Spring Has Sprung

It was sunny and 70 on Monday. I took these near my work. So glad to see the sun and warm weather!

So Totally 80's

So Janet, Kris and I hung out at Target on Saturday. Yes cause that's what these married ladies do on a Saturday night. We saw He's Just Not That Into You, which was ok, first. Afterwards we weren't ready to go home so we headed to Target to pick necessities and explore Target which is always fun.
So when did the 80's became cool again? If you are headed to 80's party, head to Target and get your perfect outfit.
Start with the sunglasses:I can't believe that anyone make these again! Wear with this top:
It's got a whole Flashdance vibe to it.And wear this skirt. I love how it's called Foil Bandage skirt. But you gotta wear the lace leggings:Top it off with this plastic neon rain jacket. Also comes in blue, yellow and desert flower.
Top it off with this plastic neon rain jacket. Also comes in blue, yellow and desert flower.
Yea, 80's!

Currently....

reading
I put this book on my tbr after I decided to stop buying bottled water. It was eye opening. It made me feel better about switching to tap water. I did look into where my water comes from which was very interesting. I do recommend this book if you want to learn about the politics of bottled water. Reviews can be found at ReplayGround, EcoWomen, and This Ain't Livin'.

watching

We've been watching Reaper since day one. I'm so glad it came back for a second season. We both love Sock. He's got to be our favorite.

needing

Khakis by honeylin on Polyvore.com
It seems that I have no khaki pants. They aren't my favorite type of pant but they can be handy, goes well with a variety of clothing. Plus it's just a good staple item. I'm never attracted to them in the store. I'm going to put them at the top of my list of items I need.

Winner!

The cold unfeeling random number generator chose Jennifer of Not Another Jennifer as the winner of the giveaway! Congrats, Jennifer!

Another Award!

Thanks, Tara for the Lemonade Stand Award!Like all awards, it comes with a set of rules:
1) put the logo on your blog or post
2) nominate at least 10 blogs with show GREAT ATTITUDE &/or GRATITUDE!
3) be sure to link your nominees within your post
4) let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award.

So I send this off to:
Etta of Adventures in Holy Matrimony
Staci of Life in the Thumb
dckate of (sub)urbanity
Jennifer of Not Just Another Jennifer
Mrs Bliss
Heaven In A Paper Cup
PLD of Preppy Little Dress
Laura of The Cheap Wife

Thank you for all you contribute to my life and the blogging world. Keep it up!

Random Meme

1) How do you like your grilled cheese?
White bread with American cheese.

2) Where did you go on your last vacation?
Las Vegas.

3) Who are your godparents?
My brother and my grandmother.

4) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Uh, hopefully in a bigger place.

5) Where are you at noon everyday?
Mon-Fri, I'm at work. Saturday and Sunday who knows.

6) How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
None.

15) When was the last time you swam?
15 years or so.

16) What do you order at Subway?
Roast beef on white with mayo, lettuce, onions, olives, and pepperchinis.

17) Do you keep your closets organized?
By type, color and sleeve length. This annoys Tai.

18) How do you make headaches go away?
Motrin.

19) Have you owned a beta before?
I've had a beta fish. All the rage in college. Betamax, nope.

20) If you moved out of state where would you go?
I've always thought I would retire to Ohio. I loved it there. If we moved now, I have no clue where would move to.

22) Did you attend pre-school?
Yes.

23) What do your shower curtains look like?
Opaque with blue, green and yellow shapes.

24) Did you have an imaginary friend as a child?
Yes I did. Casper lived under my bed.

25) How do you make eggs?
poached or hard boiled

26) Where do you wash your clothes?
At my dad's

28) Who are the neighbors who live to the right of you?
The chatty woman with cats.

29) What are your thoughts on Tom Cruise?
Ugh. Used to like him, now I run the other way.

30) What is the next vehicle you wish to buy?
Something new.

