Um.....Something Seems to be Missing?!?!

(Sorry for the camera phone picture.)

I don't know if you can tell, but our fake "decorative" shutters on our house seem to have gone missing.

Now we live in a condo that is a duplex style house. So of course, anything the Condo Association wants to do on the outside of the house they can...as we do not own the outside. But never-the-less I was a bit surprised to see them gone when we came home. There was no voicemail, no person, not even a ransom note telling us what happened to our shutters. Nope, nothing...they are just gone leaving an ugly empty space where they use to be! And no one else on our street has their shutters missing.

So I am hoping that they are getting repainted and will be back on our house soon, b/c well frankly it just looks ugly without them! T & I just had to laugh though, I mean I know we live in a condo, but just taking parts of our house without even tell us. Did they think we wouldn't notice?!?!

Oh the joys of living in a condo!!! :)

I Love....

(I loved this lower picture and the art he made with the Strawberries. I wanted that picture in my house.)

The movie Across the Universe!

This weekend my sister and I rented the movie Across the Universe. It is the movie musical based on Beatles songs and follows the "love story of Lucy and Jude and is intertwined with the anti-war movement and social protests of the 60's".

I ended up watching this movie twice....I loved it! It had its WTF Awesome psychedelic moments, romantic moments, and the moments that hit on the social issues of the time. Plus the music was great!!!

I love the music of the Beatles and I love these types of social movies. This movie was fun but also made you think about then and today, and I appreciate that.

P.S. You can buy the Special Edition 2-disc CD at Amazon for $9.99 - AWESOME! I ordered two, one for my sister and one for me!!! And I am just going to say it, Jim Sturgess who plays Jude - HOT!!!

Because you asked Two Pretzels!!

Because you requested this I thought I would post a picture of what happens when you bring your stuffed animal to work on “Bring your Pet to Work Day” and leave it alone with your friends! See the story behind this over at The View From My Fishbowl’s weekly “Feast”!! I am totally going to find the other pics and send those around to the "Captors"!!

Yes, you are seeing that right. Her hands are tied together with a rubber band, she has a bandana over her eyes, and she is sitting in an overhead cabinet of a fellow co-workers. NICE)

It Made Me Smile

Today at work one of the ladies I work with said the funniest thing.

Back Story: I am horrible at estimating ages…but she could be my mother. So I was annoyed b/c I answer the phones and every light on the phone was lit up and it was aggravating me.

ME: “UGH, the phone keeps ringing and every line is lit up! So annoying”

In a very matter of factly way she said…

HER: “I wish I was lit up.”

Hehe – AWESOME…this made my day!

SEX AND THE CITY TRAILER - NEW!!!!!!!

http://popsugar.com/1064341

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snapple "Real Fact"

Real Fact #160

One alternate title that had been considered for NBC's "Friends" was "Insomnia Cafe".

HAHAHA! Some how I don't think the show would have taken off with that title!!

I Love....

My New Phone!!!

A few days ago I received an email that said we were eligible for an early upgrade on our phones and a new plan as well as I got a $150 phone discount - bonus! As both T & my phone are quickly heading to the crapper (my phone only holds a charge for 30 minutes if I am talking on it) this was perfect timing!

So I did a bit of research and narrowed it down to a few phones…the winner – the LG enV!!! I love it!! Mine is in green and this phone is WAY cool! Terry selected the Motorola Motorazr Maxx VE. This phone is so him. It is a heavy-duty phone with a hard rubber like shell. This phone is tough – which T needs as his phones take a beating!

I do have to say I wonder if there is a quicker way to program a phone. We were in the store from 6:30p.m. to 8:05 p.m. All but maybe 15 minutes was with someone who was setting up our new phones. That seems a bit much….it shouldn’t take over an hour to get us two new phones, should it? And then when we got home our “Get It Now” feature did not work so I spent another hour on the phone with Verizon while they tried to figure out the problem. They got mine fixed but are still working on T’s. You would just think there would be a MUCH easier and efficient way to get people their new phones.

But I can’t be mad, Verizon did help us and were really kind and polite. Plus the guy at the store transferred all our numbers and pics for free!!! Plus, I totally just got the coolest phone!!

P.S. Do you text? I had to upgrade my plan as I seem to be texting over 300 texts per month!!! CRAZY!! I can’t believe I do that much texting!! But this new phone, well it is made for texting!

A Great Idea!

Have you seen this? It is called Rockabye Baby and they are Rock Lullaby CD’s that “transform timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies, sending your little one to a slumberland of sweet dreams.”

