Oh the things we have seen!

I has been a busy, busy past few days for M. and I! We took a road trip to visit friends this weekend. M. got to go golfing Saturday afternoon and I hung out with M.'s best friend's wife and her kiddos. Sunday evening M. and I went to see Radiohead - live - in person - up close! We were only about eight rows back from the stage. Thom York singing, dancing and giving the audience 'the eye,' Jonny Greenwood rocking out on all sorts of instruments, Ed O'Brien strumming his guitar, Colin and Phil were there too - they were just heard more than seen. It was M.'s dream and I was fortunate enough to be the one with him when that dream was realized.

Radiohead respectfully asked fans to 'keep the show live' and to not take videos or photos so M. and I left all our cameras at home or in the car. Of course, there are bootleg videos all over YouTube. None of the videos are especially good. It was an outdoor concert, it was dark, and the LED light displays don't video well on the type of camera people would have had to smuggle in - lots of cell phone cameras, I am guessing. Here is one video showing Thom dancing. The crowd goes wild! This one is pretty good too. In the videos you can see the pit peoples' heads (they had to stand mushed together the entire time). M. and I were off to the left side in the seated area, but not so far we couldn't make out facial features of the band! I would so follow M. to any Radiohead concert anywhere! Don't tell M., but I totally have a crush on Thom! ;)

The opening band was Grizzly Bear. I am now awaiting one of their CDs to arrive from Amazon.com.

We took Monday off so we could rest up before venturing back into real life. We slept in, I made a delectable chicken tortilla soup, and then treated ourselves to the new X Files movie and dinner out. Not extremely X Files-ish, but a good movie anyway.

So now we are coming down off our concert high and getting back into the grind at work. Not fun - I'm going to quit and become a Radiohead groupie. M., your welcome to tag along too... We are shorthanded at work this week, particularly in the front office. I am helping out, but I have to say there are some aspects of helping out up there that I cannot stand. For instance, when we have two people out on vacation, another calls in sick, and the remaining person up front comes in late then has to go get some water before she can help out and that takes another 15-20 minutes. And this is after she has clocked in. Ok, didn't know your water was in Timbuktu.

And, if you read this blog, you know Wednesday is meeting day at the office. RR. had a snarky moment when asking that the front office not send calls back when she has clearly marked herself unavailable on our OfficeView program. Someone has to comment that sometimes the caller says they were just contacted, blah, blah, blah. I could see the daggers shooting from RR's eyes. And then, I offer to do some front office coverage so others can go to lunch. Well, this same particular person logs herself out for lunch, then spends about 30-45 minutes checking personal email and Facebook. Then she leaves the office for over an hour. Granted, I have taken long lunches and do check my personal email at work, but not when we are shorthanded and have to have everyone pitching in.

Oh, I am going back to my concert-induced high and Radiohead fog. I hear some Radioheaddrifting out of M.'s room now...


PS - M. and I now have a cute little Flip video camera, so I will need to try out some video skills and post them to my little piece of the world wide web. Stay tuned!

I know my F***ed up Disney

Disney gone blue?



Score: 100% (10 out of 10)

Library Debate

As the week winds down I am having an obstinately difficult time concentrating on my work. So here I am at my blog, taking a break. Don't turn me in for wasting company time - I do get my work done! ;)

One of my favorite blogs - Mental Floss - had a link to a blog on one of my other favorite topics - libraries and reading! (I see M. rolling his eyes or shaking his head in mild disgust right now...) The blog is called MyLibBlog and is written by a librarian in Colorado. The specific post that was linked in my Morning Cup O'Links over at Mental Floss was a letter to a library patron who challenged one of the books in the children's section of the library. The book in question is Uncle Bobby's Wedding.

The library patron was challenging the book because she felt it promoted homosexuality and that homosexuality is not a topic appropriate for children. If you read the reply Jamie, the author of MyLibBlog, has written, I think he makes excellent points about how the book deals with subject matter that is very relevant to children in today's society and that it is the parents of the child who need to decide if this book is appropriate for their children. I agree with these points even though I have not read the book in question.

