Third Annual Camping Extravoganza

Went camping!
Came back from camping!

Let's see - where do we start.

We left Rochester at 2:00 (ish) and convoyed with A and H&J. We drove across Minnesota to LaCrosse WI and followed the Mississippi River about two thirds the way down then crossed over into "Dairy Land USA". We arrived around 4 hours later and were relieved to find Mike ready to haul our stuff to the camping area (this was NOT a campground, just a hunk of land in Wisconsin)
Started putting up tents, ours first, H&J's, then A's. Got the Loo standing and ready and then put up J&D's. A&J showed up and popped up their tent then J&B showed up and popped up theirs. J&D showed up last, we already had the fire up! Mike provided us with enough wood to last all weekend and loaded it up to survive through the thunderstorms!
Friday we all had some drinks and goodies. Chatted about the drive and whatever else came out of our mouths. It was a bit chilly but it wasn't too horrible. Finally went to bed around 2ish maybe? I don't know since I don't use a watch while I camp. I was determined to sleep without the rain tarp on the tent so it could feel like we were under the stars. It was nice but C-O-L-D. I didn't sleep much. Finally put on some warmer pants and dry socks and fell asleep. Murphy kept us nice and warm lol

Saturday was nice and warm. We had breakfast, played some lawn games, took a nap, ate some lunch, and then Mike took us over to the tunnel that was to be for a train but it never happened, I guess...It was nice, and cold, and dark.

Got back to the villa and found that dinner was done. We had pork loin that had been marinated in all sorts of different marinades - but since it was smoked, it didn't really matter. We had pasta salads and chips to round off the meal. Later that night we played music and sat around the fire - again! Much warmer Saturday night.
Got up Sunday a little later than normal, had breakfast and watched as B&J packed up and then A & her son pack up too. J&B had planned on heading back early since J's uncle had died. A went home as it was already a long weekend for her toddler as it was! Which left us with 8. We had lunch and played more lawn games and hung out around the fire. Dinner was too be a deep oil fried turkey but no one thought to bring the oil so it was smoked turkey! We also had chips and calico beans. During dinner it started to rain so we all (10 people and 8 dogs) piled into one of the larger tents and ate dinner. After a while the g/f, dog, and myself ran to our car...it was hailing and we wanted to hear the weather so we left. There was a tornado that touched down near Galena IL, which was about 10 miles from where we were so it was really horrible weather. It died down a bit so we walked back to the villa and found that the loo had fallen over (thankfully the girls had cleaned it out earlier that day so not as much was left) and J&D's tent blew down and had 6" of water in it! Our tent had no water but was damp enough to just say we are going to the car to sleep. Woke up, ate some breakfast, tore down camp and then had some lunch and then packed up and headed home! We convoyed home with H&J and I slept ALL the way home. I had to potty and no one would stop so sleeping was the only alternative.
I finally got all the pictures on the net!
Oh and One of the J's and B got stuck in the mud trying to wash out the loo pail. That was hilarious. *snicker*

Confessions of a TV Junkie!

I got a DVR because I thought it would be more convenient to have a contraption that I didn't have to manipulate record shows for me. Not only shows, but I could fast forward through commercials! NO LONGER would I be a slave to the TV, wasting hours through commercials and boring Reality TV spots like when Ryan says, "And we'll find out......after the break" I know that we aren't going to see who is eliminated from AI until like 5 minutes before the end of the show, so guess what I can do now...I can get through the first 55 minutes in about 5 minutes of fast forwarding and not miss a hell of a lot. BAM! I save 50 minutes of TV watching right there. So I thought I would be a better person, have more time to do things around the house, more time to devote to hobbies and not be tied to a mechanical object that dictates to me when I need to sit down and watch a show.
Oh how wrong I was...well kinda. I don't only watch less TV, I watch less TV more. What do I mean? Well, funny be that if you have DVR you can record a show while you are watching one, or you can watch a show on the DVR while TWO other shows record. What did that mean for me?? No longer did I have to chose between watching Desperate Housewives and Family Guy, or Ugly Better and Survivor, or anything against American Idol. I could effectively DOUBLE my TV watching in less time than it would take to watch DOUBLE the amount of TV, but still more time than if I just watched the one show that I wanted to watch.
I found myself taping shows that I didn't really care about - Super Nanny and Wife Swap. I would record shows that I just "kinda" liked just so I could have something to watch when I came home for lunch. At one point I looked at my DVR TV show line up and saw 43 shows scheduled to be recorded. FORTY THREE! In one week! If those are all hour dramas (which most are!) that's a full time job!!!!
Enough I said. Enough. I got rid of all the shows that were on hiatus, the shows that were cancelled (or changed names like Big Brother and Survivor do that depending on their season title)
I got rid of the shows I just "kinda" liked and realized that I was still ahead of the game. Some of the shows were for Amy (Deadliest Catch, Wife Swap, Super Nanny). Then I felt better. I am seeing the upcoming line up for this season and I don't see much I want to add to my list. Last year at this time I was faced with such dilemnas as "I have 3 shows here! What am I going to do?" God.
So after all the weeding is done, here are the contenders that are still on the DVR

Brothers & Sisters (I like family dramas, there are just so many story lines)
Criminal Minds (I loooooooooove behavior analysis. I wanted to do that when I was a kid)
CSI (Vegas style)
Desperate Housewives (Falling out of love with it, so it may not stay much longer)
Dirt (again, falling out of love...think I won't record next season)
Dirty Sexy Money - LOVE IT
Eureka (it's cute.)
Family Guy (hello, do you know me at all??)
Ghost Whisperer (it still makes me cry)
Grey's Anatomy (because I'm part of that generation that is sucked in)
Heroes (they best have a good start to next season, I'm getting kinda bored!)
House (I will never take this off of DVR, even if they cancel it for 10 years.)
Monk (As much as I watch the show, sometimes I just can't figure out how it's done...)
Numb3rs (I might be done with this show too...not sure)
Private Practice (I'm on the fence still, but LOVE kate walsh!)
Pushing Daisies (it's on there for Amy, I personally think it's dumb)
Psych (Love Gus)
Riches (eh. This last season was kinda bad.)
Ugly Betty (This show makes me laugh my ass off)
Dexter (I need to get showtime back before this comes on again!!!)
The L Word (6 episodes left of the series...*sigh* Last season actually rocked!)
Weeds (again, right now I can take or leave it, but next season looks better, it's going to shake up a bit)
Ace of Cakes (I love to see what they can do with a lump of confection goodness)
America's Next Top Model (I missed this past season, I couldn't fit it on the DVR LOL!)
American Idol (I'm so hooked it's not funny)
Big Brother (Still, after all these seasons, I am still hooked on the antics of pent up house guests, so glad Ryan won!)
Deadliest Catch (For Amy)
Hell's Kitchen (Watch when I'm bored...it's the same show every season)
Project Runway (it's FIERCE!)
Top Chef (I'm falling out like with it. I can't taste what they are making and it drives me nuts)
Survivor (hello, how many seasons have I watched now? Why stop now??)
Amazing Race (I could take or leave it...I watch it if I happen to catch it now)

