy to find. And while we were there we spotted a real Burlington Mall security guard on a Segway. You couldn't pay me ENOUGH to do that after the movie came out.

We were upstairs, and I said I wanted to go buy some ink for my fountain pen. Now there are technically 3 stores in the mall that I think could cover being the store that the dickhead guy worked at, but only one of them is a true "pen store" and that is Paradise Pens. I love love love that store, and it made me laugh that they made dickhead work there. As a family, we've spent hundreds of dollars in that shop, so I'm pretty familiar with it.

While buying my ink, I couldn't help but ask the clerk if the pen store was indeed supposed to be his, and he said the producers of the movie spent a lot of time in the store, and even bought a pen. It was likely the one that the dickhead gave to Amy to sign her check in the bank. There is a suspicion that the character might have been modeled after one of the employees, but I would never go so far to claim that, and I would deny saying so. But we have our suspicions that a teeny bit of this guy's personality made it into the movie. Heh.

All in all, a successful Paul Blart mission!

Labels: movies, shopping

People are afraid to buy things these days because so often they become obsolete within days or weeks. Usually the problem is that you buy something that in two months will cost less for all kinds of extra bells and whistles. It's pretty heartbreaking when that happens, I can honestly say.

I'm in kind of an interesting reverse spot right now. I have had, on my list of things to obtain at some point in the future, an iPod shuffle. I know I have an iPhone, which is most awesome, don't get me wrong. However, it's just really heavy and not optimal for going walking (or jogging, or working out, or whatever it is that you do). I figured that I would get one for the spring or summer, when it was nice enough to start walking at work again.

I kind of had this thought out of my head, as there are other things I really should invest $50 in, you know? But Apple announced the new Shuffle, and after reading about it, I can say that I do not want this new version. I do NOT want a unit with the controls on the headphone cord. I want to be able to use 3rd party headphones more suited for walking. Lord knows the regular headphones fall out if I am just sitting still. Walking is right out.

So now I have to try to figure out how long I'll have to buy one of the "old" (read: current) Shuffles before you can't find them any more. Thanks Apple!

Labels: shopping

All the locals know we're expecting "Death Storm 2009" tomorrow. Or maybe "Sprained Ankle Storm 2009". Something ominous. Something that looks flashy on the news. Operation Snowflake? I'll keep working on that.

As a rule, if snow is forecast, the grocery stores are ransacked for French toast ingredients (milk, bread, eggs - universalhub.com issues formal French Toast alerts. I use the UH warning system to determine whether or not it's time to stock up on syrup.

As usual, we haven't done the weekly shopping yet, and we were out of half and half, an unacceptable situation. Even though we're at red alert, I have to have coffee in the morning or my address will be in the news by tomorrow night.

I dragged Birthday Boy to the store. On the way, he says I'm only allowed to buy 10 or fewer things so we can go through the fast line. This old game. Sure. I tell him that I will only be buying three things and then we keep picking up more and more stuff and he gets annoyed with me but I am such a great actress I can pretend that I had every intention of only buying three things when I know that is not the case. I deserve an award of some kind.

The parking lot was empty. The store was neat as a pin [what the he'll does THAT mean?] and fully stocked. Should I assume everyone got an updated weather bulletin. Oh, and for the record - 10 items exactly, and I didn't even have to count the buy one get one free English muffins as a single item. Of course, that means I did not get to emote. Maybe next time.

Labels: shopping, weather

I declare 2009 The Year That Jody Has Enough Money to Buy Things and Go on Vacations She Totally Doesn't Need. That's right, I'm saying that 2009 needs to be "the year of excess cash". So, contact me offline and I'll give you my mailing address so the checks can start coming. It's not tax deductible, but really, should that make a difference? Think about me, Jody. I don't own a single pair of cowboy boots. I have never slept in a castle. Seasonal window treatments don't just buy themselves, my friends. Any leftover cash (HA! HAHA!) will be used to pay down credit card debt. Or to buy a different pair of eyeglass frames for each day of the week.

Thank you for supporting The Year That Jody Has Enough Money.

Labels: fun, money, shopping

On the left are two photos I took with my iPhone and uploaded via the new iPhone Amazon App. Apparently a human looks at the photos of things you see that you might want to buy and tries to match the photo so something amazon sells. The items on the right are the things they felt best matched my photos.

