June 28, 2008
So far my Saturday plans include:
- Taking a pair of shorts back to JCPenney so they can remove the ink tag they left on when I bought them. Please tell me why it’s necessary to put an ink security tag on a pair of $30 shorts?
- Taking the kids to the $2 movie theater in town to see Prince Caspian. I’m sick of blowing $50 every time we go to see a movie.
- And then tonight, I’m heading out to a local comedy club with Jim. We’re meeting my nephew and his girlfriend there, along with my carpooling coworker and a friend of hers. Jim and I are treating nephew and his girlfriend for his birthday, which was June 25th.
Normally I wouldn’t be out so late on a Saturday when I’ve got classes on Sunday, but my morning instructor is out of town, so I don’t need to be at school until tomorrow afternoon. Sleeping in on a Sunday for the first time in a few weeks…and so looking forward to it!
1:53 pm
Filed under Daily Happenings, Entertainment
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June 27, 2008
A boy just called…
…for my 10 year old! It seems her little friend gave the boy, who was in their class, our number. (Note to self: tell little friend to knock that off.) This boy, according to the story I got from Grace, “liked” her at the beginning of the year but she doesn’t like him, and they’re just friends. She told me he used to poke her all the time in class, and I said, “That’s because he liked you!” I left out the part about how by not tattling on him, she proved she liked him back.
Raise your hand if you remember saying and / or hearing this from your friends when you were her age:
I like you, but I don’t like you like you.
(How is it that repeating a phrase makes it take on a whole new meaning?)
6:00 pm
Filed under Family Ties
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June 26, 2008
I find myself censoring my words more on this blog as of late, since I know of a few people reading it that I don’t necessarily want to read it. Maybe I’m talking about you…maybe not. Anyway, there have been many times in the past few months that I’ve thought, “Oh, I so need to blog that!” And then I’ve thought, “Nah!” I end up sharing these stories with a select, trusted few, and sadly, they won’t see the light of day here. If we ever go out drinking and you ask me though, I’ll probably share.
So one of the things I can and will talk about here is carpooling. My sister is a big eco geek and she’s out to save the world by recycling one item at a time. I love the earth too, but I also have a big carbon footprint. I drive an SUV, which I bought way before gas was $4 a gallon, and I’m kind of stuck with it now. I love it, but with gas AND tolls, my round trip drive to work costs me $28…PER DAY! Crazy, right?
When I started heading into Tampa for work more often (I know, I know - gas goes up and I’ve got to go in MORE?) I looked at my options. There are several Hartline commuter bus routes for those of us who live in or near Tampa. The most convenient for me is about 25 miles from my house (my total commute is 50 miles one way) and it drops me off right by work. Total cost round trip per day is only $5, and it’s less if you buy a 30 day bus pass. The only downside is the bus ties you into coming and going at certain times.
I never even stepped foot on the bus though, because a coworker also lives about 25 miles from me, and she was interested in carpooling. I drive to her house and either keep driving, or park in her garage so that she can drive. Jim has been taking his motorcycle to work quite a bit (50 miles to the gallon) so I’ve been able to take his car, which gets 30 miles to the gallon, compared with my SUV’s 20 miles to the gallon. I didn’t have to fill up my tank at ALL this week!
I hope more companies get involved in helping their employees commute and carpool together!
5:57 pm
Filed under Daily Happenings
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June 21, 2008
This is the 2nd funny story I promised about my spa trip last month. You can read the first funny story here. I should also clarify that these stories are funny to ME, but they may not be funny to you. That’s my disclaimer, I guess.
As I was leaving the spa, I realized I had nothing smaller than a $20 with which to tip the valet kid. And yes, anyone under the age of 21 is a kid to me. HA! I asked the valet cashier if she could break a $20 and she said no, so I asked a few other valets while I was waiting, and all of them were no help either. The valet guy brought my car around and I apologized, saying I had nothing other than a $20, and seeing as he drove my car all of 50 feet, he wasn’t getting it. However, if he could break it, I’d gladly tip him.
He waves a wad of singles at me and says, “This is what I’ve got.”
I looked at it for a minute and replied, “Hmm…well, seeing as how I don’t dance naked on a pole for a living, I’m unable to determine exactly how much is in your strip club wad there. Care to count it for me?”
Valet kid turned beet red and laughs as he counts his wad out, and proclaims it to be $9. I apologized and said I was sorry I couldn’t tip him, and he replied that was ok, since I was his first customer with a sense of humor that day.
7:25 pm
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June 20, 2008
We’re only taking a short vacation this year. Not quite the “staycation” that plenty of folks are doing to save on gas, but almost. We’ll be driving a few hours to a port on the other side of Florida and getting on a cruise. Previously, we had looked at renting a vacation home or cabin and driving somewhere for a week, but gas is way too expensive to think about going on a 1,000 mile drive.
If you’re thinking about your own vacation plans, and want to try having a “staycation”, you don’t need to stay at home. Just think about places within a short drive of your hometown that will be like a vacation to visit. Siesta Key hotels are one such option for residents of Tampa Bay. Siesta Key is located in the Sarasota area, just two hours south, but it’s a whole ‘nother world. Or even Destin vacation rentals up in the Florida panhandle. Live in Denver? Check into Breckenridge lodging and take advantage of the summer sports and outdoor activities that a ski area offers. No matter where you live, you can find vacation homes and rentals are Rentalo.com, and what I’ve found is that many owners are offering GREAT deals to entice people to rent in this time of economic crisis. We’ve watched the price on the rental we almost got drop several times. No matter if you want to rent a house, or a hotel room, or a bedt and breakfast - Rentalo.com can give you the hookup to make your staycation a bit more interesting.