That's 32 shows if you are counting. If I got rid of all the ones I was iffy about it'd be 9 down, plus Amy's shows....I guess it's not as bad as I thought, but still. I spend way too much time watching TV. Admiting it is the first step.

I actually took a big step this month and said we should get rid of cable (DVR and all) and just have netflix. We'd watch what we could on tv when and if we caught it, but otherwise it was movies and extended basic cable.

I think I had to overdose and hit ROCK BOTTOM before I could make that kind of realization....besides I can catch American Idol and most other shows online anyway hehehhehe

Virtual Tour of my Carry Bag

Virtual Tour

Because I have very little to blog about I thought I'd take you a virtual tour around my hand bag.
This is not a land of ladies cosmetics or bobby pins. It's the bag of a commuter girl that has to ride a bus 30 minutes to and from work.

I use my over-the-shoulder bag when going to and from work, it holds more and is more comfortably slung across my body than my stiff purse or kelly-esque stiff purse.

First thing I pull out is my bus ticket - it's red with 7 punches punched
Calculator - never know when you might need to calculate (not that my phone doesn't have a calculator on it or anything)
Stride - winterblue gum
iPod and head phones
Two tubes of softlips - One Vanilla and the other is winter mint (which I am now applying to my lips)
RPU bill - I have no idea why it's in my carry bag
Happy Bunny note pad for ideas to jot down
Wallet which has various receipts, a nickel, work key, license and Mayo Health Club card, and some various eating out punch tickets. Of course the pet co and petsmart scan cards.
Check book
2 Oranges
Sudoku book and favorite pen
Date book with all sorts of goodies in it! Stamps and private passwords and reminders and directions
2 Coke bottle tops that I stole from the recycling bin (HEY If they aren't going to use their 3 points, I certainly will!)
Random pens, none that are my favorite, but will work when in a shortage
Keys! House, desk, and car key
Cell phone - nope, no messages.
Camping sign up sheet
andddddd
Hand Sanitizer. Cos you just don't know about public transportation.

And that is what it's like to find yourself wedged into my carry bag.
On the way HOME from work I scrunch up my lunch bag and shove it in there too.

New Business for me!

Unique Gifts for Graduations! Anniversaries! Birthdays! Weddings! Vacation Memories! Milestones! Retirements!

Do you have a special occasion coming up that needs a heart felt gift?
Send me your pictures either on CD, on a photo card, or to be scanned

What you will get:
- A personal discussion to go over the details and options
- Your pictures set to the music of your choice in a variety of different formats (Discussed at meeting)
- A copy of scanned photos on a CD
- As many copies of your DVD that you want (Additional per/CD cos incurred)
- Your DVD will be ready on your schedule, not mine (proper allowance for time, please)

Pricing varies - Please email for quote
Prices vary based on amount of photos and services needed

Min picture package: 100 pics Approx Running Time : 10 - 15 Minutes DVD
Ultimate Package: +/- 900 Approx Running time: 1 hour DVD

And the winners are...

And dang that Paul for doing this and inspiring me to do the same. I don't mean to copy ideas but it was a good one.

Here is a list (and how I got the list) of my top ten favorite songs.

I started my list with 32 fabulous songs ranging from my childhood to adulthood. Immediately I decided to eliminate the songs that came out before I was born. There went Abba's "Fernando", Beatle's "Eleanor Rigby", Grateful Dead's "Scarlet Begonias", Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", and Pink Floyd's "Mother".
This left me with 25 fantastic brilliant songs. I decided to further down my list by eliminating songs I hadn't heard within the past year. This got rid of Blair's "Have Fun, Go Mad", Blur's "Song 2", Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Devo's "Whip It", Styx's "Mr. Roboto", and Men Without Hats "Safety Dance".
21 songs, and how the heck am I supposed to pick which ones I like the best. So I decided to have a contest with the songs. "Which would I rather listen to right now" contest and pit them against one another. Oh it broke my heart to loose the rest.
I cut loose Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes", Lo Fidelity All Stars "Battle Flag", Antje Duvekot's "Dandelion", Ani DiFranco's "Little Plastic Castles", Madonna's "True Blue", Debbie Gibson's "Lost In Your Eyes", All Saint's "Never Ever", Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse", Beastie Boys "Paul Revere", Peter Gabriels "In Your Eyes", and Beck's "Ramshackle".

What could be left after those awesome songs were let go, you might ask?!? Well hold on to your seats for this fine chunk of awesomeness.
(And these are in, by no means, ANY particular order, I could barely let go 11, never mind rank 10!)

To Let You See Me - Melissa Ferrick (1997)
Bring The Noise - Anthrax (1991)
Grey - Chris Pureka (2004)
Once In a Lifetime - Talking Heads (1980)
In Your Room - Bangles (1988)
Magnolia Street - Catie Curtis (1999)
Come On Eileen - Dexy Midnight Runners (1982)
Call & Answer - Barenaked Ladies (1998)
Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys (1986)
Bittersweet Symphony - Verve Pipe (1998)

And that, my friends, is the most eclectic top ten you could possibly ever find. (Well, MF, CC, and CP kinda all go together)

Hodge Podge Post. EVERYTHING!

American Idol

Who didn't see that coming? Enough said.
I'll be happy with whoever wins. They are all good. I'd prefer for DCo to win though. Obviously.