Labels: Amazon, iPhone, shopping

I got an email reminder from my very very dear friend and personal mentor, C Monks this morning, reminding me that today's the day to order his book. Because he saw fit to make me a member of his Hall of Fame, he is one of my favorite people on the planet. And thus, I pass along the ordering info for his book, which, by the way, sounds fantastic. Go order a copy and maybe he'll put you in his HOF. If you send him a photo and ask nicely.

This is an impersonal, yet friendly reminder about the "Order My Book
Extravaganza!" As you might remember, today, October 29th, I'm trying to get as
many people as possible to order my new book, "The Ultimate Game Guide to Your
Life" from Amazon.com. I would greatly appreciate your support. Simply follow
this link,
and you'll be a few clicks away from participating in what is sure to be, if I
may be so bold, the most exciting book-buying extravaganza you've been a part of
in at least the last couple of months. Or so.

See, it's just that easy! Go order one! Or five! Christmas is coming!

Labels: books, friends, shopping

Saturday night we briefly lost power due to the high winds and other assorted lightening-y activity. It came back within 2 minutes or so, and everything was dandy. Except in the middle of the night, I woke up to go to the bathroom, and noted that the clock said it was somewhere in the 1:15am range. But when I looked at my watch in the bathroom (yes, I often wear my watch to bed. You never know when you might want to check the time without rolling over to look at the alarm clock) it said it was after 2am. Huh. That's odd.
When we finally woke up Sunday morning, my watch said it was 8am. But the alarm clock said it was 4am.
Oy.
I reset it and it eventually lost 5 hours over the course of Sunday. I was thinking it might be fun to play alarm clock roulette in the morning, but I decided to go to Target to replace it. Got one that will charge and play my iPod, which means I can wake up to music I actually like!
Still, I don't get how a digital alarm clock, plugged into an outlet, can just lose time like that. It wasn't running on batteries, it was plugged in. I'm sure there's some really science-y explanation, but to me, if a cheapo digital alarm clock breaks, it's something like the alarm stops working, or the display goes wonky. Losing time? I have a wall clock my friend Kim gave me as a shower present 15+ years ago and that one barely loses time when the battery goes low.
I hope God wasn't trying to send me a message to sleep in this morning because the new alarm clock worked very very well.

Labels: shopping, weekend

I don't know why everyone is harassing Sarah Palin about her $150,000 wardrobe enhancement. I mean, what's the big deal? That's about average in 2008, isn't it? I know that I still have $25,000 left to spend on my $150,000 wardrobe enhancement, but I'm feeling pretty good about the $125,000 I've spent. I mean, like Sarah, I have a lot of public appearances that I have to make. I appear in public pretty much daily.

My most recent purchase was a heavy-duty pull-over fleece top that I bought at the Blue Heron tent sale a week and a half ago. I got it for ten dollars. I mean, ten thousand dollars (*cough*) which is what the receipt I sent to the GOP said.

Really, what it comes down to is pantsuits and makeup that is not available in the cosmetics aisle of Target. That's really where the bulk of the enhancement budget went. I will look fabu in my new pantsuits as I meet "real Americans". And the makeup will transform me into a movie star. That's what it's all about, right? When I'm at the self-serve gas station, people will offer to pump my gas for me. Because they will look at my pantsuits and know that I'm somebody to worship.

Everything I own now, by the way, is encrusted in Swarovski crystals. That's what makes the difference between being dressed and being enhanced. When people see my glittery pants, tops and underwear, they will be excited to even be near me, and declare the money well spent. No more store-brand pants for me, I'm SOMEBODY NOW!

Labels: funny, money, shopping

I need a cable to hook up a peripheral to my Mac, and so I went to Best Buy to look for one. (I bought one last year, according to Amazon which tells you on what date you ordered something even if it was a jillion years ago, but I couldn't tell you where it is to save my life.)

They had two. One was 52 bucks (uh, no thanks, I saw them for ten bucks on Amazon) and the other was 32. Junior told me to just get the $32 one (I had a $5 coupon, but still...) but the guy who found it for me pointed out that the reason it was so expensive was because it was fourteen feet long. Okay, picture a laptop, and picture something you want to connect to it, like, say, a camera. Do you have any need at all for a 14 foot cable? Because I don't.

So I don't have a cable yet, but I hear you can get one on Amazon for $10, and the only problem is that it disappears into the void at your house after a while.

