It's an Obsession

Obsession? I like to think of it more as a collection. As you can see - I LOVE the new 7gypsies stamps. They are the coolest things since sliced bread. I just got the ovals today from Scraploft. These are great for a little addition to a page or for putting the date or other information about a layout. My favorite part? The self-inking. I love stamps. I hate dealing with the ink. Plus - they're coming out with brown and red inks to replace the black. How cool is that?!? Yes, there are more of these, but I'm happy with my collection for now. Until they come out with another one......Hehehehe!!

Check it out!

I found this new website from the people who do Overheard at the Office - it's CelebrityWit.com. They take the stupid and funny things celebrities say and put them all on one site. It's pretty funny!

Nancy - ANTM is on Wednesdays at 7pm on the new CW. That's channel 23 for me, but I don't know what it would be for you.

Baron Darvel

Baron has a very small head and a large neck. We have to make his collar too big so that it won't choke him. So this means that his collar is very susceptible to coming off. When this happens, he loves to run around with his collar in his mouth like it's a toy. I've even seen the dogs fight over it! I always tell him he's naked and to get some clothes on! The other night, he got his collar off. I just had to take a picture....
How can you be mad at that face?

ANTM Review - This one's for you, Nancy!

Okay, I'm cheating on part of this. Some of this will be from TV.com. I'll fill in my own details. J. Alexander (Miss J) coaches the girls on how to work the runway and puts their skills to the test when they participate in a prom-themed fashion show. One of my favorites, Brittney, ends up winning the challenge. Renee, the mother I spoke about in my last post, does really crappy, but thinks she's awesome again. Later, the models struggle during a high school themed photo shoot, but one girl rocks it (Jaslene) and the praise that she receives makes another model jealous (Renee). Jaslene and Renee both think they are the greatest. It's really annoying. They are doing a good job, but they are so annoyingly stuck-up. Natasha is a mail-order bride from Russia that has no idea what's she's doing. She was in the bottom two and they ended up keeping her! I can't believe it! She didn't know what anti-fur was and she didn't know what a teacher's pet was this week! They told her she was worse than Anne of Cycle 3 who was beautiful but didn't take great pictures, and she took it as a complement! I hope she goes home soon. Samantha went home. She wasn't mature enough for the competition. Not a big shocker there. Even though Natasha should have gone home first!!

Next week - MAKEOVERS! My favorite part! Someone always bitches about their new look and ends up crying. It's amazing though how most of the girls go from looking normal to looking like models. Even if you don't watch the show, this is an episode not to miss! They're rerunning the episodes on Sunday night too, so if Wednesdays don't work, check it out then!

Ooh! I almost forgot! VH1 is playing Australia's Next Top Model on Monday nights at 9:00pm!! They're a little hard to understand some times, but just as great to watch!

Peaceful Excitement

I'm so excited! My peace lily, which I've had for 9+ years, is blooming again!! I got this plant (and most of my plants) from my Godmom while I was in college. I'm proud to say, I think I've only killed one of her plants that she gave me. It was a ficus tree that was really prone to bugs and I could never get a handle on it. Anyways, the peace lily. One of the best plants to have - it actually takes toxins out of the air and purifies the air! This peace lily has moved from two different places in Duluth, to my parent's house, and now here. I think it's only bloomed 5 or so times. Once it had two blooms. I think it gets pissed at me for not watering it, moving it around, the house being too cold, not dusting it off like I should, and other various things. Finally, I must be doing something right! I guess I really shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch, or in this case, my flowers before they bloom, but I was so excited that it's actually doing something!! Hopefully I won't make it change it's mind. Once, it got to about this point, and then the bloom died. I was not happy about that! Keep your fingers crossed!

Craft for a Cure

This Saturday is the ALS Crop & Craft in Bloomington, MN. All proceeds will benefit the ALS Therapy Development Foundation. The family pictured in the brochure is Scott, Kirsten, and Eva Stafne. I went to high school with Kirsten. Scott is currently living with ALS. My grandma (whom I posted about here) is also living with ALS. She has no function in her left arm and is steadly losing function in her right. She is lucky - she's only had this for 4 years and is currently 95. Scott was diagnosed in 2004 at 32, a more typical story of someone with ALS. It's a terrible disease with no known cure. This event is a great way to get involved and have fun at the same time! If you are unable to attend, you can still donate. Go to Stafnes.com for more information about Scott, ALS, and donating.