I am sure someone has blogged about this before but I just came across these the other night while I was looking for a gift to give my cousin’s soon to be 1 year old daughter! I think these are amazing and such a great idea. I have listened to a few…Metallica is VERY good! Infact I want to get these…..FOR ME!!!

Check out the link above to see what is available, they seem to run between $15-$17 depending on where you buy them. These are the ones I want! Seriously…I could fall asleep listening to these at night easily!!!

Metallica
The Ramones
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Radiohead
Nirvana
The Beatles
AC/DC

In Our Thoughts Today

If you have a few extra thoughts to send to my Grandma today, please do.

Today she is under going triple bypass heart surgery.

Update: Grammy made it through the surgery and is currently in recovery. She also had a quadruple instead of a triple.
Thank you for the thoughts!

WE LOVE YOU GRAMMY!!! You are a tough bird!!!

Have you Heard of This?

I was on Amazon today and saw this. The Kindle.

Apparently this thing is SO popular it is sold out on Amazon. (More Info on Wikipedia)

It is a wireless portable device with access to over 100,000 books, blogs, newspapers, magazines and more. SWEET! I could have all the Harry Potter books, some magazines and blogs all in one awesome piece of technology!! I think this would also be cool & benneficial for college kids…if they could get there text books on it!!

Some things about it:
-Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
-Wireless Connectivity
-Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
-More than 100,000 books available, including more than 90 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
-New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99
-Free book samples.
-Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
-Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
-More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics.
-Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
-Holds over 200 titles.
-Long battery life.
-No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments
-Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
-Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.

Overall I think this sounds pretty darn cool!! It is about the price of an I-Pod :$399. And if you are someone who likes to read this could be for you!!!

We will Take That, That, That, Oh and some of Those

Last night T&I decided to go to dinner at PF Changs for V-Day. (We didn’t want to fight the crowds today!) I have to say I LOVE this place the food was so delicious! However, I am a little embarrassed to tell you how much T & I ordered and ate. I think we ate them out of business :( ….A couple times a year we splurge like this b/c we just want a little taste of everything!!!

So last night T. started with a bowl of Hot & Sour Soup for himself. I should really say that when it came to the table it was more like a caldron of soup! It was literally enough to feed 4-6 people…or I guess T & I. I have never had Hot & Sour soup before but I am a fan now! So delicious! So after we put a dent in our vat of soup (no we didn’t eat the whole thing) we moved on to appetizers.

We ordered the crab wontons and the pan-fried shrimp dumplings. Both of which were so good! Needless to say by the time our dinners arrived we were both a few bites away from being stuffed…but we persevered.

For dinner he had the Kung Pao Shrimp and I had the Wok-Charred Beef. Both of which are pretty much sitting in their entirety in our fridge waiting to be reheated but were excellent.

So we had decided enough when the lady brought around the dessert tray. They have this FABULOUS idea there. They put individual desserts in 2 ounce shot glasses and serve those. They have like 8 different desserts in these cute little cups you can pick from. You can pick as many as you want. It is the perfect amount of sweetness to end the evening. So yes, we got dessert too! T. got the Great Wall of Chocolate while I got this S’mores one….YUM!

Now, if you could just roll us out of the restaurant we will be good!

In all seriousness it was a perfect evening we had a BLAST! We laughed the entire night! We even managed to wobble over to Hot Topic and pick up a couple cute V-Day things for each other! I really hope everyone is able to be with/talk to someone on Valentines that they love….family, a significant other, a friend, a pet…whomever makes you feel happy and loved!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

I wanted to wish my Mom and Dad a very Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary today!!!!

Yes, they got married on V-Day......AAAAWWWWWW, so cute!!! :D

We wish you many, many, MANY more years of happiness and love!!!

Love Jenn, Terry, Kristen, Sebastian & Belle

What is your Flavor?

So a couple weekends ago my mom and sister found a “new” flavor to us of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to try. We ended up forgetting about it until this weekend when T & I were looking for a sweet treat. I have to say that I may have found my new favorite ice cream.

The flavor: Oatmeal Cookie Chunk!!! It is “Sweet Cream Cinnamon Ice Cream with Chunks of Oatmeal Cookies & Fudge”…YUM! As someone who enjoys chocolate but doesn’t care for chocolate overload…..this has the perfect amount. And the cookie chunks….so good!

I have never seen this before, though it has been around for a few years. We found it at a little market in BG, but apparently they also sell it at Giant Eagle. (You can locate at what store your favorite flavors are at by clicking here.)

I do have to give a shout out to the previous favorite flavor….Half Baked Frozen Yogurt: Chocolate & Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Fudge Brownies & Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Still very delicous!