Labels: shopping

I didn't have the $$ to renew my .Mac account (it expired yesterday) so the DumpCast link that used to be in the upper right hand corner has been removed. I don't know when or where it will re-surface, but I may just host it right here on BDT going forward. I'll make sure I let all the faithful fans know when it's available again.

I took yesterday and today off from work because Junior is on April vacation. Yesterday I combed the back yard for dog poop, and I was thinking to myself...hunting for crap is still better than going to work. I also did a little raking (after we picked up a new metal rake...way too much thatch to use a plastic rake) and we did get the little tabletop grill I was yearning for. Cooked up some shrimp and steak to break it in and welcome it to the family. I think there may be a problem with it (flame is too low) but by the time we figured that out, we'd already started cooking on it. So now I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'll contact the manufacturer, because I don't think Lowes wants me to take back a used grill. Or maybe they do, because the thing we noticed might be a safety issue. Will keep you informed

Labels: cooking, shopping, spring

I didn't realize you guys were bigdumptruck-less for a chunk of the weekend until I got my daily traffic report email and it said that my hits were about a third of what they normally are, making me think there was some sort of problem. Apparently, there was some sort of problem. Luckily, it appears the hosting company found their plunger and released my website, and it is now available again.

I just got paid four days ago and I'm already counting the minutes until next payday. For those of you keeping track, I only get paid once a month. It SUCKS OUT LOUD. I hate it. I'm no good with getting paid once a month. I had to set aside a chunk of change for getting the furnace fixed out of this one and there's just no cheese money left. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about a lack of cheese money when some people can't buy groceries or pay rent, but dang it, I strongly dislike not being able to spend $10 on myself without feeling very guilty.

And on that topic, we were going to look for a nice rubbish container for the kitchen, and we were at Lowe's and the cheapest one was $79. The one we liked was $99. Hello?! A hundred bucks for a trash bin? And it isn't even one of the "survives a nuclear blast" kind that you want to buy for putting out at the curb. This is just a bin with a foot pedal for the kitchen. I could buy a grill for less money than the trash can!

Needless to say, we do not have a hundred dollar trash bin this morning.

Labels: money, shopping

Noticed an ad at the bottom of my page today for http://www.gardenstatueshop.com/ and I have a feeling I should just mail my paycheck to them.

I wonder if I can set up a wish list with them?

Labels: gnomes, shopping

Why am I not finished with my Christmas shopping? I do not understand - I am usually better than this. I have people I need to buy things for that I will not see after Friday, so I have to get my royal butt in gear right away.

I'm happy to hear we might see more snowflakes tonight. That's great news. My street is still completely covered with hard-packed snow so this will really help out in that department. Ye Olde Minivan has zero traction as it is, so I think this may put me in some sort of physics black hole with negative traction. If I was better at science I could explain to you how negative traction works, but I am not very good at science, or math for that matter. I can't wait until Junior gets to the point where I am no longer of service to him for math homework. I think I have another year before I hit that point.

Labels: holidays, shopping, weather

I will share the question of the day, as posed by Junior when I was talking about the little girl who was born with 4 extra limbs being able to go home.

"What if Britney Spears had a baby she named Spears Spears and it had two faces."

Well, that is is good question, isn't it? I'm not sure why we're discussing Britney, specifically. I'd be interested in discussing anyone who has a baby and gives it a double name and oh, by the way, the baby has two faces.

So there you go. There's your question of the day.

Here's my question of the day: Shaws was out of peppermint extract, which is needed for this ultra simple dessert I was going to make. I don't want to go to a different grocery store the Saturday before a nor'easter because I am not stupid. I went to Shaws before 9am for a reason. What other store do you think might carry peppermint extract?

Labels: celebs, food, quiz, shopping

I need to get a better understanding of anatomy because I still don't understand how one side of your nose can be completely stuffy and icky for days at a time while the other side is free and clear. Does that make any sense? Aren't your nostrils just two tubes going into the same place? Like the in and out doors to the kitchen at Denny's, so to speak.

While sitting around and being lazy this morning I updated my Amazon "Be Like Jody" store. There you can find some of things you should buy if you want to be like me. I have a ton of things that I should add to it, but it's a good start. There were two items on the old version that I said I wanted, that I needed up update because eventually got upgraded versions of both of them.

