March 31, 2008
Every Sunday, or almost every Sunday, my sister does a feature called “Cereal Sunday” on her blog. Since my son spent the night at her house this weekend, she interviewed him for Cereal Sunday this week.
In the interview, Cheryl mentions my aversion to sugary cereals. My mother didn’t let me have them growing up, and I remember being horrified at a friend’s house one morning as she poured sugar on her Cheerios. Cheerios! They’re so good on their own, and my friend had to put sugar on them to get them down? Blasphemy!
Matthew’s favorite cereal, which he mentions in the interview as an afterthought, is Life. It’s mine too. You can’t go wrong with regular Life topped with fresh blueberries. It’s one of the best meals ever!
Like my sister, I love cereal and have been known to eat it for lunch, dinner, or a snack before bed. Like my sister, I’m frugal…as far as cereal is concerned. It’s ridiculous to spend $5 on a box of cereal that will be gone in days (especially with three hungry kids!) so I buy it on sale. We frequently stock up on cereal when it’s buy one get one free at Publix, which would explain why I have 14 or so extra boxes in my pantry right now!
9:54 am
Filed under Daily Happenings
4 Comments »
March 28, 2008
Well, not YOU specifically. I just watched last nights episode of Eli Stone and my heart is still fluttering from staring at George Michael, who guest starred as himself. Back in the day, my older sister introduced me to George Michael. (I was too young to know him during his Wham! days.) She was sitting at her typewriter in her bedroom at home, tapping out the lyrics to “I Want Your Sex”. She had one of those cool new (at the time) typewriters that allowed you to type a line of text and preview it on a screen before it actually typed, and I begged to help. She declined my offer, citing the fact that my mother probably wouldn’t want her pre-teen typing our phrases like “Sex is natural, sex is good, not everybody does it, but everybody should.”
A short time later, George Michael’s song “Faith” hit it big, and you couldn’t flip on MTV without seeing him prance around, guitar in hand, sunglasses on…and lordy, did I mention the tight jeans? I was a fan instantly, and I remember my sister making me a copy of the cassette she had.
Later on, when I was in high school, George Michael released his CD Listen Without Prejudice. TO this day, it remains one of my all time favorite CD’s. Most people know the main track, “Freedom 90″, but the rest of the CD is so different - mellow, soulful, and moving.
George Michael, despite his recent foibles in various men rooms, still has it. He’s fantastic artist and he can even act, as he proved on Eli Stone. (Of course, how hard is it to play yourself?) I just read in Entertainment Weekly that he’s released a new CD and will be touring in the US this summer. The last time he toured, 17 years ago, I was only 14 and not the huge fan I am now. I’ve already checked the dates and he’s coming to Tampa on Saturday August 2nd. What a great birthday present that will make! Even better, he’s appearing at the St. Pete Times Forum, which is where Jim has season tickets to see the Tampa Bay Lightning. That means he should be getting a pre-sale offer to buy tickets before they’re offered to the public…
1:04 pm
Filed under Entertainment
7 Comments »
March 25, 2008
I just signed my life away.
Actually, I signed a master promissory note to Sallie Mae, giving me a few student loans to pay for the remainder of my degree program. I’ve been paying out of pocket for my schooling and books since I returned in January, and that was getting old fast. Keep in mind, Jim is back in school too, and with both of us going full time, plus books - well, it adds up fast. I just bought TWO books for my next session and it ran me $300. For books! And they’re not even books I’ll enjoy reading, LOL!
If not for the student loans, we would have taken a hard look at cutting costs elsewhere. We have two auto loans, so obviously that’s an area to investigate. Right now our loans are through our bank, but if I could refinance and save some cash, I’d do it in a second. The auto loans archive at CreditLoan.com has some helpful tips on how to make the most of your auto loan by doing your homework both before and after the car buying process. Checking your credit BEFORE you start shopping can prevent sticker shock, and you’ll avoid falling in love for that sports car you can’t really afford.
As for me, I’ll be paying on my student loans until 2019. Good times.
9:53 am
Filed under Daily Happenings
4 Comments »
March 24, 2008
I just finished watching tonight’s episode of How I Met Your Mother. Britney Spears…eh. Not funny and looking a bit, er…round in her dresses. That’s not the point of this blog entry though. Did you happen to catch the comment Stella the dermatologist made towards the end of the episode? She said she was so busy with her daughter, she never got out, etc, but she mentioned going to a St. Patrick’s Day party and leaving early. Could Stella be the owner of the yellow umbrella that was at the same St. Patrick’s Day party Ted attended?
8:30 pm
Filed under Entertainment
2 Comments »
I love movies like American Pie and Animal House, or Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Sex jokes, toilet humor, and zany hijinks? Sign me up! I’ve had the Superbad DVD from Netflix sitting on my entertainment unit for…oh, 3 months now, and Jim and I finally got around to watching it last night.
It was good, and I enjoyed most of it. My favorite scene was during the Home Economics class when Seth was doing naughty things out of Jules’ sight. I only wish the whole movie had been that entertaining! It got draggy more than once, especially during the long scenes with the cops. Yes Seth Rogen, I get that you wrote the movie, and it’s based on your experiences as a teen…but sheesh. The bits with Fogell and the cop went on WAY TOO LONG.
