Accessories to the Car

Everything seems to wear out at some point or another including floor mats and other car accessories. Some people simply like to spruce up their car with new accessories, while others buy a used car as affordably as possible and then replace the little details to make it more like new. Either way, the niceties of life are all in the details. Basic to posh, or old to new is seen in the accessories.

My Featured Article!

Top billing is a definite honor, so I am proud to announce that my article The Benefits of Gaining Weight is the featured article on TotallyHer.com for this month.

I Talked with Molly Ringwald!

The face of a generation, 80's movie star Molly Ringwald will always be famous for her work in 16 Candles and The Breakfast Club. Now she's all grown up and playing the mother of a teenager!

I had the pleasure to interview her and write an article on it for the website I work for. It was fun getting to talk to such a famous star! She was tired and it came across in the conversation, but being pregnant with twins while caring for her daughter is indeed exhausting. She was still completely nice and excited to talk about her role on her show. Check out my interview with her on TotallyHer.com!

Lighting Lights Up a Home

The personality of a home is in the details. It’s amazing how a lighting fixture can make such a huge improvement. I think of my friends that bought a house and changed out the awful florescent standard ceiling fixture for a lovely chandelier in their kitchen. Suddenly their home looked so much more expensive yet inviting all at once. But it wasn’t expensive, discount lighting fixturers are easier to find than you think. When you can’t find a good clearance bargain in store, check out a discount lighting website instead. Sometimes you’ll even find free shipping!

Video Games

I have to admit, I’m not into video games. But on the flip side, it’s nice that video game companies have caught on to my type and have created wholesome options that have either a fitness or educational benefit. For example: Guitar Hero on PS3 is entertaining in a good clean fun kind of way. That’s what video games should be about.

The Bright Side of Pessimism

"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." ~George F. Will, The Leveling Wind

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." ~Gil Stern

"Clear analysis of any situation is often mistaken for pessimism. The two should not be confused." - Barbara Hambly

And to you optimists ;-P
"Being an optimist after you've got everything you want doesn't count." ~Kin Hubbard

Optimism

No doubt, I'm the kid suspicious of the good things. Yep, I'm a pessimist. It's funny because most everyone that knows me personally (meaning, knows me in person not just via my writing... which my pessimist side seems to come out in writing... or so I've been told... which I don't see reading it since I'm WAY more positive than most bloggers) would describe me as an up-beat positive person who is pretty much always nice. They'd never guess that deep down I'm a pessimist. But let me tell you, it's a protection. If I expect the worst then I'm not disappointed when it happens; I'm prepared. And if anything better than the worst happens, I'm pretty happy about it. What can I say? Life experience has made me this way. Sure, my health is pretty good now, but I know all too well how it can all be taken away in just a moment followed by years and years of suffering. I'll stick with my pessimism. It may make me skeptical, but it also helps me to take advantage of the good moments because I know how rare they are.

Smiley Face = "J"

Apparently if I copy / paste from Word any smiley faces are translated into "J" on the receiving composition, or at least here on Blogger. I'm not sure about facebook, but if it's the same there, I now can explain any random capital J's in my messages. Sorry!

I Feel Like a Goob

Why do I always feel silly after doing something nice? I made a bunch of cookies this evening and thought, "I bet my next door neighbor would like some. He's friends with my husband, so why not?" So I put the cookies in a bag, walk next door, and knock on the door. I felt so awkward being all, "I made some cookies and with you being friends with my husband, I thought you might like some." He was happy to accept and was very nice, but I always feel silly in situations like that. It's amazing I ever do anything nice considering how embarrassing it is to do so!

Have Fun Shopping Online!

Looking for a best buy on electronics? Hello? The answer is Buy.com :-) How about gifts and other goodies? Bonus points on round two… the answer is: Buy.com. Yep, they sell a whole variety of items now. Makes me happy! I love a one stop kind of wesbite (oddly enough, a big fan of those kind of websites but not a fan of one-stop stores). Have fun shopping!

A Little Known Fact About Me

I did the math. I’ve always wanted to count it up but finally did. Charlemagne (King of the Franks) is my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandpa.
I am related through his 2nd wife Hildegard and their son Louis the Pious (King of Aquitaine, King of the Franks, and Co-Emperor with his father). Interesting huh?

Good News!

My best friend is engaged!!! I'm so excited for her :-D This has been a long time coming and it's wonderful the time has finally come! I really like her fiance, he's a good guy and I know they're going to be happy together. Marriage is challenging, for everyone (well, at least normal people anyway) but I know those two will have plenty of happy times together as husband and wife.

I'm also excited that I'm her Matron of Honor! Though doesn't that make me sound like a frumpy old lady? "Matron" just because I'm an old married woman... haha! That's what I get for getting married first.

The Fashion Show

So I'm hooked on "The Fashion Show." I thought for sure I wouldn't like it since I'm an avid Project Runway fan, but surprisingly I love this fashion designer competition just as much... and dare I say it...maybe even moreso. Check out my review of the show: HERE

Then you can watch the show on YouTube: HERE

But rest assured, Project Runway returns to TV but to Lifetime on August 20th!!! Read more about it HERE.

