“Who’s gonna turn down a Junior Mint??”

Well it’s the end of Wednesday, and I’m home in my jammies listening to music and checking out the internet while listening to the gentle rain hit the window. Plus my cat is content after I played with her and let her drink from the faucet. Life is good.

I didn’t have to go to work until noon today, so I went in for my scheduled doctor’s appointment for a yearly checkup, blood test (for pesky thyroid) and a flu shot. The nurse was awesome, the blood test part didn’t hurt at all and the shot just hurt a teensy bit.

My doctor, who wears cool ties, asked me:

“How old are you?”

Me: Thirty-five..

Doctor: Okay…Well when you turn 50 we’ll have to discuss some other tests to run. But you’ve still got some time.

Alrighty then! Can’t wait till I’m fifty. I suspect he’ll order me a colonoscopy (fun!) and a mammogram. Patience, Tara, don’t get too excited! I’ve had a few mammograms in the past, they’re so comfortable. I’m sure the colonoscopy is like going to a spa.

After the doc’s appointment, I went to work and we had a staff meeting. We were fed, which is always great incentive to attend one of those things. It wasn’t a bad meeting and the chicken was good. Some of my lovely coworkers won some much-deserved awards, and it seemed everyone was appreciated. Very refreshing! Like a Junior Mint for the soul.

Aside from those little tidbits, though, I don’t have much else to talk about. How ’bout you? I hope you all had a productive day and are very ready for the upcoming weekend which is only a few more days off.

“That’s a powerful instrument you have there!”

I was going to post this last night, but I was just not feelin’ it. I may have been over tired or just not into the blogging mood. But I’m in a better mood now, so here are some things to talk about:

- Do you remember the post where I think I said that “Paranormal Activity” was good but not the scariest I’ve ever seen? Well it still isn’t the scariest, but little creepy things in the movie did get to me. For instance, the other night while tossing and turning, trying to find a comfy spot on my bed, I had my foot uncovered. I remembered a scene from the movie and quickly drew the foot back in under the covers. Just when I felt safe to sleep with a leg uncovered. I watched a movie a long time ago on TV where some unseen, supernatural force crept through the window and started touching a woman’s uncovered leg. I just got over that, people. But now I can’t have one of my feet exposed to the mysterious realm of darkness.

- Then the other night when I was taking trash out, I glanced over at my bedroom window and got a bit of a startle. Because Ohio is still unsure about what temps we should have, it’s been warm enough for me to keep my fan on in my bedroom window. I also close the blinds because it’s much easier for someone to look through a first story window than a 2nd story balcony. So the blinds were down, the lights were on, but I went dumb for a second when I looked towards my window. I saw a dark shadow move back and forth against the window. Eeek! Oh wait..It was the spooky, oscillating fan. Duh.

- I treated myself to my favorite Chinese/Vietnamese takeout on Sunday. Usually I order for my mom too, because we love that place. But this time I did it all for myself. Is that so selfish? The vegetarian crystal rolls didn’t taste quite as good. Maybe that was punishment for being so greedy. But the pepper steak and rice dish I ordered….Oh my, I loved that dish. They give you so much, so I was able to save some for later. I bought a few bags of shrimp chips too.

- Pre-ordered “Star Trek” this weekend, and it should be coming soon!

- My Ab Circle Pro, however, did come in! I got the notice yesterday morning, picked the order up during lunch, took it home and assembled it while eating. This was all completed within an hour, I felt so accomplished. The equipment was so easy to set up, I was kind of scared at how easy it was. Then I worked out a bit on it after work, before choir.

- Ahh, choir. Folks, I might have to change seats if that’s possible. I don’t want to separate from the girls next to me because I like talking to them between songs and before practice. But the Cackler is gonna make me lose my hearing and my sanity, I swear. I feel I can’t escape from her voice and it’s getting more and more difficult to laugh about it. I suspect my choir director hears her too, but won’t single her out. Last night he told the Soprano section that someone is singing too high and it’s hitting his ears wrong. It’s hitting his ears wrong?? My mom suggested I ask the lady next to me if we could switch seats. Problem is, the woman next to me doesn’t like the sound of the Cackler either, so I’d be putting her ears in harm’s way. It’s not with every song, the Cackler can sound mellow during more mellow songs. It’s just the ones where we have to sing a little louder and a bit higher where she takes the actual note we have to a higher octave.