I've not explored the MyLibBlog thoroughly yet, but plan to add it to my Google Reader selection for now to see if it's something I want to keep up with.

Aprons and Green Tea Bathes

Pioneer Woman Ree did a post today about a cute cowgirl apron she just got on her Home & Garden blog. When someone on one of the blogs I regularly read posts about something they found online I head right over to the website. In this case, PW's apron came from Sommer Designs. They do have cute aprons, but the ones they have available for sale right now are hostess aprons, you know, those ones that tie only around your waist and don't cover anything up top. Now, this just isn't practical for me. When I cook the most likely place for me to end up with slops is the area this apron doesn't cover - both because of my height (or lack thereof) and an ample chest. Sommer Designs' full coverage aprons don't go on sale until mid-October, but that's okay because I made my own apron some time ago - I just have to remember to put it on when I am cooking! And my apron covers me all the way down to my knees!!

What I really liked on the Sommer Designs website - and it came as a shock to me because typically I am not really into this kind of thing - was the handcrafted handbags. But, wouldn't you know it, the Malaga Bag in lime paisley which I just love is sold out. :( The Del Cerro Tote in Toile fabrics are pretty cool too - just not as much as the Malaga in lime paisley...

And while I am doing a post on stuff I like online, when I visited my parents in North Dakota earlier this month, my mom set out some Cru de Provence green tea bath products that came in a gift basket her boss bought her. I used the body wash and lotion during my visit and just love the scent! She gave me the travel size lotion and body wash to take home since that is about all I was allowed per airline security regulations on liquids and gels. Once home I did some research and found out these products are sold by Wind Country Gift Baskets. Mom got the lovely 'Day Off' basket. (Her boss spoils her employees!)

Just a quick post this afternoon to take a quick break from work! :)

Thinking about my boys...

The Mental Floss Morning Cup O'Links this morning featured a few links that had me thinking about my boys - Clyde, Luigi, and that wonderful M.

First, we have this lovely cat animation by Simon Tofield that reminds me mostly of that little Lu living in my house, but with some Clyde thrown in. I watched the video at work this morning, so no sound, but still, it was hilarious! My poor little Lu had dental surgery on Monday and his brother is not being very nice to him since he smells all vetty. Luigi had gums growing down over some of his teeth so the vet cut them away and did a cleaning. I also decided to microchip the little bugger while he was down because I can see him slipping past us, out the porch door and running off into the sunset. He is so wild sometimes! His surgery went well, but we are still waiting on a lab analysis of the gum to make sure it is not cancerous. If it's not (let's all pray...) then the vet doesn't know why Luigi's gums are all hyperactive and he may have to have this surgery every year. Still, I would rather plunk down a couple hundred dollars a year than deal with cancer...

Then a couple links that made me think of my beloved M. The first was a guide on M.'s favorite reptile - the SNAKE!! I've mentioned before how much he loves those critters! That coral snake is kind of cute - bet M. would love it if I picked one up after work as a pet. Then we have the Geek Cakes. If M. liked cake, a nice electronic-styled or Star Wars cake would be perfect for him!

And, unrelated to my boys, I saw a link on the Mental Floss blog that took me to a style quiz. The first thing I need to do is 'pick my favorite brands.' What if I don't have any favorite brands? What if I've never even heard of most of these brands? What does that say about my style? Why aren't Old Navy and Target listed as brands?! Today I'm wearing a little Wal-Mart as well... Okay, I picked a few and then I had to rate products I'd never seen... and then you have to create an account to get your style result. So blah, I'm not giving them any of my info. I guess my style will forever remain a mystery...

Crime Library

While I am a fairly good person in life (especially since entering my 20's), I've always enjoyed reading and watching videos about the not-so-nice side of life. My favorite movies are horror and thrillers, I read a ton of true crime books when I was in junior/high school, I wrote a paper on satanism when I was in high school, the list goes on. Along this theme I have a website to share with you all that I recently discovered: truTV's Crime Library. You can read through the stories of the most heinous crimes on this site. It's a good way to suck up some time. Enjoy!

Have a very Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Credit Card Sigs - Who the Heck Cares?