Softball

Had a great game last night. I don't play on the team but I have my own shirt! I'm #1 because I'm cool like that, but my friends decided to name me, and it came out "Boston" YAY!
So anyway, I kept book last night for the first time. I enjoyed it. I didn't like hollering out the names, but I got used to it!
We won! Monday we won something crazy like 32 to 12, last night it was 24 to 12. Everyone had a great night, specially GP and the g/f! Z was a great pitcher and everything was fun. We didn't get home until 11 though, so I'm still kinda sleepy

Camping

Before camping, the g/f and I went over to our friends house - the girl who is hosting the event and her g/f. We hashed out all the details of how to feed anywhere from 14 people to THIRTY FOUR people! Our first annual Memorial day camping trip was for my birthday, 10 people were there....last year we grew to 19ish. This year it's 34 and 5 of ours from last year won't be going!
We decided to make one night - on your own, one night of ribs/pork loin, and the next night would be a deep fried turkey. Charge people $10 or so to have 2 hot breakfasts and 2 hot dinners. The rest of the cash, if any left over, would go to H's parents for hosting our troop. There will be no reason to pay for a campsite or firewood since it will all be provided. I sent out a lengthy email today and haven't heard anything back yet...except from B saying "THIRTY FOUR?!? Christ Ro!" so lol...

This Weekend

That's about it. Heading to Cologne this weekend for some R&R with the brother & Sister - in - law and nephew (on the g/f side). The SIL called today and asked me what kind of ice cream I liked from Schwann's and I about lost my head with excitement to yell out "COFFEE" I swear it sounded like I had tourettes, since taken out of context all anyone heard was me holler "COFFEE" down the hallway. But she laughed, and I groaned and all is well. Going to be brining our small camping grill to make burgers on for Mother's Day. The g/f's mom will be in Arizona and mine will still be in MA the SIL is the next one in line that is a mom. Might have to make her a cake with the nephew or something. That'd be fun! I might make up a batch of sugar cookies and have him decorate them for his mom. They love my cookies. (Because I can BAKE like a champion)

Brianna Lane

I'm listening to Brianna Lane right now...I've been listening to her for a couple of years now and have had the greatest pleasure of meeting her several times and having once also spent a night at her house since she is roomies with a friend of ours. I can say w/o bias that she has such a remarkable voice and her song writing is outstanding. She really captivates my imagination while she sings. She keeps my interest, so visual, and so impactual. If you ever want to try out a new artist - PLEASE try out Brianna Lane I promise you a good listen and hope you buy her albums. (Of course, you kinda have to like women singers, ones that play their own guitars)

American Idol - Final Four

I have to say that I'm quite amazed that the final four on AI consists of Jason and Syesha. I knew David A and DCo would be there, but Jason and Syesha? I thought Michael Johns and Carley would be there, or Brooke (never thought Carley would go before Brooke though!)
I've had a few favorites through the competition this year and DCo has been my top favorite followed in random order on a week to week basis: Jason, Carley, Brooke.
Last night we were watching AI and right smack in the second line of DCo's first song we had a Weather Advisory come on.

So with David A - I'm sick of ballads. The only time I've seen him get a bit edgy and "rock" was Neil Diamond week with Sweet Caroline (Which, he massacred by far) and with Coming to America (and he even made it ballad like). I'm listening to his "Stand By Me" from last night and I am not overly impressed. I can hear him inhaling and it drives me mental.
However, "Love Me Tender" was good. I am, by no means, an Elvis fan so I'm not biased. I like how he arranged it ... still don't like listening to him inhale!!!!
Solidly - I would have to say that if he wins I'll be ok with it, but will not listen to his music.

DCo - "Hungry Like The Wolf" was pre-empted for me, so I'm listening for the first time right now. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite of his songs, still I liked better than David A. "Baba O'Riley" was fantastic.....It's only teenage wasteland. This was definitely his week to shine, and my my, I think he did! I'm glad to see him with his guitar and without. He is pretty good, and the only Idol I have ever purchased anything from.

Syesha - When she started singing "Proud Mary" I thought - Uh oh! This song is way too big for her, the judges said pretty much the same thing. BUT I liked it better than that of the original. Her second song "A Change is Gonna Come" was very nice. I didn't know the original so I had nothing to base it against, but I really enjoyed it. I was moved during the judges review when she cried like she did. (No, I did not cry, but I felt something for her feelings) Overall - I think she had a solid night, but I think she will be in the bottom 2.

Jason - Jason Jason Jason...forgetting your lyrics this far in the game? Tsk Tsk. However, if any of you have seen the same performance from Bob Dylan himself you'd know he has forgotten his OWN lyrics to his own songs, so who are we to critique that? I figured that he'd do a reggae hit "I Shot The Sheriff" wasn't what I thought, maybe "One Love" but...I can't talk to that song, I'm not a fan of reggae music so I didn't like it. "Mr. Tambourine Man" - a drug song. I'm not shocked. (Followed from a Reggae hit?) Even though he forgot the lyrics and my defense of that, I still didn't like his vocals on it.
Obviously, if he doesn't go home, it's because he has a huge fan base that overlooks such things and he played to them.

I checked DialIdol.com and found the DCo was #1 (YAY), Archie was #2, then Syesha, with Castro OUT. I can see that.
Fox is pimping Archie to win. He should just go be with Disney and forget the rest of this.

Robin Scarey - CANCELLED!

The "Powers-that-be" Be at it again.

I was flipping through the internet yesterday - through my daily onslaught of trashy tabloids via email and there were 4 words I saw that I just didn't want to see! In simple, but non-retractable words I saw "Men In Trees, Cancelled" NOOOOOOOO I wailed (in my head)! It can not beeee. I always enjoy the light hearted dramedy and their beautiful scenery that makes me say "I want to move to Alaska" every single week. I am captivated by Jane and her Snow-Plow/Sanitation Worker husband Sam....the saga of Patrick losing his memory and poor sweet Annie's battle to move on. I even bawled with Marin when she thought Jack wasn't going to return even though the spoilers told me he would. I enjoy watching Mom-Mai and Chief Celia battle for Patrick and by god, I even like Ben the bartender and Theresa. (I don't like the hooker and the priest though.)
Much of my disappointment sits with this shows constant moving around. It was most likely their demise. That and it didn't have a lot of publicity.