I was happy to see Joe Lo Truglio as Francis the driver - I immediately knew he looked familiar, but it was only when the credits ran that I knew him by name as one of the actors on MTV’s The State.
With that said, I am McLovin.
4:02 pm
Filed under Entertainment
4 Comments »
I’m just itching to plan another vacation. We can’t settle on the family vacation just yet, due to scheduling conflicts, so the next trip I’ve got on the books is my Avon Walk in New York City this October. At this point it looks like the friend I’ll be traveling with is agreeable to staying an extra day in the city to explore (provided we’re not too exhausted from the walk), and I’m excited about that! I haven’t been to New York City in years and years, not since I was in high school. On that trip, we visited Ellis Island, walked all over mid town Manhattan, and caught a Broadway show…but we skipped the Metropolitan Museum of Art - no time!
I think before our walk starts on Friday it would be neat to take a quick tour of the city to get our bearings. Trusted Tours & Attractions offers tours in NYC and also lists things to do in New York on their tours page, for those of you who want to go it alone. Jim is dying to take the kids on a trip to the Big Apple, so I’m all for hearing about family vacation ideas, but October will be an adults only trip. Sex and the City tour, anyone?
While I’m on the topic of NYC, I should tell you about my 2nd trip there. I was 9 or so, and my parents took me to the city for the day, along with our exchange student we had that semester. While we were eating pizza at Sbarro, my mom put her purse on the floor…guess what was missing when we got up? We never saw anyone come NEAR our table or the chairs, so we were shocked to realize her purse had been stolen. When we got back to New Jersey that night, where we were staying with my grandmother, a man got in touch with us - he had found the purse under his car and tracked us down! Her money (only $10) was missing, and she had already canceled the credit cards, but it’s amazing that someone found the purse and went through the trouble of finding her, isn’t it?
Trusted Tours is also giving away an IPod Nano to one lucky newsletter subscriber. Just visit the Trusted Tours & Attractions newsletter sign-up page to get registered and win!
9:14 am
Filed under Going Places
1 Comment »
March 22, 2008
I just returned from a trip to Kohl’s where I snagged a great new faux leather satchel bag. I’m planning on breaking it on Monday…or possibly tomorrow for Easter, depending on my outfit! While I love the handbag selection (and prices at Kohl’s), you can’t beat a free purse. Here’s your chance (and mine) to snag a super cute bag for Spring!
Teresa is holding a new contest over at her personal blog. Those entering have a chance at winning a lovely and uniquely designed half moon handbag by Patti. Teresa is also willing to ship the prize anywhere, so no matter where you live you can participate.
I absolutely love the black and white bag - it’s so crisp and sharp looking.
4:08 pm
Filed under Daily Happenings
Leave a Comment »
March 21, 2008
I’ve attended a film festival or two in my time. Sure, not Sundance or Cannes, but small local events with local talent. I’ve never attended a Viral Film Festival though - sounds interesting! The festival takes place on 4/28/08 at 7pm, in New York City. For locals, it’s at 1350 Avenue of The Americas. The festival will feature the best viral videos, and they’re currently accepting festival submissions. This won’t be your average YouTube / funny video collection from random locations on the internet. The creators are seeking contagious “viral” content to entertain, delight, and perhaps awe. Do you have something up your sleeve to contribute? You’ve got until March 29th to do so!
2:30 pm
Filed under Entertainment
Leave a Comment »
How awesome was the Celebrity Apprentice last night? I’m so happy Trace made it to the finals…he’s amazing, and he’s come up with some fabulous ideas while making friends instead of enemies. I was so excited to hear that the Backstreet Boys would be part of the charity event…not that I’m a huge fan, but I do think they’ve got talent, and I’ve always thought they were a nice bunch of guys. Then I got to see them during the morning meeting with Trace.
The Backstreet Boys are a bunch of whiny bitches.
Did you SEE that rider list? Forget Van Halen and their green M&M’s - the Backstreet Boys go way above that with their stupid requests for wheatgrass and 37 kinds of bottled drinks. Are you freaking kidding me? What a bunch of divas…and they are HAS BEEN divas! When was the last you saw this crew pull in a huge crowd? They’ve got no right to act like huge, demanding stars, and it’s a shame that they’re making such demands at an event for CHARITY! I can’t wait to see Trace shove a size 11 boot up their collective asses. I couldn’t have been more shocked, and obviously Trace Atkins could not have been more shocked to see 4 grown men acting like spoiled stars.
Ridiculous.
2:23 pm
Filed under Entertainment
7 Comments »
March 19, 2008
I posted earlier about my friend who is now house shopping…that made me think of another friend who is a mortgage broker. Now that my renter friend will no longer be renting, she needs to get pre-approved for a home mortgage ASAP! Mortgage broker friend works for Countrywide, who we have our loan through. I’ve been really happy with them - they’ve got a great website that I can log onto night or day to see all of my loan information at a glance. They also offer flexible payment options. I currently get paid twice a month, so I’ve got it set up so that Countrywide deducts 1/2 of my mortgage payment from my bank account after each payday. It makes budgeting a lot easier, and I don’t need to remember to mail a check to pay the loan before the 1st of each month!
5:54 pm
Filed under Buy Me!, Home Sweet Home
1 Comment »