31) Do you pay bills online or by mail?
Both.

32) What would be the best gift someone could get you right now?
Money. Time.

33) What is something stressful you will deal with next week?
I have a dentist appointment next week. More painful than stressful.

34) What is something in your home that you collect?
Menorahs.

35) What did you do last night?
Slept.

36) Who did you last see?
Tai's sitting on the couch.

37) How do you take your coffee?
Cream and 2 Splendas

38) What is the oldest thing in your fridge?
probably some dressing.

39) On your keyboard what key is wearing out from pressing it so much?
None.

40) Where do you put your keys when you come home?
On a hook near the door.

41) Where do you go for Thanksgiving?
We went to Herb and Christy's last year. I think that they'll host again.

42) How old will you you be in 2010?
34

43) What actor or actress would play you in a movie?
Hm, never thought about it.

44) How much cash is in your wallet?
$20

45) Would you have a one night stand with your favorite movie star?
I haven't made my list. I told Tai that we should make it through a year before we consider cheating ;)

46) What color is your phone?
Black and grey

47) If you were starving to death would you eat a pet?
Nope. Pets do not equal food.

48) Ever been to Alabama?
Yes I have. Had a lot of fun in Mobile. Sigh, those were the days.

49) What kind of accent do you have?
When I was in Ohio people said I had a Californian accent. I have no idea what that sounds like unless they meant Valley Girl. I do tend to drawl some words. Plus I have a tendency to pick up accents when I'm around people with them. Short answer, naturally I have none.

50) What kind of alcoholic drinks are in your fridge right now?
I think some beer. There vodka in our freezer.

Help Saving Money

I think a lot of us are looking for ways to save a few dollars these days. And thankfully a whole lot of you are talking about it. So I thought I'd share some websites and blogs that are helping me keep a little bit of my money.
I've linked my Safeway and QFC cards to shortcuts and P&G Solutions. Both are free. I won't say I save a lot on these but it beats remembering to bring my coupons to the store! Plus when I do use a coupon it's like a nice bonus.
Daisy's Deals-I "met" Stacy back she was a bride blogger. Now she's helping us all with money saving tips and deals.
The Budgeteer-Linda turned me on to this blog a few months ago. Love it. Lots of giveaways and sales posted.
Newlyweds!-Each week they post the sales from Walgreen's and CVS.
Manolo for the Big Girl-Frequently posts sales and discount codes for plus size shopping.
Greater Seattle On The Cheap-Does exactly what it says. Sometimes I see the same things posted as on other blogs but there are Seattle area specific things too.
Hardtimes Newsletter-Another local one but some of the stuff is more national too.
Wise Bread- A new blog that Hardtimes recommended. Sales and discounts as well as advice on money management.
Not Made of Money-Another one that's geared toward money management/finding the best deals.
Plus I check Slick Deals daily for anything absolutely wonderful.
So what about you? Got an good tips you want to share?

Weekly Geek #8

Write a post encouraging readers to look through your archives (if you have your reviews in a particular place on your blog, point them there), and find the books that they have also written reviews. Tell them to leave a link to their review on your review post. For example, I've written a review for Gods Behaving Badly and Jane Doe leaves a link to her review of Gods Behaving Badly in the comments section of my review.Edit your reviews to include those links in the body of the review post. Visit other Weekly Geeks and go through their reviews. Leave links for them.

I don't write reviews so much. I prefer to just recommend a book. But some people are so much better at reviewing books. So I went through and looked for books that I recommended and found reviews for them.

Thousand Splendid Suns-I recommended it last April. Here are some reviews:

Still Point

Mary Withrow

Bloody Hell, It's A Book Barrage

Change of Heart-I recommended it last May. Here are some reviews:

Rough Review

Serene Hours

Too Old To Know Better

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral- I recommended this last October. Here are other reviews:

The Country Doctor's Wife

The Weekend Blogger

A Little Bit Of Everything

I Feel Bad About My Neck-I recommended this in January. Here are other reviews:

David Kinchen

Framed and Booked

Leslie Jane Moran

And last month I recommended The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Here are what other people thought:

Just A Book Reader

Polymath At Large

Upsidedown B

It's interesting to see what other people think of books you like. I love reviews though cause I find new books to read. I'm always looking for those.