**UPDATE 5/9/08** Appears they have now cancelled Women's Murder Club too. Rat bastards. **Update Done**

Of course, with the cancellation of ANY good show, I had to think back to OTHER good shows robbed of their future by being yanked just too soon. Studio 60. Definitely yanked too soon. That show made me howl! Book of Daniel. It was cute and witty....and so what if the guy thought he was conversing with Jesus. Close to Home (between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs). And even though it ran for a few seasons - Everwood was definitely axed before it's time. Sisters was a mid-season hitter that didn't make it. Cashmere Mafia doesn't look like it's coming back either! I even liked Big Shots with all it's business with the fellas. The L Word shouldn't be done after 5.5 seasons...I wish it to go longer, obviously (good solid run for lesbians on a premium channel!) Popular should have stayed good, like season one! Wonderfalls! I loved that show. Definitely loved that show! Quite the obvious show that was cancelled before it's time was Family Guy but by thanks to the nice powers-that-be, came back and proved to be a billion dollar windfall, now signed on until 2012!!! 4400,

I think that is as far back as my memory goes, come back to me with other one/two-season "Cancelled before their time" shows. I love to travel down memory lane

On the day I turned 33...

Or should I say weekend, or entire WEEK? The G/F treated me to HuHot on Thursday and then a movie! Friday night we spent time with J & B playing cards, Saturday night was the PARTY at J&B's! Sunday we were at J & B's for a cookout. Such a nice and relaxing time!
The party was very nice. Kate was there, Vaz & her g/f, Alissa and hers, H & J, Dana (Jamie was away), Amber, J & B, G, Rox and Amy came over for a bit! Gary & T were there too along with the boys and their girls. Rox brought me strawberry pretzel desert! Nice! Kate got me a gift card for iTunes, way more than that was expected, but love her for it dearly anyway!
I had a tiara, it said BITCH. It rocked.
Did I mention I might have had too much to drink?
I had a very nice 33rd birthday. Not many people remembered it though...Only Susie online sent me a Happy Birthday note....(all my friends here remembered because of the party), and my mom and sister called. Meg didn't, nor did Chris, or my gram...the three that usually remember. Ah well...It's still 100 times better than my 23rd birthday. - Another story for another time
(Gram, Gramp and Meg ended up calling...they didn't forget)

Baby Mama

Oh what a funny movie Baby Mama is. If you live under a rock and don't know what this movie is, it's about a woman (Tina Fey) that has put motherhood off and finally wants to have a baby. Apparently, medically, she can't. She harvests her eggs, gets some sperm and has them implanted into a surrogate (Amy Poehler), someone that appears to have less class and intelligence than that of Tina Fey's character.
Steve Martin plays a whacky-earthy-health nut - guru that lightens the mood and at one point made me feel really uncomfortable with his eye contact!
Oscar (Conrad from Weeds) gives some humor as the door man who applies the name "Baby Mama" to Tina's surrogate.
Not to mention the lisp-having birthing coach Siobhan Fallon!
I really enjoyed the movie and I'm pretty sure I snorted once or twice. I believe half way through the movie I though "I need to own this when it comes out".
I've been missing Ms. Fey on SNL, especially when she is with Amy. I was thrilled to see them back together again!
Other SNL cast members that appeared: Will Forte, Fred Armisen,

If I Only Looked at the Map...

I'd have KNOWN that the bus I should be taking lets off 2 blocks from my house rather than having to walk down to John Marshall, get a transfer, wait 20 minutes and finally get to work. I can take just ONE bus and spend just 19 minutes on the bus and walk just two blocks. AND I get to sleep in! Rather than walking 15 minutes to get the bus and catching it at 6:53 AM, I can walk 5 minutes and catch it at 7:12 AM! That's about a half hour extra sleep! Now I'm liking the bus much better than before. I can get HOME at 4:30 instead of 4:45 too... That's nice. Nice. Nice.
*Sigh* Why didn't I look at the map? (I'll tell you why, because the title of the map was non-descript and indicated it was picking up and letting off elsewhere!)
I feel like singing "I'm A MAP"

It's not EASY being green, but it can be done!

Going Green Project

Goals:
Use less water
Obtain/Create less waste
Recycle more
Reduce fossil fuel usage
Use own purchased bags at store
Educate others
Reduce energy consumption
Save the rain forest (and some will laugh when they read that sentence if they know me *REALLY* well)

How I'm/We are doing:

I suppose having grown up in an area that recycles cans for 5 cents a can I am used to the act of separating my garbage. I have now become a little more attentive to my separation lately.
I have a bag full of cans that needs to go to Watson's. I get paid for it! They pay per pound, not per can but that's alright, money is money.
We have purchased a recycling/bin station that we use in our garage so when the paper bags in our kitchen fill up we bring it to the garage, when those fill up we set it out for the recycling truck.

Using less water is something I'm still struggling with. We have started to take the water gathered by the humidifier and use that in our washing machine. While it only gathers about 1 - 2 gallons at a time, at least it's 1 - 2 gallons. We would like to start using the grey water around our house for outside watering but haven't started that yet.
I make a very conscious effort to turn off the water while brushing my teeth.
I don't ever take a bath, only a shower, so that uses significantly less water.
We try to conserve while using the toilet as well.
Washing dishes will always be a tough one for me. I can NOT put my hands in cold water that has bits of food floating around, gloves on or not. I have, however started having a pan full of water, dipping my sponge in there and getting a lot of dishes soapy then rinsing them off instead of letting the water run.
This summer I will be setting out some pails to collect water so that I can use that for washing the car or cleaning the grill or watering the plants / lawn when there is less rain.

I'm still not sure how to execute the "Obtain Less Waste" option.
I don't purchase CD's anymore, I buy all my music on iTunes and burn my own CD's when needed.
I don't bring bags home from the grocery store unless it's an unexpected stop. I try to get only paper bags for reuse in recycling, but will take plastic. I then take the plastic bags to the Dog Park where people use them to clean up after their dogs. They are always appreciative.
When asked at the store if I want them to print me out a receipt, unless I need it, I say no.
If I can carry it to the counter, I can carry it to my car.
I reuse my water bottles SEVERAL times before putting them into recycling
I burn my junk mail when having a camp fire. It's great for kindling, bad for things flying up into the air, but I use the screen and it's all good. (and no, I don't burn the plastic in the envelopes, or the glossy colored pages)

I have started taking the bus....so has the g/f (well, she hasn't yet, because her recent schedule doesn't allow for it, but will starting Monday).
Not only is this good for the environment, but for my pocketbook as well! A round trip to work twice a day (I usually went home for lunch) is 9.2 miles. That's 46 miles a week, 184 miles a month, 2208 miles a year! With gas at $3.50, I am saving about $650 a year on just taking the bus!!! Plus, ya know, the environmental factor.