So what is your favorite flavor/s of Ben & Jerry’s?

I Love....

Dove's Creamy Cream Oil Body Wash

I have been using Dove’s Creamy Cream Oil Body Wash for just a few days now but I already love it!

My skin feels more moisturized than it did with my other body washes and I just love how it is helping my dry skin.

I bought Cherry Blossom & Almond Scent – FANTASTIC!

I think I am also going to try the Cream Oil Intensive Hand Cream and see how that works since this product works so well.

You Might be a Tool If.....

....you wash your car at a car wash at 6:00 p.m. when the current temperature is 15 degrees.

(I wonder how cool you will be when your car doors, windows and other parts freeze. JACKASS!)

Delicious & Educational!

I got a Kiwi Srawberry Snapple today (yum) and saw this fun “Real Fact” on the lid.

Did you know that Beavers can hold their breath for 45 minutes.

So my curiosity got to me and I went to their website and saw they have another other 672 “Real Facts” on their site!

I read through a few and they are way fun! Check them out!

Click here to find more fun Snapple “Real Facts”!

This is most likely not new at all, but this is the first Snapple I have had in years so it is new to me!

I'll try it as well...

So I followed turtle parade and tried this as well...it was fun! I tried with a bunch of different pics and this was the one with the highest percentage of "closeness" to my pic. (80%) I don't see it much, maybe in the smile/cheeks...but I have to tell you some of the results I had with other pics. Lance Bass, Maggie Smith (who is pretty but it was an old pic of her), Cher, and wait for it.....Manuel Noriega - hahahahahaha! Talk about a shake to ones self-esteem!



The names got cut off some: Greta Garbo 80%, Charlotte Church 76%, Christina Applegate 75%, Kaley Cuoco? 71%, Sophia Loren 71%, Heather Graham 71%, Caprice Bourret?70%, & Delta Goodrem? 68%.

Observation.

I know I am not one too judge, I myself am a bit OCD (mainly when it comes to numbers, patterns, and routines) but I have to say this, my neighbor is a bit anal-retentive!

Ever since we moved in she has done these weird things, but when I was unemployed for 4 months I began to observe more closely some of her habits. Sorry, but try being alone until 8 at night everyday and you will pay attention to anything!

So she lives alone and is obsessed with cleaning! She vacuums twice a week - Saturday morning and Wednesdays (I am lucky to vacuum twice a month), while I was unemployed she had a cleaner come over every other week to power clean her deck (which we still have never seen her use), and her strangest “Obsession” would be sweeping with her broom her garage and driveway.

Now folks, it isn’t like we have seen this once or twice…it is every week (weather permitting). Every week (once, twice, three or more times) she takes her broom and sweeps up the garage and driveway of her house. I mean, I have seen the inside of her garage when I get the mail and it looks cleaner than my house! You could probably sit on that cold cement garage floor and get nothing on you!!!

I know we all have strange habits, but I would think you would put your time and energy into something with a bit more reward. You know, cleaning something that won’t get dirty 5 seconds later b/c it is outside where there is a ton more DIRT! Come on, dirt free cement on your driveway….well that just doesn’t make sense to me?!?!

Like I said, who am I too judge…but I am allowed to think this is weird!

Do your neighbors do weird things?

Talk About Being on AutoPilot

So this morning my husband woke up to go in to work on his one early day a week. He got ready, kissed me goodbye and headed off to work. As he was leaving I got up to proceed with my morning routine. I run on autopilot in the morning. I got ready, headed down stairs to pack my lunch, got my shoes on, and glanced at the clock before I headed out the door.

However, when I looked at the clock I noticed something strange. It said 7:03 a.m. That is funny, because I don’t have to leave the house until around 8:00 a.m. hmmmm…..I checked another clock and the same thing.

Yes folks, I got up an entire hour before I had too. Boo. So of course, I did what every sensible person who has a bit of extra time on their hands would do…..I squeezed in a 45 minute nap! Clothes, contacts and all…I just curled up and took a nap a mere 45 minutes after I had gotten up for the day!

I need a vacation!

When the Writers are Away....the Hosts will Play!

Have any of you been watching the stuff going on between Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, & Stephen Colbert? We have for the past few weeks (as we watch all three of these shows). It is at times a bit much and definitely a time waster....but really funny!!!

Here is the "Finale" between the three of them. T & I enjoyed it!!!

A Family Thing

So for those who don’t know I don’t like pie. I will eat an occasional slice of Key Lime or Oreo Pie, but I do not like fruit pies, meringue pies, or pies that have custard. YUCK.