Mental Floss had a very amusing link in my Morning Cup O'Links today. It made me think of my dear, sweet M.

M. and I have credit cards, we use credit cards. In fact, cash and checks have become unknown entities to us. Green paper that acts like a credit card - really? Pieces of paper where I have to fill in a bunch of junk, including the amount of purchase - what the hell?

Now we all know you're supposed to be a good credit card user and sign the back of that thing just as soon as it arrives in the mail. And why are we supposed to do this, why to prevent credit card fraud, of course!

I dutifully sign my cards, maybe not upon moment of receiving them, but at least prior to first use. Even though I sign my name to the back of the cards, I am skeptical of the actual accuracy this has in preventing Joe Blow to steal my card, swipe it to make his $1 billion purchase, and then sign my name, or even his own name, and have the transaction go through. Heck, lots of places he wouldn't even have to sign anything, just swipe that baby until he's put me into the dredges of credit card debit oblivion.

Now, M., he is even more skeptical of the whole 'sign this card or other people will use it until the credit card gods smite you down.' M. writes 'CHECK ID ' on the back of his cards. He writes it big, all caps, and very dark. How many times has M. used his cards and had someone check his ID? Probably less than 2% of the uses.

Because you know what, people are in too much of a hurry now and those check out clerks, waiters, and others who see our credit cards just don't care. In fact, my card is usually back in my wallet before I even sign the receipt. Yes, I am such a rebel - I totally ignore those 'Leave card out for signature verification' signs.

So anyway, back to the original intent of this post: the Mental Floss links. Some guy did a couple neat experiments. He wanted to find out just how crazy he could make his signature on credit card receipts before someone noticed and called him on it. The answer: pretty much anything goes and no one is going to bat an eyelash. This made me think of M. because he likes it when people take the time to check his ID, as his credit card signature line requests. He also likes it when the credit card company calls us to check to see if any 'suspicious activity' on our account is valid. I don't mind those things either, M. is just much more adamant about such things (plus, of course I think of M. every waking moment of every day - he's my husband, duh!).

So, without further ado and more typing from me, here are the links to the experiments:
Credit Card Prank I
Credit Card Prank II

Enjoy!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day continues to creep up on us - it's this Sunday!! I did finally decide on a gift for my mother (as far as I know, M. is still working on something for his mother). No, I did not get my mom some slutty outfit from that site that sent me the email last week (M. thought it would have been pretty funny to do that - well, if he wants I'll order one for his mom). What I did end up getting my mom is a bonsai. I thought about flowers, but they die (not that this bonsai may not die too, but if mom takes care of it, it should be fine). I also thought about those cookie or candy gift baskets, but then mom would just complain about having to eat them, so here's mom's bonsai from FTD:

Mom's been into Asian decor lately, so this should go nicely with what she's been up to. We'll see if it's still alive when I visit in June - and how well it fits into her new decor.

Little Snark, Lots of 'Net Perusing

I have been busy at work today, but found a little downtime to look at some links from Mental Floss and to type up this post, which I am sure has been much anticipated by my faithful readers.

I found some interesting things through this morning's dose of links. Here are some my readers might be interested in:

• Bugs can be snarky too, especially when you look at electron photographs of them. I personally think the Spiny Assassin Bug is the snarkiest. Do you think he's an assassin because he's snarky?
• This was quite amusing: 15 Pet Products We Can't Believe Exist from Cracked.com. #6 kind of got to me - that dog looks like the crystal encrusted dress it is wearing makes it snarky. It would make me snarky. #4 is also quite funny - be a slut wearing your itty bitty doggie, or try slapping a great dane on your front side.
• Radar Magazine brings us some letters written by Billy Geerhart (a 30-something posing as a 10 year old) to various famous and infamous characters - including several serial killers. Anyone else think it is odd that the Night Stalker starts his letters just like bossman?! Anyone else at work think his signature looks a little like bossman's too? Weird! Also, I sure am glad I don't have to type Mr. Charles Manson's letters! (people who work with me will appreciate these little snarkies about the letters more than other readers...)
• And for more interesting insect fun, check out how one artist is helping arachnids beautify their homes, even if they don't appreciate it!