For Christmas I asked for those green bags you get at the grocery store. I think I got 10 or so. I also purchased some heavier canvas bags at Old World Market for some heavier items.
I always forget them in the car, but always trudge back out and get them. They are *NOT* that expensive - maybe $2.00 each! HyVee at Barlow's even gives us a 5 cent discount for every bag we use instead of theirs!! I figure that if I use my bags everytime I shop (except for those surprise trips listed above) I use 7 bags for a big trip to the store, 2 - 3 on small trips. Looking at my check book register I see that I've been to HyVee/Cub/WalMart 18 times since 3/26 (so that's approximately a month!) and gauging on the price spent I figured I used about 50 of my own bags. I got back $2.50 (if I did all my shopping at HyVee) Which clearly pays for itself. In a year all my bags will be paid for! They are super sturdy and can fit more in them than a regular bag also.
I heard that some places in California may start charging 15 cents per bag use. Using my 50 per month, you'd pay $7.50 a month just on bags. $90 a year! I wish Minnesota would start charging for bags!

I've sent out two mass emails so far - one for Earth 60 and one for Earth Day. I included some helpful tips on how to easily save energy and recycling and whatever. I hope that people read it. If not, at least I put it out into the ether.

The g/f and I got a new furnace this year. I didn't notice anything on our heating bill, but I'm hoping it beats the old beast we had before. I want to get better at replacing the filter though. That should save a bit of money and reduce energy usage.
Our dryer used to take 2 cycles to completely dry a decent sized load. We paid $75 to have a hole drilled into our house so that we could properly vent the machine and now it only takes one cycle!
I wish we lived someplace where we had a bigger yard so that we could line dry, but that's out of the question. I do, however, rack dry a lot of shirts and sweatshirts and sweaters.
We are in the process of replacing all of our light bulbs to those curly que ones. As our old light bulbs burn out, we put the new ones in.
I try to unplug things we don't use often.
I'm trying to be very conscious about shutting off lights (I do leave one on for the dog when we aren't home at night though)
I've been paying attention to shut the TV off before I leave the house! Go me lol

And saving the rain forest. LOL
I have absolutely NO idea how to save the rain forest except that I play Lil Green Patch on Facebook. I have saved 19 square feet already and in March the entire facebook community saved 13,644,308 Square Feet! Just by playing a silly online game! The sponsors of the game contribute money for our usage. It's neat. I send plants to my friends and they send them back to me. Not to hard. I can only send 20 per day, but still...it's my own little part.

So that's me, that's the green me. I'd love to hear any more ideas anyone has!

Oh and be sure to watch the Human Footprint on National Geographic channel! It's very eye opening!

Is it that I like music played on commercials or is it that the music I like is commerciable.

Fluke - Atom Bomb (Car Commercial)
Wraith Pinned to the Mist and other Games - Of Montreal (Outback Steakhouse)
Yael Naim - New Soul (New Mac Air Book)
Antje Duvekot - Merry Go Round (Bank of America)
Hem - Let Go (State Farm Commercial)
Feist - 1,2,3,4 (iPod Commercial)
Smiths - How Soon is Now (Charmed Theme)
M.I.A. - Gallang (Honda Civic)
The Weepies - All That I Want (JC Penneys)
The Weepies - Stars (Old Navy)
Brazillian Girls - Lazy Lover (Some body wash commercial)
Psapp - Hi (Disorono)
Sneaker Pimps - Spin Spin Sugar (Can't remember where, but I've heard it!)

Funny thing is - I knew all of these songs before they were in commercials. Am I ahead of the curve? hmmm

So if Brianna Lane, Chris Pureka, Catie Curtis, Doria Roberts, Melissa Ferrick, Katie Sawicki, The Waifs, Be Good Tanyas, Edie Carey, Ellis, Girlyman, Pamela Means, or the like end up on a commercial - It'll be fantastic for them!!! Because you all know you just looked at those songs up there and said "oh yea, I remember that song!" (at least to a couple of them) If you don't, go look them up and you will remember them soon enough.

And while I'm on music - Wycleaf Jean took lyrics from WuTang's C.R.E.A.M. for his song "Sweetest Girls", and I'm ok with that but...I was over J&B's and no one knew the original song. I pulled out the iPod and put on WuTang's song (because of course, I must have WuTang at my finger tips?!?) and no one knew it! I'm not totally surprised about that but it made me realize that I'm old. 1993, when the song came out, was a LONG time ago to these kids, and to me it was just like yesterday.

Take me back to the Black Hills

So Doris Day just came on the iPod and serenaded my eardrum with "Take me back to the Black Hills, the Black Hills of Dakota". Two years ago the g/f & 2 other friends of ours went to the Black Hills...and it got me to thinking about how much I would love to go back! We first went to the Badlands - it was absolutely a sight that can not be described. It was an ocean bed at one time and it's the remains of that. It's breathtaking. Then we drove on into the Black Hills. South Dakota is pretty flat and then all of a sudden it's MOUNTAINS. We took our first trip up to see Mt Rushmore the day after we got there. We curved up the windy mountain road, not unlike Route 2 in Massachusetts and all of a sudden we rounded a bend and there was Abe Lincolns face! I was awe struck and speechless. All my life I had heard of the great Mt. Rushmore carved into a mountain and there it was - right infront of my face. A few more successions of curves and the entire monument came into frame. It was a grand sight and I felt like I was looking at the cover of every history book I had ever had before. We did all the tourist-y things like learn how the rocks were carved and who designed it and how long it took and did the nature walk and saw the night time lighting of the faces. Then we returned to our campsite to sleep - and return the next day for other area attractions.
As much as we did that week at Mt. Rushmore, nothing will beat the first moment I saw the rocks. I still get emotional. I'm such a freak. While I have been on many other excellent vacations before, that was the first one I've been to that had historical significance to me, gave me a sense of national being. I suggest going if you ever get the chance...your kids won't appreciate it, but you might!