However, my husband loves pie and my mom has a secret family recipe that she wants to pass on to my sister and I - so I thought…well I guess this is as good a time as ever to learn how to make pie.

I would first like to say that even though I own A LOT of cooking stuff, pie pans and a pie server are not to be found in my house. I thought I owned a pie pan but it turns out it was an 8” cake pan – oops. So the pie we made ended up being a deep-dish pie.

Making a pie takes awhile. We made it from scratch! It was fun, but I think I would get bored if I had to do it alone and I didn’t have someone to be there with me to at least keep me entertained. My mom and I had fun – lots of laughs!

The pie smelled REALLY good (I have never not liked the smell of baked goods). And according to my family it tasted good too. I did try one bite and the verdict – good flavor but still don’t like pie. I think it is a consistency thing or something.

Anywho, this is a big step for me! I am going to try a different pie every couple months. I think next will be cherry. If people like it and it makes them happy, then I will keep making it! And I do have to say there is something kinda refreshing & traditional about baking a pie. The house smelled good, it was nice to spend time with my mom in the kitchen, and pies just are a symbol of family & comfort.


What is your favorite type of pie?

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY!!!

Anything special on your menu for today?

YAY GIANTS!!!!

So I don’t typically recap on sporting events (and this long post is probably why), but last night as I watched the Super Bowl I started taking notes about some things. Here are a few of my thoughts. I am not a hater, I just have my opinions.

- We turned on the Pre-Game show and saw Ryan Seacrest, a red carpet, awkward questions and uncomfortable guests. WTF? Since when has the Super Bowl had a red carpet?!?!?! Is Hollywood that bored with the writers strike that now they have to do stuff with the Super Bowl? The whole thing seemed out of place, Ryan S. seemed out of place.

-Ok, I think it was great that they wanted to recognize the Troupes and send a message to them, but I think they could have done something a little less cheesy. Mimicking the signing of the Declaration – really? That just didn’t make sense and seemed to be a bit much. (Well a bit much seemed to be the theme of the Super Bowl.) I just think you can do stuff that is more sincere & heartfelt without all the extra fluff.

- I think the Super Bowl takes too long to get started, has too many extras, too many graphics, too much talking and not enough football.

- So we have a Pre-Game Show & A Pre-Kick Show. Really? What is the difference?

- Jordan Sparks looked like she was about to PUKE before she lip-synched the National Anthem. Her pre-recording sounded great, but I would have much rather heard her try it live.

- Football on HDTV=AWESOME!!!!

- I truly hate games played in Domes. I think it is unnatural. I like games played in the weather…games that have mud, grass, snow, rain, cold temperatures…..THAT is Football.

- I love watching the Super Bowl with my family! Lots of laughs, good food, and just good old family fun!!

- Tom Petty ROCKS! I thought he was awesome! (What I didn’t like were the 20 year olds dancing sexy for the camera….Do you even know who Tom Petty is?!?! His music isn’t meant for that! You just looked stupid!!)

- The dramatic montage button was pushed a few too many times.

- Bill B. ......Stay with your team. Don’t leave the field like a baby! Stay there till the end of the game like a COACH and walk off with your team when the game is over. You still had a great season, NY just gave more this game. (This is why the Browns didn’t want you.)

- YAY for New York!! Very good job and great game!

- Commercials were OK. There were some funny ones, but not the best.

I am not being negative…ok maybe a bit but here is the thing. I really do love football but I don’t like all the extra BS that comes with it. It is too much. Yes, hype is good, celebrating is good, recapping is good, dramatic montages are ok, but in moderation. It is a combination of everything that seems a bit much and is like stimulation overload when I watch the game and frankly I just want to watch football. If you peel away all the extra BS that came with it....I really enjoyed it!!! But come on, try turning it down a bit.

So what are your thoughts on the game/the day? Am I being too negative, too hard? Agree/Disagree?

"I Won't Back Down" from seeing Tom Petty!

(This video has a one Mr. Johnny Depp in it - BONUS!)


I am pumped, my parents got tickets to go see Tom Petty at Blossom in June!!

YES!

I am SO excited! He is just one of those people I would like to see at least once in my life!
I think this will be way fun!

Don't forget to watch Tom Petty this weekend at the Superbowl!!!

Thanks again M&D! YAY for presale tickets!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!

Happy Birthday to our Cool Dad!!!!

We love you SO much and can't wait to see you this weekend!!!

We hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

Lots of love to the coolest dad ever! :D

Terry, Jenn, K, Sebastian & Belle!!