9:21 pm
Filed under Going Places
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Back in October I posted about Nick Bollea, aka Nick Hogan, causing the horrific car crash that injured his former friend John Graziano. Hogan is currently serving 8 months in jail for his part in the accident, which is nothing compared to what John is going through. I guess it never occurred to me how bad his injuries were, because I found this video (put out by the Graziano family to be shown at Nick’s trial) to be incredibly shocking.
John Graziano literally has a hole in his head. His skull is crushed and shrunken. How did Nick end up with 8 months in jail after this was shown in court? You can watch the video of John Graziano here, but beware - it is graphic and heart breaking. (The video almost looks fake because it is SO unbelievable to think of someone living in this condition.)
I read about a similar case in our local paper where a young girl was driving drunk (much like Nick Hogan was) and she caused an accident that killed her best friend. Since then, this girl has done nothing but express remorse. She’s done countless hours of community service, ON HER OWN, without being forced to do so by a judge. She talked to teens and warned them about the dangers of drunk driving. Despite this, the dead girls parents asked for no mercy, and the girl is now serving a 4 year sentence. It makes me sick to think of Nick Hogan, showing NO remorse and calling his former friend John a “negative person”…serving 8 months. Nick is already wondering about what kind of reality show he can get when he gets out of jail, while John’s family is wondering how their reality came to be so horrible and rotten.
9:12 pm
Filed under Bitchy-Poo
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A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology says that drivers of cars with window decals, bumper stickers, personalized license plates and the like are more likely to get a little road rage when someone cuts them off or is driving slow. Now, I’ve got two personalized items on my car. I’ve got a license plate frame on the back that advertises the fact that I walked in the 3-Day. It says “0-60 in 3 Days”. I’ve also got a college license plate in the bracket on the front of my car. I can assure you, I was JUST as prone to road rage before I put those items on my car as I am now 
I don’t know that I agree with the study, having had the drivers of very nice sports cars with no bumper stickers or “bling” go a little crazy behind the wheel, but it makes for interesting reading, right? So go ahead, get your window decals and bumper stickers and decorate your car to your heart’s content - it won’t change who YOU are. And if you’re looking for a custom window decal (perhaps to advertise a certain breast cancer charity walk?), be sure to check out VistaPrint. They offer customizable templates and lots of tools to make the design process easy. I ordered my business cards from VisitaPrint last year and I am SO pleased with how they came out! They look more professional than the business cards for my real job!
7:18 pm
Filed under Buy Me!
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I used to take the weekends for granted…and why not? It was 2 whole days - 48 hours, in which to do nothing. By “nothing” I mean sleep in and enjoy a few hours of reruns on the couch while wearing my jammies. Kids ran in and out of the house, asking permission to go to this friend or that friend’s house, and I could enjoy my free time and laze about, or throw in a load of laundry, or perhaps clean the house in anticipation of friends coming over.
Those days are gone, and have been for a while. It’s been 6 months since I returned to school, and I’ve been taking classes each weekend since January. From January through May I had it easy - just a morning class from 8am til noon every other Sunday. It got me out of church twice a month and I could return home and take a nap after class. This summer, I got a bit more aggressive with my school schedule, and I’m taking a full days classes each and every Sunday, which has me in class from 8am until 5pm. There’s no time for a nap on Sunday afternoon, unless I take it in my Personnel Law class.
So just like that, I went from 1 1/2 days of leisure to a single day. I work Monday through Friday, I sleep in and enjoy my day on Saturday, and I’m back up at the crack of dawn (ok, it’s more like 7am) on Sunday morning to attend my classes. The only thing that keeps me going is the thought of being DONE with this degree in a year. Of course, I’m already thinking about continuing so I can get my M.B.A. - how nuts am I?
7:05 pm
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The summer I turned…hmm…16…I was in NJ. (It was 16 years ago - I had to stop and think about which birthday it was!)
That was the summer before my grandfather went into a nursing home, and I spent my summer at his house with my Mormor. (For all of you non-Swedes in the house, that means grandmother.) I didn’t have a license yet, and depended on various relatives for my entertainment. My cousin took me to the beach a few times, we went to the boardwalk, and my aunt threw a surprise birthday party for me at her house. It was also the summer we went and saw The Righteous Brothers for my birthday. I know, I know - it was my 16th birthday, not my 66th birthday, but somehow, I ended up at this outdoor theater (PNC something or other?) of the parkway in central NJ enjoying The Righteous Brothers. The Smothers Brothers opened for them, and I think just seeing the show earned my an honorary AARP membership.
The upcoming Radio Disney Summer Concert Series will be much more hip than any show I’ve ever attended in New Jersey. It’s down in Wildwood at Morey’s Piers, and along with the concerts, there will be special appearances from Disney stars like Raven-Symone. There are a lot of things to do in New Jersey, and Wildwood is a great place to experience what the garden state has to offer. Other Wildwood events this summer include events for scouts of all ages and a special soccer tourney - participants and their families an exclusive discounted weekend package to local amusements! Free concerts are taking place on July 7th, 14th, and 21st, with a big finale at the Wildwoods Convention Center Oceanfront Arena on July 26th. Stay the night and take advantage of the deals at the Wildwood NJ motels while you’re there!
6:58 pm
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June 19, 2008
I got a nice little letter in the mail from my university today, congratulating me on making the dean’s list for the spring 2008 semester.
Me, on the dean’s list. And it’s not even the dean’s list of troublemakers and / or naughty girls. Go figure.
4:57 pm
Filed under Hot College Coed
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