Thus I must and thus I won't.

I'm not much of a blogger, although I think about it all the time in my head. Thus comes the I must. I have too many thoughts running through my brain to keep in there lest I forget. So I must. I also have some overwhelming urge to join the gagillions of other bloggers in getting my own words out into the ether. So here they are.
This leads me to the Thus I Won't. I won't talk specifically about my job or co-workers. Not really wanting to get canned for less than pleasant words I'd like to use some days. I probably won't talk about any of my friends by name. They didn't sign up for this, I did. Doesn't mean I won't talk about them though! aaahhh hahahah. Probably won't talk much about the g/f either. She's not much of an online person anymore and probably doesn't want her airs aired in the internet air.
And thusly, I will mostly likely type about reality tv...some things entertainment, new music, my dog and her neurotic tendencies, being green, trips, my family, my friends and camping, and possibly politics and the what nots of life.
And while it's called "The Busy World Of..." sometimes I'm not all that busy. I suppose we will see if I update this or not. Poke me if I don't.

Ode to my puppy

This is for my pup's first birthday

I love my dog. I don't think I've mentioned on here yet that I do...I say it daily.
I love *just* about everything about my dog.
I love that she goes bananas when a simple bird is in the front yard - running from the chair to the door to ring her bell and back to the chair in RECORD speed only made by Murphy.
I love that after the dogpark that she gets so tuckered out that she is submissive for a bath but as soon as the bath is over she is full of the devil again.
I love that when we go to the dog park that she whines from the point she KNOWS where we are going to when we get there. Oh she knows.
I love that when I say it's time to go for a ride to pick up mommy from work that she jumps up in the truck, sits on the center arm rest and waits for me to get ready - looking straight out the entire time.
I love that when I'm driving she nudges to get under my arm so I have to cuddle her while I drive. She doesn't succeed often though
I love that at night time she will crawl under the blankets and fall asleep but gets super hot and pokes her head out and collapses at the bottom of the bed where it's chilly
I love that she is a peanut butter WHORE
I love that when we go to the dog park she takes on the big dogs. I mean she takes them on and can out run them (with Murphy short cuts, of course)
I love that when we go to the dog park she heads STRAIGHT for the mud puddle and you can hear a chorus of 10 people groaning as the beautiful white puppy is white no more!
I love that when we are done with the dog park and when we get back in the truck (on a towel of course) that she gives me a kiss on the cheek as if to say thanks mom!
I love that she runs to fetch a ball but never brings it back
I love that everyone at the dog park knows Murphy by name and her birthday is coming up and they want us to have her party there.
I love that she wiggles her butt when I pull out her sweater or jackets...she knows it's walk time or park time
I love that she runs down stairs and sits on the electric blanket looking at me or the g/f to turn it on for her
I love that I can come home from work and find my two girls cuddled in bed and I can join in the napping
I love that she can sit, lay, roll over, sit pretty, dance, up, couch, stand, wait, watch, stay
I love that cocks her head to one side and then the other
I love that the g/f and I say funny stuff as if we were Murphy saying it "What is it, Timmy in a well girl???"
I love that I come home from work and the g/f says "MOMMY'S HOME" and she goes crazy jumping all over me
I love that we have taught the nieces and nephew to hold her treats just right so she will follow commands for them (sit, stay, no bites)
I love that when I say "NO BITES" that she whines and tries to bite me without biting me
I love that she wakes me up by biting my hair
I love that she loves frozen green beans as a treat
I love that she smells so good when she comes home from her doggy retreat and spa!
I love that she is so good with kids
I love that she rings a bell to go potty outside
I love that when she is on a walk she soldier belly crawls in excitement
I love that she was born on April 19th (19th is a "special" number for me & the g/f)
I love that when I say "BED TIME" she runs as fast as her paws can go through the house and up the bed stairs and sits to wait for me to follow
I love that when I am down stairs I can hear her being naughty just by the way she walks through the house.
I love that she loves our neighbor kids so much she almost knocks them over when they come to play
I love that when she knows she is going to the dog park she jumps up at the window with the ball in her mouth
I love that after company stays overnight she runs around the house looking for everyone after they are gone
I love that when she gets super tired she crashes hard - so hard that she will flop against my ear and just stay there for the night if I let her
I love that when we go for a ride with the windows down she puts her head out the window and pulls it back in her muzzle is all crazy
I love that when she wakes up from a hard sleep she gets "bed muzzle" (like bed head LOL)
I hate that she jumps up on people with her muddy paws at the dog park - except for the ones that dress up - are they dumb or something? Who wears Ralph Lauren to a dog park?
I hate that we can't find any toys for her that she doesn't destroy in just a day and she eats it
I hate that I can come into the room after being away for 3 minutes and find something destroyed
I hate that she can't "come" - apparently there is too much fun stuff out there mom
I hate that she has chewed through about 4 leashes now and we are finally reserved to having to put the leash in a crystal vase when we come inside so she can't get it
I hate that she has chewed through 6 pairs of my shoe laces, 1 pair of my shoes, 10 of the g/f's shoe laces and 2 of her pairs of shoes
I hate that all my pants have frayed bottoms because Murphy has chewed through and pulled/ripped the rest
I hate that I have almost no socks left because she has tugged them all off my feet and they now all have holes in the toes or heels
I hate that I had to get a taller laundry basket because she could get in and get our dirty clothes and parade them around the house with company over
I hate that I say the word "Naughty" more than "GOOD GIRL"
I hate that she barks at the garbage truck or the plows or the street sweeper, but I love that she ONLY barks at those and NOT busses or trucks.
I hate that when she gets super tired she barks like a maniac...it's our cue that it's her bed time
I hate that everything I hate, I love about her!

If they can’t spell it...

Driving down the street today I passed a McDonalds as I do every day.
I read the marquee like I usually do, I like to see them notify the American's in our town that they are conducting interviews - in Espanol.
Today it was different, and I read it as my mind said it "McRib is back" but I noticed something - it was spelled M-I-C-R-I-B. MicRib.
Now seriously, they sell the item on their menu and they can't even spell it?!
I can't say I'm overly shocked, just amused

And what is that on the door knob?!?!?