- I caught the movie “Sister Act” on TV recently. One lady in the choir (played by Kathy Najimy) sings like the Cackler to the point where it startles the other singers. Whoopi Goldberg’s character tells her: “I think it’s probably a good idea if we bring you down out of the rafters. I mean everybody wants to be closer to God I’m just not sure you can do it vocally..”

- Enough about all that stuff. One more week of work and then I’m off for a week! I do have to work this Saturday to help my manager with student orientation, but that’s cool. It’s only a half day anyway. Then when I get back from Thanksgiving vacation, I work two and a half more weeks and I’m vacation again. Woot! Gotta use those vacation days up! But even after those two chunks of time, I still have four days that I can carry over to the next year. Yay! Put em on my tab!

“You need people of intelligence on this sort of… mission… quest… thing.”

I’m late for the Saturday Scavenger Shots, but I’m here now. Laura B. chose the word “quest”! Great word, L.B.!

This is a photo of my mom’s cat Joshua when he was just a little guy. He looks like he’s on a quest in this photo to get his tupperware filled with either tuna or cat treats.

That wraps things up for this weekend, but stay tuned to find out who L.B. chooses for the next word chooser, and what the next word will be!

Happy Furiday!

A coworker just emailed this to me. Gotta love my coworkers!

In Shape (Friday 5 Meme)

Hey everyone, happy Friday the 13th! Here is this week’s meme from Friday5.org.

1. What is your favorite shape of pasta?:
- It’s a tie between the tubey-shaped noodles that trap the spaghetti sauce and the shell-shaped pasta. When my mom makes buttered noodles, she uses those shells, and the curves of the noodles collect the melted butter. Yummy! I should make that meal today.

2. Which of the Lucky Charms marshmallows is (or was) your favorite?:
- I liked the green shamrock shapes.

3. Of people you know who are older than forty, who’s in the best shape?
- Keanu Reeves and Kevin Bacon – I don’t personally know them, but I know of them. Does that count?

4. What shape is one of the more interesting scars on your body?
There’s one on my left thumb that has a zig-zag shape.

5. Of a human’s internal organs, which you think has the most interesting shape?
- The cochlea. Looks like a musical instrument from Dr. Seuss’s Whoville.

D.R.’s Birthday!

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear D.R…..Happy Birthday to Youuuuuuu!!

Happy Birthday, D.R.! Here’s a marshmallow cake for you!

Thank You!

Thank you, Veterans.

Sincerely,
Tara

A Secret (Sparky?) Birthday!

Today is someone’s birthday. He/She’s a blogger – people (including me) enjoy reading his/her blog. But this mystery blogger doesn’t want me to blurt out his/her day to everyone. But really….the blogger is cool, so how does one appreciate him/her and keep it a secret at the same time? It’s difficult. But I don’t want to embarrass him/her by blurting out his/her birthday. I do know that this certain blogger enjoys Starbucks to a borderline obscene amount, so what better way to honor the mystery blogger by posting a photo of a Starbucks-related cake!

Happy Birthday…um…You! You know who you are, don’t deny it.

A Cornucopia of….Whatevah!

- I made a bold, online purchase last week. I bought the Ab Circle Pro machine, but didn’t buy it through the infomercial. I found it on the Walmart website. I believe it was 100 dollars cheaper than what it’s priced on the commercial, and because I’m ordering it through Walmart’s “Site to Store” process, I don’t have to pay for shipping. And hey, if I’m not happy with the product I will sell it on Ebay. But I really think I will be happy with it, since it works on the “love handles” and abs. Those are the main areas I need to work on. I’m not stupid, people, I know that the people in the commercial didn’t get all fit by just using the Ab Circle. I realize. But just watching it makes my hips scream, so I figure that’s a good sign. Scare my fat cells into submission is my motto. I’ve never wanted a piece of exercise equipment that was advertised on TV before. I bought my exercise bike on sale for $99, and that wasn’t on any infomercial. But I feel like I’ll get more results with my new order. It should be ready next week sometime. I’ll let you know what it’s like. Maybe I should’ve made one day in November to be “Infomercial Appreciation Day”!