So go ahead and be like me. And remember, if you use my link to get to Amazon, for whatever you are buying, I can make a few pennies and I will love you forever. And you want me to love you forever, don't you?

Labels: Amazon, me, shopping

Mr Dump and Junior are painting the downstairs bathroom right now. I wonder who will be alive at the end of the day?

The reason for the painting? Well, it's tied to the living room, if you can believe it. We bought a couch yesterday (what, you didn't spend black Friday looking for a couch?) and the color they are painting the bathroom is the test for the color we eventually want to paint the living room and this is sort of a test of the color. That room needed painting anyway (the whole house does) so this is a good test. It's a kind of almond color - I think this means I get to go shopping for new curtains, don't you think?

We got a couch because the old one is just beat to hell. The arm is broken, the cushions have lost their cush, and the whole thing is just starting to look ratty. It is 9 years old - we bought it when Junior turned one, and we decided to just get something relatively inexpensive given that a toddler would be destroying it. And it lived through Phantom's puppy years, too. I think we're lucky it lasted as long as it did, to be honest.

So anyway, we have not put up the tree yet because the guys deliver the couch on Tuesday and that will be one less thing they have to work around. In the meantime, we are trying to clean the hell out of the downstairs, which should take the rest of the weekend given my complete disinterest in cleaning right now. In fact, to avoid having to clean the downstairs, I actually was cleaning upstairs. I have two garbage bags full of clothes to donate the Ginny's, a garbage bag of clothes to throw away, and I put away all my shorts and summer pants. And that is just my stuff. I will maybe think about doing Junior's stuff in the next few days or weeks. It's not like his stuff will fit next summer anyway. I probably need to locate all the shoes he's outgrown too.

Oh, so as for Black Friday, I was very proud of myself. We did not leave the house until almost noon. We went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went to Target to buy stuff we needed. I got some new socks, replenished my vitamin collection, got mouthwash, and bought a big snowflake to hang on the front door (I need to figure out the best way to plug it in, and then I'll take a photo for you). I think the only impulse buy, other than the snowflake which wasn't completely an impulse buy) was a small sewing machine. I have never owned one. I don't know if that's because I don't need one, or if I think I don't need one because I don't own one. But this was one of those "hey, if you need to sew a quick hem, you can do it" kind of sewing machine, and it was on sale for $10. I think for ten dollars I will attempt to sew something with it. I am wearing a pair of my new socks right now and they are delightful. For the record, ladies, if you have trouble finding socks that don't cut off the circulation because your lower legs aren't stick thin, Target has a whole line of very cool socks that fit wonderfully. I will try to take a photo of those, too, so that you will know what kind of socks I'm talking about. I love them.

Labels: chores, house, shopping, socks

Okay, I'm all Christmassed up now. Junior bought two presents to give to his cousins (without any input from us) so we are officially shopping for Christmas, baby! We went to Cataldos on the way home from Burlington (Mr. Dump needed to go to the Apple Store for work purposes. Really.) And boy howdy if that doesn't make you feel Christmassy, nothing will. They are already selling trees so we got our first "whiff of the holidays".

I think it's time to have the annual viewing of Little Women.

And you?

Labels: christmas, shopping, Xmas

(You young people might not catch this reference. So I think maybe I could call this post "Am I Being Punked?")

Yesterday was one of those days. Mr. Dump had an appointment for a small surgical procedure, and I had an appointment with my doctor. I also had Junior (I have him again today...last two days before school starts so no more camp). I used up a tank of gas just driving around from appointment to appointment yesterday. Junior got an invite to his friend's house, but she lives in Gardner, so that was 20+ minutes each way. What was great, though, is that it meant someone was watching him while I was in my appointment.

After Mr. Dump was out of recovery and I settled him back in at home, I went back to Gardner to get Junior. We decided to stop at the Hannaford at Twin City Mall on the way home to get something for dinner. While standing with my cart trying to think of the other things I wanted to buy (iced tea and potato rolls) a guy was standing about 6 feet to my right. I catch some activity out of the corner of my eye and see...a copy handcuffing him. Nothing was being said, it was all very quiet. I quickly made sure Junior was still standing behind me (and wasn't planning to scoot around the cart over to where this was happening. I could feel my blood pressure go up 20 points. I made eye contact with a couple of people standing in the 12 items or less line (which is what we were standing near) and we all had this "Are you kidding me?" look on our faces.