Lets take a few minutes to recap the fun weekend I just had...not only was it fun it was....bizarre, disgusting, entertaining, painful, and long!

We headed out on Friday right after work (We being me, the g/f, J, & B). We went straight up to G's, Rae, Brianna, & Heidi's house. We hung for a while, caught up, had pizza, labeled some CD's and had some liquid of the refreshment nature. Brianna took the corner and she sang her new CD "Let You In" from Track 1 to Track 11 (missing St Jude because of musical instrument difficulty). It was perfect from beginning to end. She even managed to put the word KUDZU in one of the songs. Rock on! Afterwards there was more hanging out, more music played, more liquid drank and pizza snacked on. It was a great night!
Woke the next morning and headed out to the Renaissance Festival. We get maybe half way there and I thought I was going to die. Had to find a bathroom quick smart. Of course, traffic was backed up and people were laughing at me and it wasn't nice. We get back onto 169 and head down towards the festival leaving the check in of the hotel to later on that night. More backed up traffic. We get to Ren Fest and park in the year 2000 (literally) and walk down towards the show - year 1570 or something. It was a hike. We toured around, poking our heads in shops, saw people in costume (complete with a drag-wench) and sampled some food and took a trip to the Privies. We saw a jousting competition and then caught the Puke & Snot show. Spent way too much money on food so we decided to head out and catch a Perkins. We ate dinner (at one of the last establishments in Minnesota that allowed you to smoke while you eat at the table). After that we headed out to the hotel.
There are seriously not enough words to describe this place. It was seedy first of all, smelled of cat urine and that was just the lobby. We get into our rooms and first notice the bathroom - it was one BIG room with no specified tub, just a curtain and shower head, toilet and sink. The sink had RADISSON soap on it which was quite hilarious. The rest of our room was ok. I mean it was smelly and unkept but it was "ok". We go next door to J & B's room and almost vomit immediately. There was blood splatter (faded) on the ceiling, blood on the pillow (again faded but still) and on the lamp shade. Vomit on the wall and fecal matter in several different places. So we go to turn the door knob to get out of the room and there is man juice all over it. Yea, we got our money back and went to another hotel!!
After spending the entire previous day walking my poor feet were ready for a day in hot water. That wasn't going to happen. We ended up at IKEA (YAY IKEA!!!!) and then across the street to the Mall of America. So much fun!!!
Murphy had a puppy sitter this weekend and was glad to see us show up at home when we finally got there. It was a very interesting weekend. Brianna rocked, Ren Fest was...interesting, hotels were disgusting and my poor feet still haven't gotten back to fine. lol.
Hope yours was good too!

9/11 Remembered

Each generation has a tragedy to "call their own". Just like the Kennedy Assassination and the Challenger Explosion, our generation will have "Where were you on 9/11". Not what were you doing when you found out, or where were you when the planes hit, that part is just assumed. The question still posed as "Where were you on 9/11".
I am ashamed to say that I was sleeping, but I was. The windows were open and the curtains flapped like birds against the wall. The sunlight had been pouring in for hours and by all practical purposes it was a beautiful early fall day in the Berkshires. That day on 9/11. The phone rang, Amy reached for it. I heard her with a groggy hello greet the caller. Suddenly I was jabbed in the ribs and was demanded to release the remote. I gave it to her, still unaware of the tragedy the rest of the nation was coming to realize. Quickly slumber bliss turned into dark horror. I rolled over and joined Amy sitting up in bed, mouths agape.
Sadly at this time we still did not know of the anguish that would befall the nation. All that had happened was a plane flew into one of the twin towers. It could have been an accident. It had to be, Who would fly a plane into the twin towers on purpose? Then as we watched, Amy already having hung up, a second plane hit the other tower. The heartbreak could be heard in the news caster voices as they tried to maintain a certain level of professionalism. The plane flew in and all that came out the other side was putrid black smoke and blazing orange flames. When I look back I can still envision the sight in my minds eye. Quickly we switched from the local stations, away from Ed Dauge and Lydia Kulbida, to CNN. Maybe they could tell us what others couldn't. Claims of terror, hopes for accidents, reports from the officials...say where is the president? Sitting in a classroom reading books to children later to be condemned for that choice, I still agree with. No need to alarm young children just yet.
More reports trickled in after knowing that the twin towers were hit. A third plane flew into the pentagon and yet ANOTHER plane was somewhere over Pennsylvania making a bee-line towards the capital. Anxiously we all awaited what would happen. Then nothing. Several brave people knowing what had transpired earlier took some of the sting out of the gushing wound. Flight 93 crashed in an empty field. Later we were to find out that another plane that was scheduled for LA was grounded contained bags filled with manuals for this.
I called into work that day, so did Amy. There wasn't going to be any way to concentrate. We sat glued to our television set, moving between the bedroom and living room and occasionally surfing the web to find out all the details we could. As we learned more about this al queda and some guy named Osama Bin Ladin who has a different spelling of his name depending on what news station you are on. We heard of gas price increases, nuclear reactors are in danger, poisons in our subways, watch our mail. Panic has grasped our country and we have no one to turn to but each other. Just when we thought the tragedy was enough and nothing more could possibly happen, it did. Reports were coming in that the structural damage to the towers was so great that they could fall over. As we watched the news for more details breaking news came from New York City. As people came pouring out of the towers they collapsed upon themselves. Down went one and then the other. A hole in the New York City sky line slightly smaller than the hole growing in our hearts for the people still inside the towers and for the family members watching this unfold.
Feats of heroism, pleas for help, frantic searches for loved ones, friends, and co workers started. All the rest of the nation could do was sit and watch, helpless, scared, and sad. Desperate to reach other family members or anyone they just might have known living in NYC or Washington DC.
Personal stories started to be heard as cluttered phone lines began to free up. So-and-So's co-worker's daughter works at the Pentagon and if she wasn't out picking up her dry cleaning that morning she would have perished in the attack. A friend of a friend lives in NYC and could see the planes fly into the towers. Personal stories that made us sure that we weren't dreaming, this was real, and we did have to deal with it.
I had been to those towers just once before in my life. I was about twelve and on a Girl Scout field trip, my mom the leader. I vaguely remember going up into the towers. I remember seeing lots of flags and getting into elevators and off of elevators just to keep going up - the elevators were staggered so that they could reach the top. We got off on the observation deck and got to put our feet on the railings and foreheads on the glass, peer down at all the little cars, busses, people below. I had been in one of those towers, though I don't remember which one or any other significant fact about it. I had been there. I somehow felt attached to it at this point.
As the days wore on and gas prices did not increase, no more survivors found, reports complied, families coming to the realization that their mother, father, brother, sister, husband, child would not be coming home, the nation mourned. We all felt the impact of 9/11. Television networks cancelled their shows so that their families could be with their loved ones and we would do something OTHER than watch some dumb cooking show when everyone else is doing family things. We all went to our local grocery stores and big box stores to gather supplies and send them to New York. We donated our money. We went to church, we prayed, we bought little trinkets that reminded us of that day. We put up our American flags, we wrote and sang songs about the tragedy, about the nation. We were putting on our reds, our whites, and our blues and showing the world that we would not be destroyed. We would not let the lives of over 3,000 innocent Americans and foreign countrymen be forgotten. We pledged our faith and hearts to finding who did this and making sure it never happened again. We cried REBUILD! Rebuild.
Just six months after 9/11 I went back to the towers. This time there would be no country flags, no rides in the elevator, no foreheads on the glass in a gift shop. We first went to ground zero and were told to come back - you can't get any closer without a ticket (mind you , I still have the ticket). So we got our tickets and our viewing wasn't for quite some time so we did other things around the city. We walked towards the harbor on Wall Street and passed a small fire house. We stopped to look at their display case that listed the names of their fallen brethren. We realized that if we could walk from Ground Zero to there then they must have been one of the first on the scene. Our heroes that day. We were on the Staten Island Ferry (quite by accident...you certainly can't get to the Statue of Liberty on it.) and on the way back into the city you could just see the hole, the vast empty space that once was two of the tallest buildings in the world, a symbol of economic prosperity, and quite phallic. We departed the ferry and made our way back to the site. We recognized the streets from the news. The same streets that thousands of people ran down, screaming and crying we were walking the other direction. We paused briefly at a small church adjacent the site, not one scratch to it, not one window blown out. We craned our neck to look at a hole in the ground. Not just any hole - THE HOLE. All the debris had been removed, safety nets still hung on touching buildings that were in danger losing windows still fragile from the blasts and falling of the towers. We stood for what seemed an eternity with other people there making their own personal pilgrimage. Each one of us there for different reasons and for all the same reasons. We had to see for ourselves the cowardice, the sadness, to be close to a national symbol that was no more. We left the site and passed the famous wall of pictures - pictures of people still missing or of people that perished in the attack. Our hearts heavy, we left the site and went to Time Square. We had to move on.
Six years later there is still a hole there - people debating what to do. Rebuild, make a park, leave a hole, we still have nothing but a hole. We have gotten no closer to finding Osama or made any significant advancements in defusing al queda. But one thing rings true. We haven't forgotten. We can't ever forget.