Library Loot #6

We got quite a haul this week. Couldn't fit it all into one picture!

Wow, we've got a lot of reading to do.
So the Orson Scott Card books. The Speaker of the Dead is for Tai. He read Ender's Game a few months ago and since he is running low on books. I got that one for him. While I was perusing the Orson Scott Card selection I noticed he wrote a couple of books about biblical women. Since I adored the Red Tent (and have yet to find anything close) I thought I'd try his books.
Caress of Twilight is another for Tai. He's read Hamilton's Anita Blake series and was looking for more. He's liking this series as well.
Luxe and Waltz with Bashir I found through Ominivoracious. I'm a little embarrassed that I read it since it's a corporate blog (Amazon) and I try to read the blogs of real people like you. But they do have some good finds. And they constantly post about all sorts of new books. Sigh, I'm hooked. But Luxe is for me and Tai and I will probably read Walt for Bashir.
The Girl She Used to Be and North of Beautiful are finds from Life In The Thumb. I forsee Staci helping me add to my to be read pile!
I found out about The Rest Falls Away from Sam's Book Blog. After reading the Twlight series I need some more vampire books.
I loved the movie Thank You For Smoking. Hello, Aaron Eckhart, yummy! And I've read another of Christopher Buckley's books (the very funny Florence of Arabia). So I thought we'd take a chance on this one.
And lastly we have The Seven Ages. I don't know where it came from. I don't remember requesting this book (all the other books were placed on hold for me). I'm at a loss. Anyone know anything about this book?
So what about you? Get anything good this week? Reading anything good?

Just Under The Wire

When I signed up to do Jenna's food challenge, I thought it would be a walk in the park. I even thought I would complete the challenge that weekend. Ha! Salads were not on my mind this month. So, I made this today, at Tai's request:
My version of the Pagliacco Salad from Pagliacci's.
Here's the ingredients list (use enough to serve your group):
lettuce (I used romaine but you could use any kind)
green onion (red or white would work too)
bell pepper (yellow cause it was on sale)
garbanzo beans
artichoke hearts (you could use marinated hearts but I didn't have any)
dry salami (you could sub turkey or something lower in fat if you want)
mozzarella
provolone

Chop up everything into tiny pieces (about bite size). Toss together serve with Italian dressing.
This makes a great potluck meal or something you can make ahead of time.

The Sherpas Have Arrived

No not really, Meg. UPS finally brought my package from Target. Sigh. Thank goodness because it's time for my 400th post and my first giveaway. Yup that's right a giveaway.
Here's Linda random box of goodies! There's a collapsible colander, a set of magnetic clips, Goody's hair bands, 2 packages of Lipton tea (Green Tea with Mandarin Orange and White Tea with Mango), and a pizza cutter. All these were chosen because these are things I like and I want to share with you.

Rules
1. Leave a comment on this post. Say hi, tell me what spring time activity you are looking forward to and an email address so I can tell you if you won.
2. Sorry, I can only ship to US addresses only.
3. One entry per person.
4. I'll choose a winner via random.org on April 3rd noon PST.

Just In Time For The Wrong Jewish Holiday

What else was I going to do with 5lbs of potatoes and 5lbs of apples but make potato pancakes and applesauce. I know it's more appropriate for Hanukkah than upcoming Passover but I love me some potato pancakes. The pancake recipe is pretty basic. Your bubbie might have a better one. The applesauce recipe was quick. I pureed the apples in my Magic Bullet for a few seconds and it came out yummy.