I can honestly say I have never stood that close to someone being arrested. I mean, to the point that I felt like I was assisting the cop...that's how close they were to me. Junior kind of took the whole thing in stride, like this stuff happens all the time. Maybe I should ask more questions about what goes on a summer camp!

Labels: errands, junior, odd, shopping

When we saw it raining with the sun out last night, Junior and I hopped in the van and rushed up to to a high, clear spot - in our neighborhood, that's the Orchard Hills Park parking lot. Sure enough, God wanted us to shop at Best Buy so badly he gave us a double rainbow leading us there.

Labels: photos, rain, rainbow, shopping

Yesterday was laundry day around Casa Des DumpTrucks. I think I personally did 375 loads of laundry. I know that there were parts of the floor I hadn't seen in months that are now part of the family again.

We celebrated laundry day by, um, doing laundry. We also took in a showing of The Simpsons (only a couple of iffy words, I was more concerned about the content of the preview for Good Luck Chuck, or whatever it's called, which seemed to me to be more R than PG-13, given that the entire thing was about sex) and got some shampoo at Target. (Pantene, I got the one that has shampoo and conditioner combined because I'm so damned lazy that I cannot be bothered to do them both if it involves flipping the cap on two different bottles. I haven't done a 2-in-1 shampoo since Pert was first introduced in the Middle Ages and I hated how greasy it made my hair.)

Oh, okay, we also celebrated laundry day by playing a round of Travel Blokus (tip 'o the hat to utterwonder.com for bringing Blokus to my attention) and Mario Party 8 on the Wii. And then I ended laundry day by pretending I had enough money to buy a wide angle lens for my camera. (Anyone have an opinion on the Sigma 10-20mm? Is it too slow to use indoors?)

Okay, so I added a script to the page that will automatically turn key terms into Amazon.com links. Let's see how much of the above ends up sending you all on shopping sprees...

Labels: camera, chores, fun, shopping, Sunday

UPS is bringing me that book that I promise I won't talk about for at least the next 5 days. Okay, fair enough? I will not talk about it, and I would ask you to do the same with your comments. Nothing until, let's say, Wednesday t 3pm. Is that long enough? It should be, even if you didn't pre-order a copy or haven't gone out to get one yet. And when I do talk about it, I won't put it in the post title or the first paragraph, so you kids with RSS readers or what have you won't have to drop me from your feed. Aren't I nice?
Mine is coming, but I need to go to Target and you KNOW there will be a display of them. Will I have the self-control to not buy a copy?

Labels: books, potter, shopping

I was at Target tonight, you know, because that's where I live, looking at some fans for the house. We need one for our spare bedroom (which is not so spare when my step kids are visiting) so I was checking prices on some. A woman who was browsing with a male companion approached me and said "excuse me, do you have any box fans?"

Me: "I'm sorry?"

Her: "Do you have any box fans?"

Me: "Me personally? No. I, uh, don't work here."

Her: "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!"

My shirt wasn't even really red, more brick-ish. Sheesh.

So now I'm thinking I should get a real red shirt, have a nametag made up, and wander the aisles or Target giving bad advice.

Labels: fun, shopping, Target

We were having a little discussion on Universal Hub about how the past 2 years people (read: those who look for things to complain about everywhere and anywhere) there have people people who throw fits when anyone mentions Christmas, and there are people who throw fits when people say "Happy Holidays." You know, the same people who don't give money to the poor and destitute, cut lines to get what they want first, and think the world owes them something. Obviously, anyone who says "Happy Holidays" is trying to get Christmas removed from the calendar. (I looked up Christmas on Wikipedia. VERY fascinating stuff. Did you know celebrating Christmas was against the law in Boston from 1659 to 1681?)

This bothers me. I think too many people think they should be able to control what others do and say. If a shop owner wants to put an ad in the paper about a "Christmas Sale" why should they be attacked by picketers and the like? And if another chooses to say Happy Holidays, for whatever reason, the same holds true. The link above, to the Hub, is about a customer losing her mind when someone wishes her Happy Holidays. I would have hit her with a shovel. You know what? Just because you are Christian and celebrate Christmas, doesn't mean everyone does, you selfish, egostistical shrew. Hanukkah starts today. Shouldn't I wish everyone I see a Happy Hanukkah today? Why not? What would the Christmas Army have to say to that? But it would be appropriate, would it not? When I worked as a cashier in a grocery store a million years ago, I used to wish folks happy holidays, because I never assumed every customer of mine celebrated Christmas. Everyone was fine with that, nobody corrected me. Happy Holidays also covers New Years, people.