I'll be there this Saturday - anyone want to join me?

Still at work

Yes, I'm still at work. I'm not very happy about it. They even closed our Service Department, but Sales is still going strong. Nevermind that almost every school is closed today because of the weather - we're still open. Oh yeah, the owners are in Puerto Rico. Sucks to be me right now. All my co-workers with more seniority have left too. I think there is 5 of us working right now. I'm bitching because I can. So there!

This one's for Alli

Alli - I know how much you're missing the snow, so I thought I'd share some pictures of the storm.

Here's the dogs running outside. Remember, their legs are about 2 feet tall, and the snow is hitting their chests! Don't they kinda look like deer?

Here's Orion in the snow. The flash went off on my camera, so that's why you get the reflection of the snow falling. Yes, we'll probably have around 3 feet when this is all done. And yes, I'll probably have to go to work tomorrow. Damn family owned business! Don't you miss it, Alli??

You wanna be on top?

Not like that!! You sicko! That's the first line from the theme song for America's Next Top Model, or ANTM. I'm so excited it's on again!! This is one of my favorite shows. I've seen all 7 previous cycles (that's what they call their "seasons") and have loved every minute of it! I don't know what it is about that show - it just rocks! I think it's because I always dreamed about being a model and thought that would be so fun and cool. I watched a lot of fashion oriented TV shows (House of Style and the like) when I was young and just idolized that whole lifestyle. And now look! I work at a bus company! :) I think one of the best parts of the show is that the judges do the eliminating. I'm not too hip on American Idol or anything where America votes. I think it's because a lot of people vote because someone is hot or they're from their hometown, not because they're good. Anyways, this season already looks to be great. There's a girl who is married and has a kid who thinks her shit doesn't stink, a girl that was sad she won the first competition because she didn't want everyone to hate her, and two "plus" size models. They're probably an 8 or 10, but considered plus size. The one goofy girl with hair about 2 feet tall who didn't know what anti-fur was (they did a photo shoot about different political views) was eliminated tonight.

Watch out for the killer snow tonight. The way the news people have been reporting this one, you'd think it was the end of the world.

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Friday:

Sunday:

What a difference a weekend makes!

This is outside our front door before DH snowblowed the driveway. Our poor bushes!!

Randomness

We've been super busy at work lately. I'm worried. This time last year, I was begging for more work. It's usually a dead time of year. If summer is our busy time, what is it going to be like this year? Maybe I'll have to look into Mt Dew I.V.'s to keep me going.

Baron decided he wasn't getting attention last night, so he pulled the stuffing out of the comforter in our extra bedroom. Boy, did he get attention after that!! Never let an attention-starved weimaraner out of your site!

I just picked up chinese food for dinner tonight. They forgot my cream cheese wontons. I love cream cheese wontons. I don't need them, but I wanted them!! I'm going back tomorrow to get my credit!

You know, I understand that no one likes to be wrong, let alone admit it, but could someone at work please just try for once?!?! Stop arguing for hours, demanding you're right, almost bullying everyone to shut up and just go along with you, and then, it turns out, you're WRONG! Eating crow sucks, but take it like a woman!

Dh leaves tomorrow for the weekend. We're going to get up to 12 inches of snow. He's going to have fun snowblowing when he gets home.

I can't wait until The Office and Grey's tonight!!!

The day everything changed...