Soy Chicken Patties

I found these chicken patties on Soy and Pepper (I save so many of her recipes).
The patties were yummy. The flavor was good, but I wish I would have been able to make a sauce to go with it. I might try to make these again.
Any ideas on a sauce I would try?

One

I stole this from Jenna.

One photo
from here
One poem

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . .
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . .
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold french fried and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That it finally touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late. . .
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out! Shel Silverstein, 1974

One song


One quote

Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before. -Mae West

One item of clothing
From Nordstroms. I see a very stylish gal every morning on my way to work. I'm jealous. I want one.

One Placefrom here. I rafted the New Rive Gorge once. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life.
One Disney Princess
I, like Jenna, love Belle. I think she's princess I'm most like.

A Wish Granted

Tai's been asking me to make sukiyaki for some time now. I decided his birthday was the perfect reason to give it a try. I headed to Uwajimaya and found this recipe. I bought all the ingredients and headed home to try it out. I've never had it but Tai says I hit this one out of the park. It was delicious. A little time consuming, all the chopping but pretty easy to make. I followed the recipe pretty closely although I added beer (light beer) about 3/4 cup to the sauce. Tai mentioned that a friend of his did that and it sounded like a good add.
Have you ever had sukiyaki? Ever made? Any tips for me?

The 40 Questions About Me Meme

In the extended entry, a meme survey that's going around. Find out more useless facts about me!

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Nope, not to my knowledge.

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
I hate roller coasters. I haven't ridden one since I was about 13. I close my eyes and scream. That's just when I get in line!

3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
I think I went once when I was little about 3 or so.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
I prefer sleeping with Tai. It makes me feel good knowing he's there. I sleep better.

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yup.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Sometimes.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Yes, I do.

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jennifer. Although I don't know if I would want her to be with Brad now. I think he's better with Angelina.

9. Do you stay friends with your ex's?
Nope, those relationships didn't work for a reason.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yup, but I suck at it.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Nope. I can last about 20 hours with no sleep before I get cranky.

12. What's your favorite commercial?
I like old commercials like "I want to buy the world a coke" and "Plop, plop fizz fizz what a relief it is!". Actually I like the jingles.

13. What are you allergic to?
Penicillin.

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights?
Nope.

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
I don't think so. Perhaps I kept it from myself.

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Sox. I don't like the Yankees.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Once.

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Sometimes.

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Hmm, I can't think of it.

20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
Yes.

21. What's the one thing on your mind now?
Money.

22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass barbie is?
Uh, no. But I think it would be a big seller.

23. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes.

24. What cell service do you use?
AT&T

25. Do you like Sushi?
Yummy, yes.

26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Hm, no I don't think so.

27. What do you wear to bed?
Either nothing or sweatpants and tshirt.

28. Been caught stealing?
Nope, never been caught.

29. what shoe size do you have?
I have big feet-11.

30. Do you truly hate anyone?
Nope. I dislike a few people, but no hate.

31. Classic Rock or Rap?
I'll take classic rock for $200.

32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Hm, I don't know who I'd pick if I just got one.

33. Favorite Song?
Toughie. I have a ton of favorites. I'll go with Landslide by Fleetwood Mac for now. It's in the top 10.

34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror?
Hell yeah. That was my Saturday night in high school.

35. What food do you find disgusting?
Tuna Casserole. Some marinated mushrooms.

36. Do you sing in the shower?
Not usually.

37. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours"?
I don't think so.

38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Uh, can I not answer that? I'm a terrible person.

39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
Sadly, no.

40. Have you ever been punched in the face?
Perhaps. Maybe when I was drunk.

WTF?

So I ordered some stuff from Target on Sunday. I checked today to see when I might receive it. Yeah:
Anywhere from April 23 to May 11th? Is UPS walking my packages to me? If you see a someone carrying my boxes please hurry him along. Although I might get my turtleneck sooner. Maybe Friday if they decided to ship and not load down the dude walking my other package.