- Yesterday I finally had the ambition to fix one of my dining room chairs. It needed to be fixed before Thanksgiving. I think the operation was a success (thanks to the technique my mom taught me awhile ago). Skittles jumped up on the chair last night and seemed to like it. Course she’s pretty light. I sat on the chair earlier and it felt pretty sturdy. You should’ve seen that chair before the repair, though. I tried to keep it together with duct tape and putty compound, but it was still wobbly. I took the tape off yesterday and chipped off the useless, stinky putty. Once I know that the chair is okay for sure, I will repaint the rung. And that concludes today’s episode of “This Old Apartment”.

- I imagined a few scenarios of what would happen if I didn’t fix the chair or if I didn’t fix it correctly. If I let someone else sit on the chair and it collapsed (without that person getting hurt), someone (namely my brother) would joke and say my furniture is useless or cheap crap. Or I’d get a motherly lecture about how I should’ve fixed the chair much sooner. But if I had sacrificed myself to sit on the fragile chair and it collapsed, someone (namely my brother – again) would joke about how I have to lose weight. Catch twenty-two. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt on that thing.

- Sometimes I remember things I’ve said to people and it makes me cringe. They’re really just things I don’t normally say, and they just turn out sounding awkward. I’m a clumsy flirt, you should know that going in. Here are two lines that I wanted to humbly share with you, my friends:

Scene 1: “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.” I cringe a bit at this because it sounded so proper. I wish I had just said, “Hey, I’m Tara!” and let the introduction take its course. No flirting involved, really, I was just trying to introduce myself to a new coworker who had not been introduced to everyone. He didn’t smile, just neglectfully shook my hand. He worked there for a bit but didn’t stay long.

Scene 2: “So do you have a name other than ‘delivery guy’?” I think this should’ve won some kind of award for the cheesiest line of 2000. I was working at an insurance company, and one of my tasks was to help the regular lady sort the mail and take over if she went on vacation. We had a few delivery or mail guys that were kind of cute. One guy in particular had me all giddy, and just because he said a few words to me I thought we had a future. I was young, stupid and gullible, mm kay? I didn’t like or believe in the game of “Hard to Get”, so I caught myself glaring lustfully at guys before realizing it, but after they’ve backed off and disappeared. I was led astray by someone I mistakenly thought was a confidant who said that the guy really wanted me but was nervous. So the next time I saw my crush, I looked him in the eyes and asked him the godawful question, “So do you have a name other than ‘delivery guy’?”. Ugh. Cringe. He grinned a bit and we introduced ourselves, but that’s the last time I saw him. He quit. Lol. I do have a way with words, don’t I? Sheesh.

- Anyway, next topic…..Um..well there’s nothing much else. I went to choir tonight and the Cackler hurt my ears by singing so sharp. Then she tapped me on the shoulder between songs and said, “I want to play with your hair, it’s so fluffy! You’re my knitting practice!” Okay, just don’t make my hair into a scarf, that’s all I’m sayin’.

- Oo wait, one more thing! I have two blocks of vacation coming up! Yay! First, the entire week of Thanksgiving. Not just Thursday and Friday, but the entire week. Then, a few days after our last graduation ceremony of the year I’m off for a little over a week! Here’s hoping we don’t run into any startling, unhappy events like the last time I planned a vacation. Think happy thoughts!

Laura B., We’re All Counting On You

Have to tag someone else for Saturday Scavenger Shots, so I happily choose:

Laura B.!! Are you up for it, LB? Pretty please with whipped cream and cherries on top?

Here is the pumpkin I carved this year. I think I might buy pie pumpkins like this from now on. They are easier to scoop out and are just as much fun to carve than regular-sized pumpkins.