One year ago on February 19, 2006, my best friend's fiance went hiking as he did so often. Karl and Karin had just gotten engaged that fall and were planning for their future. Would they get married in Norway, where Karl was from, or would it be here, where Karin was from? Where would they live? So many questions and such a promising future together. Karl went hiking that day, and never came back. Karin got a phone call the next day from Norway saying that Karl was missing. Her life was a whirlwind from that moment on. It came to be that Karl died on that hike that day. After three days of searching, his body was found. The days between when he was reported missing and when he was found were gut wrenching ones. Karin didn't know whether or not to go to Norway to search or to stay here. I wanted to stop everything and go help Karin, but it wasn't possible. I remember getting that phone call that Wednesday night late. Karl had been found, but he was gone. How do you comfort your best friend on something like that? It wasn't the normal, oh, he'll call you or don't worry about that fight, it was he was gone forever. I still to this day can't believe how strong she was and is. She was on phone with the Norwegian authorities while he was missing, she flew to Norway by herself to be with his family, all these things while grieving over the man she loves. I was here, not able to do anything. It was hard on everyone. This was also the time on Grey's Anatomy when Izzy lost Denny. I know, it's only a TV show, but watching her grieve over him made me think about Karin. The pain she was in was the same my best friend was in. Those episodes were so hard to watch. I could see the characters trying help Izzy just like we were trying to help Karin, but nothing would change the fact that he was gone.

I hope this makes some sort of sense to you. This has been really hard for me to write and I know I'm probably missing a lot or mixing things up. The point is, it is so hard to see someone you love go through so much pain. You feel helpless and are unable to really change anything. I hope that Karin knows how much I love her and how much I would love to take some of the pain for her. Sometimes, I almost felt guilty being with DH knowing that she would never be with Karl again. And I know that she would never want me to suffer just because she was. I was so happy for her. Karl was such a great guy - even DH liked him! I imagined us all getting together for dinner and great conversation, our kids playing together, and being great friends for life. All of that will still happen, just with one of the pieces missing.

Karl, we all miss you. I miss you. I know you're looking over Karin and are so proud of her. I am too. I hope you're hiking, inventing, debating with God, and still trying to out smart everyone up in heaven.

A blog was set up for Karl. If you are interested in reading it, go here.

Make new friends, but keep the old...

Sometimes we're lucky enough to get a second chance at a friendship. Thanks for giving me that second chance, Tana. Looking forward to tons of great new memories.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone is having a good day today. I was happy to at least have lunch with DH today. Since Valentine's day falls during the week and he works nights, we don't really get to celebrate. I know, I know - we could celebrate on the weekend, but then it's over and not really the same. So I have a date with the dogs and the washing machine today. Such a hot date!

Here's a picture of me and my Valentine two years ago when we were in Cancun. Yes, I'm burnt in the picture. I have the age spots to prove it! Damn the Mexican sun being so strong!

Tagged again!

Bonnie has now tagged me. I'm on free base for a couple of days after this one. No more tagging.

Here are the questions:
1. Valentines Day. Celebrate or Not? We’ll do lunch this year because DH works nights.
2. Most Romantic Gift Received? Scrapbook GC and 5 spots at crop for me and my friends! DH usually only gets me what I ask for – this was a nice surprise!
3. Worst Date? He never called me again! :(
4. If you could tell your significant other what you would really like for Valentines Day, what would you tell him/her? I’d like to replace my Circle of Life necklace that I lost
5. Complete this sentence. "Love means never having to say ________________" I love you. Actions speak louder than words. But it’s still nice to hear it!
6. Best chocolate? Hot fudge!
7. Dream Valentines' Menu? Having DH cook the same meal we had for our first date.
8. Most Romantic Movie? Sliding Doors
9. If you had a Conversation Heart that said how you were feeling right now, it would say ___________. Bored. I’m at work answering this!
10. Pink or Red? Red

Tagged!

My friend Beth recently tagged me. Since I've already done this one (see this post) I thought my dog Baron could answer this one.



A= Available? No, I already have an owner.

B= Best Friend? My brother Orion

C= Cake or pie? Whatever I can get my paws on!

D= Drink of choice - Water

E= Essential item you use everyday - my good looks

F= Favorite color: Blue

G= Girlie girl: Yes

H= Hometown - North Branch, MN

I= Indulgences - Getting belly rubs every chance I can! Hording toys from my brother.

J= January or February - Either - as long as there is snow, I love eating snow!

K= Kids and Names - No. I'm fixed.

L= Life is incomplete without...Belly rubs!!

M= Marriage date - I'm only 5!! I can't get married!

N= Number of siblings- One, my older brother Orion

O= Oranges or apples - Apples.