Weekly Geek #7

Is there a particular era that you love reading about? Tell us about it--give us a book list, if you'd like. Include pictures or some fun facts from that time period, maybe link to a website that focuses on that time. Educate us.

Do you have a favorite book that really pulled you back in time, or perhaps gave you a special interest in that period? Include a link to a review of it on another book blog if you can find one (doesn't have to be a Weekly Geek participant).

Historical romance is one of my guilty pleasures. I tend to shy away from romance especially Harlequin romance novels. But I confessed my guilty pleasure a few weeks ago, so here's the whole confession.
When I was a teen I found Sunfire Romance novels. I think I read Jacquelyn first which I don't seem to have anymore. I was entraced with the time (the Depression) and her struggles to afford things that she had before the depression. It seemed so romantic. I made an effort to find more. I wound up collecting 10 of the 32 books.I liked the different time periods. I don't really have a favorite time period although I tend to gravitate toward medieval and Civil War era. Odd combo huh?
Any other closet historical romance readers out there?

Library Loot #5

With our trip to Vegas last week we didn't get to the library. I dropped a bunch off which is making our pile more manageable but I still manage to find new books to add. Like this one I've wanted to read since early last year.
Yes, I added this to my list because of the movie. But I still want to read it. For the record I haven't seen the movie. It's in my queue but I have so much to watch I think it will be a while. Hopefully I'll get to read it before it goes back.
What are you reading this week?

39

Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby! Here are just 39 reasons I love him so!

1. His smile. He has a 100 different smiles. His happy to see me smile. His happy to see his friends smile. His satisfied smile. His silly smile. His I'm being naughty smile.
2. His hands. He's got such soft strong hands!
3. His honesty. Sometimes I don't like hearing the truth but I appreciate knowing that I can get the truth.
4. His support. He unfailing supports me in every decision.
5. His love of games. Growing up I never had anyone to play games with. He loves board games as well as video games! We have a lot of fun playing games.
6. His love of books. We don't always read the same books but he reads just as much as I do.
7. His love of movies. He adores movies and loves to talk about movies.
8. He's a great friend. He adores his friends. He'll do anything for them!
9. He's practical. He's got that right brain thinking going for him. I tend to be a little loosey goosey but he's all business. Sometimes.
10. He can be so silly. I love his sense of humor and his sense of playfulness.
11. He calms me down. Just. Like. That.
12. He has his own interests. Sometimes he wishes I would like to do some of the same things like role playing but he's happy with the group he plays with and understands that's his thing.
13.He loves food just as much as I do. He's exposed me to so many delightful foods. And it's ok if I don't like something. He'll eat it :)
14.He's generous. Whatever I want (within reason) I can have. Even if it's his food! He's like that his friends too.
15. Animals adore him. Cats, dogs all flock to him. He's like the animal whisperer!
16. He loves to sing. It's so cute. He sings to me all the time!
17. He cares about people.
18. He makes friends easily.
19. He's sexy!
20. He's constantly helping me improve myself.
21. His big strong arms.
22. He's a good listener.
23. He loves to dance!
24. He can make me laugh. Sometimes he does things just to make me laugh.
25. That he trusts me completely.
26. He does little things just to make me happy.
27. He empties the dishwasher, the trash and the recycling for me.
28. He finds Youtube vidoes he thinks I'll like.
29. He watches my favorite shows with me even he doesn't think he'll like them.
30. He monitors what I post on facebook and comments on them.
31. He won't answer the phone if we are talking or doing something important.
32. He makes me feel special. And not short bus special. Sparkly girlie special.
33. He's a geek just like I am.
34. The cute little noises he makes when he sleeps!
35. His mind reading abilities.
36. He'll cook if I ask really nicely.
37. His vast knowledge of movie quotes.
38. The little dances he does just to make me laugh.
39. That's he's all mine!

Picture found here.