Should I go back in time and apologize for all the Christmas Cards I have sent that had the phrase "Happy Holidays" in them?

Should the Christmas Army work to ban the Irving Berlin song "Happy Holiday" from the radio and record departments of the world? Obviously he's part of the war on Christmas, anticipating what would happen in December 2006 way back in 1941 when he wrote the song for the moving Holiday Inn.

So if you want to take up a cause, people, why not try to take one up that will actually help someone. Not something that will make you look nuttier than a jar of Jif.

Labels: christmas, shopping

Okay, I cleaned up some of the code in the right-hand column. I need to do more, but I'm tired. I just love being sick! Junior, who will be 9 in 3 weeks, is watching Toddler Television. So far he's watched Elmo's World, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. I'm not complaining, because other than Elmo, the voices and music are not jarring. I can completely tune it out, which I can't do if he's watching something more frantic like Pokemon.

I went onto Amazon to browse through some stuff - it's just as much fun as going to the mall, and for some reason, I'm less likely to spend money. I put stuff in my cart and on my wishlist, and that makes me happy.

I have decided that I want to start collecting the North Pole Series of the Department 56 Christmas houses. I am really mad at myself for not starting that series a couple of years ago, when there were a couple of houses that I'm still obsessing about the Lego factory and the Play-doh factory are two of them. I just added a bunch of houses to my "If you loved me" wishlist, which I link to over on the right. You don't have to buy me anything, but feel free to go look at how cute these houses are! The two I liked the most are out of stock anyway. One I couldn't even add if I wanted to. The other was already on my list before it ran out, which is why it's still there.

You guys need to promise me that if you have any of these houses and you decide to liquidate your collection, you will give me first shot at them, okay? Thank you, you are good people.

Labels: junior, shopping

I just want to thank everyone who at least attempted to stay off the roads while I shopped this weekend. Friday night we hit Eastern Boarder and there were enough people staffing the store that we did not have to wait to talk to anyone, a huge plus. Saturday we did less shopping than intended, but even though Target was busy, the lines were very very manageable. So thanks for that. We even only had a 15 minute wait for lunch at TGI Fridays. As an aside, have any of you ever tried their "Mac and Cheese for Grownups?" Holy crap is that stuff good. It's got mushrooms and bacon (but not so much that it overpowers - just a few pieces sprinkled throughout) and some grilled chicken with peppers and onions on top. Even the chicken was delish. That is my Big DumpTruck Pick of the Week, for those of you who are hungry and near a TGI Fridays. I couldn't finish mine, so I shared it with my step-son so I don't know how it reheats. I think you could easily make two meals out of it, though.

We had tremendous luck with hitting the mall (Pheasant Lane in Nashua) early yesterday. I think because it was Sunday, people did not think it would be open as early as it was, but we got a primo parking spot, and in a couple of stores, we were literally the only customers. I believe I am 95% done my shopping now, so I will step back and let you all have free run of the roads and malls. Only two more weeks until people can stop obsessing about shopping. I do love when that happens.

I love shopping as much as the next 15 people. In fact, my Nano Novel was about a shopaholic this year. But I prefer to shop when I don't have a deadline hanging over my head and a ton of people clogging the aisles. We ran into one couple yesterday who much have purchased about $400 worth of gift items at the Lindt Chocolate store. But I'll bet they had not a single person left to buy for by the time they left. And now I'm hungry for chocolate, which apparently means I need some potassium, if something odd I read on the internet is to be believed.

Anyway, happy Monday everyone.

Labels: shopping, Xmas

I am going out Christmas shopping tomorrow, so I am going to need all of you to stay home so that I am not inconvenienced by traffic or lines at the registers. I think you all understand how important this is for me, and will be happy to comply. I suggest grabbing a box of Swiss Miss (with mini marshmallows, of course) and hunkering down with a few copies of A Christmas Carol. If you don't have the Muppet version (HEATHEN!) there is time today to run out and have a copy ready for tomorrow.

So remember, stay off the roads and out of the malls. I appreciate it.

Labels: shopping, Xmas