P= Phobias or Fears - Where to start! Thunder, Being left alone, not being included, thinking my brother is getting attention or a belly rub and I'm not, baths, getting my nails clipped, going on trips, not getting my way, when my brother has my toys, getting trapped where I can't get out, being away from my Mom, the water, swimming

Q= Favorite Quote - A dog wags his tail with his heart!

R= Reason to smile - Belly rubs!

S= Season - Winter - I love eating snow!

T= Toy - my Man! It's the toy I'm holding in my picture.

U= Unknown fact about me: I had to have a skin tag taken off of my leg a couple of years ago.

W= Worst habit - Wanting belly rubs or attention!

X= X-rays - No.

Y= Your favorite food - peanut butter!

Z= Zodiac Sign - Taurus

You May Kiss the Bride?

Every day when I go and get the mail for work, I listen to FM107. Kevyn Burger is on and she usually has entertaining and interesting discussions. Today the discussion was about the internet and questionable material being readily available for kids. This woman called in about how she and her kids had googled their names for fun and a lot of adult websites had come up. Then, the shocker came up. I assumed her kids were between the ages of 8 and 12. No, they were 17 and 19!! Doesn't that seem a little old to have so much supervision on the computer? Especially the 19 year old. Then the woman went on to say that her 17 year old daughter had an article coming out in a magazine about how she's saving herself for marriage - including KISSING! I've heard of purity, but this seems a little extreme. I was always taught to wait until marriage to have sex, not kissing. Kevyn went on to ask about this stance and the idea behind it. The mother said that it was her daughter's idea, but I'm sure that the parent's had some influence on it. She said that they had reinforced not giving yourself physically until you are married. I guess technically that would include kissing. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't end up in some of the situations they have been in if it didn't start with a kiss. And why do we draw the line at sex? Why not kissing? I'm not regretful about anyone that I kissed and kissing only got me in trouble once. The woman's point is that men's hormones are so strong that it is hard for them to stop at kissing. Wouldn't kissing before marriage then help you with restraint and reinforce that kissing doesn't always lead to sex? Can you imagine that every morning when you gave your husband a kiss when you left for work that it would mean you had to have sex? And are men such animals that they can't control themselves? I just thought this was an interesting subject and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. If my Grandma gives me a kiss, are we going to get it on? I mean, come on! On the one hand, I'd like to give guys more credit, on the other hand, well, they're guys! Good luck to those of you raising teenagers, I don't envy you having to deal with issues like this.

Heat is on!

They got the heat back on at work around Noon. Everyone brought in space heaters and I even brought in a couple of blankets! I came home at lunch and put on a second pair of socks and some long underwear! I don't know if it's really fixed because it was only 71 in there with everyone's space heaters still going. Not too fun when it's below zero! Hopefully things will be better tomorrow!

Frozen

The heat isn't working in our office right now....Brrrrr!!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

Saturday was such a great day. Alli, Karin, Linda and I went shopping in Buffalo. We had a blast and picked up some really cute things. Alli even found another tortoise for Rosita! Then, We met up with Jenn, Sarah, Michelle and Suzy at Rock Bottom Brewery. It was so good to see everyone, even if it was to see Alli for the last time while she's living in Minnesota. We all made her a scrapbook page and Michelle put it into a super cute album. We then went to this crazy ice cream shop! (thanks for the idea, Karin!)

I'm having a hard time writing this post because it's all about saying goodbye to Alli. Six months ago, she mentioned to me that she might be leaving. I was hoping it was a bad dream, but now she's leaving in a week. How do you say goodbye to a good friend? Yeah, we'll talk on the phone and send emails, and even go and see one another - but things will never be the same. There's no, I'll meet you on Saturday to scrap. Those days are gone. I hope that she finds cool people to scrap with (not as cool as us, but still cool!) and makes some great friends. I also hope she knows that she's always welcome back and will always be a part of our group, even when she's so far away. Thank God I was able to have this time getting to know Alli and having her as my friend. I can honestly say that she is a great person and I'm going to miss her so much!

Now I'm off to look for a new friend with a tortoise who scrapbooks.....