Murphy Update at 2 Months!

We just entered the second month of having Murphy!
We had our 4 month check up yesterday (she will be 4 months on the 19th) and she weighs an entire 8.6 lbs. (She was 6.2 last month) which means she isn't quite 10 lbs yet so she can't get her rabies and distemper shot at the same time. Have to go back on Wednesday for the rabies shot.
She has been enrolled in Puppy Kindergarten and starts on Sept 10th. Since last month we have not only mastered the sit & lay, we have mastered roll over AND shake. The other night the g/f and Murph were working on fetch with a tennis ball. She does alright with it! We are working on fetch, stay, sit pretty, loose leash walk, and play dead. She loves her Charlee Bears and will do whatever we ask for 'em. I'm sure you've all seen my default picture - she gets very excited when she sees us and wiggles! That was a picture of just that. She is growing like a weed and you may see a bit of apricot on her, her spine, top of her head, front of legs and parts of her ears are changing. Her white fluffy puppy fur is making way for her adult hair.
The vet said that she has excellent muscle tone. I can't imagine why (sarcasm) she chases other dogs like a champion! We went camping in Wisconsin with a few other big dogs and Murphy chased the big dogs into submission. She keeps right up at the dog park and even jumps in the creek with them! When she isn't at the dog park she can be found in my front yard running full throttle in circles.
We have been camping a couple more times since last update and Miss Houdini has figured out how to get out of the tent so we had to ziptie one end of the tent while creating a loud barrier for the other side incase she gets up in the middle of the night.
She is able to go through out the night without having to potty. When I get up at night I leave the gate open and let her follow me if she has to potty but a lot of the times she will look up and then go back to sleep. We are doing "ok" with the potty training. She does most of her business outside but we still have accidents. She doesn't bark at the door to let us know she is sitting at the door waiting. The bell system didn't work when we first tried it - she was scared of the bell. We are going to try again, she thinks the bells are toys now. So again, we try the training.
Last night was a sad marker for us - she slept on the floor and on her doggie bed for the first time, which is good for her, but it means she wasn't sleeping in the bed with us :( She needs her space and I understand but I miss her. I love when she wakes me up in the middle of the night by chewing my hair so we can play and cuddle for a few minutes. (and it means it's time to potty)
She has gotten out of the biting phase with the kids up the street and new people she meets. She only bites us when we are rough playing and we still discourage it. She will be losing her pointy teeth in the next few months!!! yay! Her 6 upper and lower adult teeth will be coming in anytime now - they start around 4 months.
She has been enjoying her rawhides more and more, and we got her a bigger kennel for during the day. She still squeals when we put her in and shrieks like a banshee. But at least it is open to the room and she can look around and enjoy the fan and tv.
She loves to watch the Animal Planet and barks at the dogs that "bark at her". We have also discovered that we hate & bark at the following: lawn mower, microwave when it dings, vacuum cleaner, swifer vacuum, dehumidifier when it starts up, the washing machine, and - the printer! Anything really that starts suddenly with some loud or obnoxious noise.
She is still bringing rocks and sticks into the house and we are still throwing them back into the yard.
She is still as adorable as can be, cuddly as can be, and smart as can be. We will keep her heheheh