I will now let you get back to whatever you might have been doing and I will get on with my typing up of letters and such.

New Post Category

Due to my lasagna disaster last weekend and my quest for a recipe book/binder in which to keep my recipes grouped together, I have decided that I need a cooking-type label for my blog. Welcome 'Snarky Kitchen.' (By the way, I like the single quotation mark better than the double, even if I'm not using it correctly!)

I used to cook a lot when I lived with my parents because mom is a nurse and used to work 3rd shift at a hospital on the surgical recovery floor. She had left for work by the time we got home from school and wouldn't arrive home until after we'd gone to bed. I never appreciated how well-stocked mom's kitchen was until I moved out and had to buy my own kitchen supplies. My cooking and kitchen experimentation kind of went to the wayside for several years because I never seemed to have the right stuff.

M. gets 'burnt out' on foods we have several times, at least the pre-cooked freezer to oven boxes and fast food dinners. Perhaps my cooking will survive the M. burn out? We'll have to wait and see. Because of M.'s burn out on many of the dinners we were having and because I had discovered on of my now favorite websites - Pioneer Woman Cooks - I decided to start using my kitchen (since we built a house a couple years ago I have a pretty nice kitchen) and cooking again. One major downfall to this is that we actually have to do grocery shopping on a fairly regular basis, but because I love to be praised and hear how wonderful I am, the reactions from M. when I make a good meal are a good trade-off. And M. does come grocery shopping with me, so there's that too. If you've been a fan of my blog long enough you know I get the social anxiety and do not like to go shopping by myself.

So this weekend I made some very yummy chicken salad (but I had made that before and knew M. enjoys it) and I made a new experimental dinner last night - beefy potato skillet. M. seemed to like that okay too. I will post my chicken salad recipe some other time since I am not home and do not have access to it at the moment. For my beefy potato skillet I used PW's basic breakfast potatoes (minus any onions or garlic since M. and I don't really like those, also no bacon grease) and added some ground beef. It was nice and easy. Plus, I've always liked those side potatoes places like Denny's or IHOP use and these were kind of like that.

I decided on Sunday that even though I had not found a beautiful fillable recipe book yet I was going to start typing up my favorite recipes on 4x6 cards. This must have led to some good luck in the book/binder quest because I also had a break through in my quest for a book to keep all my recipes. And of course I found it on Amazon.com! It's not really an Amazon product, it's through a company called Organize.com. I briefly perused their website this weekend and that is not a website I should be going to! I love organizational products and could spend thousands and thousands of $$ there. Plus they tried to entice my with all these $5 and $10 off deals, but of course if you read the fine print you needed to spend $50 to get the $5 off... M., just so you know, I only purchased the recipe binder, and I did it through Amazon. M. knows about my closeted shopping addiction - but only for online shopping. We might be rich if not for the development of online shopping since I hate to go shopping in actual real life stores.

Oh, and low and behold, Pioneer Woman is giving away a Kitchen Aid standing mixer and what have I been thinking I needed as an addition to my kitchen? Yes, yes, yes - a standing mixer! So wish me luck. PW uses random.org to chose her winners, so I have as good a chance as anyone...

An Engineer's Guide to Cats...

... or basically how our Clyde and Luigi get treated too! Watch this entertaining video!

We only have two cats, but there are some very striking similarities with the three cats in this video. Clyde is colored like a fuzzy Oscar and Ginger, but is built more like Zoe. Behaviorally, he is also more like Zoe - he is our marathon lounger. However, like Ginger, Clyde is also an awesome dancer - he really enjoys something with a heavy bass beat. Luigi has more energy and would most resemble Oscar in deconstructive art. You should see the Luigi art work on our walls!


We also employ the corporal cuddling method of punishment. M. doesn't use the kisses, but otherwise his method is the same. I do use the kisses, but not during corporal cuddling. Clyde is a pretty good yodeler too!

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of cat humor. Good night!

Entrance to Hell

Who knew it was in Russia? Hey, I work with a Russian!