Validation

My Mom sent me the cutest little 15 minute movie. Seriously, it will bring a smile to your face :-)



See... you're smiling now :-)

Girl Road Trip!

My best friend Christina moved to Texas. Granted she moved to a location 7 hours from me, but at least we're in the same state for the time being. Since my husband and I went to Virginia for Robert and Deb's wedding, this put me in a position to help out Christina. She needed her truck in Texas so that meant she'd need to drive it there. But being female, you know it's much safer to travel with a buddy. That's where I came into the picture. So my husband flew back to Houston (got to get back to work plus the teaching class he's taking) and I stayed in Virginia for another week.

I was supposed to catch up on my work that week, but that didn't exactly happen. My niece Monica was in town and of course I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Not to forget the fun quality time with my Mom and also with the cats there in Gloucester. So the week was gone before I knew it. Hopefully I won't get in trouble with my job because while I did intend to do more work, at least I gave my editor warning that I'd be out of town, so most likely she'll understand.

Monday we hit the road. We drove through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and into Texas. It took 3 days to get to my home. We stayed over night in South Carolina and then in Alabama. Christina had an additional day of travel to get to her final destination, but we figured being in between me and the family she will be living with, that it'd be safe for her to go it alone. Which it was, she made it there just fine :-)

The east coast pretty much looks the same. Virginia and North Carolina don't have any noticeable differences. South Carolina has a few more hills and the dirt is more red. Georgia has more of those creepy "take over everything" vines than the other states. In Alabama the pine trees have more branches along the trunk and overall the woods are shorter. Mississippi looks like Alabama until you get close to Louisiana, then it really starts to look different. So much swamp! Most of the interstate through Louisiana is upon bridges. We saw a bay, a bayou, a river, a lake, and a swamp (according to the signs) and it all looked the same. Lots of water with plenty of grasses and trees through it all. And then when were got closer to Texas, Louisiana became all farm land. On the outskirt of Texas and of course, within it, we found not only farm land but oil refineries. Icky creepy structures, while very necessary, totally freak me out. Then onto more farm land and soon enough we found our way to my lovely Kingwood that looks like Williamsburg, Virginia. Quite the experience for the visual sense.

We amused ourselves with 3 days of conversation. We've always had a friendship built around conversing so it was a great opportunity to catch up with each other. By the third day we did start to get a little cranky due to being tired, but overall we had fun and strengthened our friendship.

Joshua was extremely happy to have me back home. He cooked grilled chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner for us (he's fantastic at cooking this meal, even Christina agreed) and I returned to a nice clean apartment, including clean laundry and dishes, a fed cat, and watered plants. Good job hubby! The past couple of days him and I have been catching up on our quality time with each other. It's good to be home :-)

Yummy!

I am so excited for the new yogurt shop that opened up in our neighborhood! I can't wait to go there and order something delicious. I am lactose intolerant but what many people don't know is that yogurt contains the necessary enzymes to digest lactose, kind of like Lactaid pills. So I can enjoy yogurt, whether frozen or plain or however I choose to have it.

If I were to own my own shop I would want a yogurt franchise. Even in this economy it makes perfect sense. We're in a state of everyone being health conscious so yogurt is definitely "in style." Being in a situation where finances are tight, people still want to go out for a treat but need to keep it affordable. Going out for yogurt is an easy way to stay within the budget but still get the enjoyment of going out, having fun, and eating something delicious.

Glamour

Too often women's fashion magazines seem to be oriented towards men with sexy poses and skimpy clothes. That's not fashion! So I was pleasantly surprised to see a rather modest and beautiful cover of Glamour magazine, and better yet, to actually find modest dresses advertised within. Fantastic!

East Coast Vacationing

So I did one of those funny little quizzes on Facebook about which state I should live in. I got New Jersey. The only explantion I can think of is the fact that I love the east coast and I'm a bit of a beach bum at heart. Driving through the east coast with my best girl friend this week was yet another reminder of how much I love that area.

I may not live there anymore, but I find myself visiting more than I expected (thank you free airline vouchers from last year's trip). I highly recommend the area for vacationing. I have friends here in Kingwood that found great Outer Banks rentals, picked one along the beach (I believe even on an island but I could be wrong), and took the whole family for a week. What a fantastic way to get quality family time and escape everyday life for a little while.

All This Love Crap

So I was goofing around online, taking a break to recuperate from traveling so I can get back to regular life, and I came across the FUNNIEST Hanson videos. They made their own spoof song called "All This Love Crap." HAHAHA! Though the video itself will make you want to give up chocolate... temporarily. You've got to watch a couple of the behind-the-scenes clips to make it all even more fun ;-)

Explaining the creation of "All This Love Crap."


Making of the video "All This Love Crap."


The Video: "All This Love Crap"


I am thoroughly amused ;-P

Grammar Cat

I enjoy LOL cats as much as the next person, but the "modern" and ultimately horrific spelling and grammar literally makes my head hurt. Call me up tight. Call me a perfectionist. Call me a professional writer... oh, wait.. I am. No wonder I have a hard time accepting the butchering of the English language. I want cute cat pictures, but as far as cute captions, I'll take the proper English translation, please.