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.

Saturday Scavenger Shots: Concoction

Happy Saturday, everybody! Since it is, indeed, Saturday, it is also time for Saturday Scavenger Shots! It was my turn to choose the word and the word was “concoction”.

This was my breakfast this morning before I had to head to work for a bit. This may look like your average glass of chocolate milk, but it’s actually a concoction of protein, calcium and 21 essential vitamins and minerals. This one is flavored with rich, milk chocolate. Yum!

I choose Churlita to pick the next word. Churlita, are you game?

Go for a Long Walk and Clear Your Mind Day

Let’s go for a walk, shall we? Got our MP3 players/Ipods? Wearing some sturdy and comfortable walking shoes? Got water? Then let’s go!

Walking in the woods we find….

…trees surrounding a clear path into the Metroparks/valley, with benches scattered here and there to remind people where they can stop for a short break….

We eventually approach a newly built bridge that has a viewer for looking across the wetlands and fields. There are posts up that are decorated with steel sculptures of dragonflies.

On our way back home we see some trees peppered with bright red berries.

Then down the road we walk over a bridge that covers a babbling brook.

We stop to rest at the nearby water fowl reserve to take in the awe-inspiring view of the sun beaming down on Lake Isaac.

We’re almost home, but the colors don’t seem to want to quit.

I hope you were able to clear your mind during this long walk and take in plenty of fresh air.

What’s Your Stereotype?

You Are a Geek

You love to learn, especially when it’s about technology. No subject is too obscure for you.   You enjoy tinkering with things to see how they work. You aren’t a traditional learner either… you need to hack around to figure things out. You may have the brains to be a super rich Silicon Valley geek, but you’re truly content to have your own favorite projects, subjects, and toys. For you, being a geek is not about the glory. It’s about a love of digging deep and truly understanding the world.

What’s Your Stereotype?

Other Incidents at the Cineplex

- Someone was looking for their friend during another movie we went to see. They finally walked up to the front of the theater, threw up their arms and shouted, “Where the hell are you??”

- Then there was another time where I was the mystery person. A group of us got to the movies late, so it was already dark in the theater. Very dark and very crowded. I accidentally sat down on a guy’s lap. I don’t know how this happened, I guess I didn’t look down to see if anyone was sitting in the seat I chose. I just remember vividly that I sat down on a lap. I glanced behind me and saw a very perturbed man staring at me. I had one of those double takes, and quickly stood up and scrambled off to find a vacant seat.

- When “Basic Instinct” was in theaters, I wanted to see it. I was naive, I thought it was just your everyday murder mystery/thriller. I didn’t know about the Sharon Stone chair scene, didn’t know about anything. Just thought it would be a nice wholesome Disney-style murder mystery. My parents were thinking the same thing, so the three of us went to the movies. My poor dad was assigned to get the popcorn and pop, and we looked for some seats. The movie started and the theater lights dimmed down to pitch black. Not having a clue as to where his family was sitting, my dad was doomed to wander the aisles with his arms full, trying to find us. He did not resort to standing in front of the theater to inquire our whereabouts. Instead, he started telling strangers that he was looking for us. We heard him shout, “I’m looking for two women!” My mom hissed something like, “Oh gawd” or “Oh jeez…” and then, “Go tell your father where we are.” I turned around and tried to get my dad’s attention, but he couldn’t see me. He just kept looking down row after row. I finally crouched down and scurried up to him, extremely embarrassed, I felt like we had become the entertainment. He finally saw me and joined us. We were then able to watch intently as the quaint little murder mystery became something a bit different. Still a murder mystery. Just…well definitely not quaint.

Jess and Manuel’s 7th Wedding Anniversary!

Today is Manuel and Jess’s 7th Year Wedding Anniversary! They are one of the cutest couples I’ve ever known (well at least known on the internet)!

Happy Anniversary you two!!

Tagged!

NoRegrets tagged me for the next word chooser for Saturday Scavenger Shots! Hmm….now to think of a word…. The new word will be:

CONCOCTION

You know what to do.

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

So yeah, Saturday was Halloween! It’s generally my favorite holiday, but it has been hard to celebrate because I can’t hand out candy at my apartment (not just me, but the whole apartment complex) and there just isn’t much Halloween spirit at my office. I always feel self conscious when I dress up in costume at work. My biggest fear is that I’ll be the only one dressed up. Kind of silly, I mean what’s the very worst that could happen? A bit of embarrassment or maybe I get sent home to change? Oh the horror. But thankfully there were others who were in costume. Not many, because a memo was never sent around, it was all word-of-mouth stuff. Here are some photos:

This was my main costume. I was Mother Nature. I planned on finding a Star Trek costume, but the costume designers think every woman is skinny and weighs 2lbs and wants to expose their breasts 24/7. Anyway, all venting aside, I put on my costume, made a vine garland to put on my head and also stenciled vines on my arms. Someone thought I was Maid Marian, someone else thought I was the Norse God of Friday?, and others thought I was a forest nymph. But when I said I was Mother Nature, a few older guys got it and said, “Ohhh, you should never mess with Mother Nature!” and one guy asked, “Could you do something about this weather?” I flicked my hands toward the window and pretended that I had some power. A few minutes later, the sun came out. Go figure! Muah ha ha.

I love the cowboy hat I bought in Canada awhile back. I will never give it up.

A few times when thinking of a costume during the years, I’ve thought of just being a traditional ghost. Nothing that involved makeup, just a sheet with eye and mouth holes cut out. Well if I hadn’t spent money on the Mother Nature costume, I would’ve been a ghost. I played around with the idea anyway, so here is a photo. I edited the photo so that you couldn’t see my legs.

Then I put my cowboy hat on, and was a cowgirl ghost. Or maybe….ghost rider?

Finally, this is a shot of one of my coworkers all dressed up. She embraces the fun of the holiday too.

What did you do on Halloween? My mom and I went to see the movie “Paranormal Activity”. People kept raving about this movie, saying it was the scariest movie ever. I disagree, but I’m not bashing the film entirely. We went to see it during the daytime, and I think that sucked some of the spookiness out of the experience. I think it would’ve been different if we had seen it at night. I went to see “The Boogeyman” at night, and I was creeped out when I got back to my car. Then I saw it in the daytime and it was lame. “Paranormal Activity” was not terrible. The actors were great and so was some of the suspense. But they could’ve creeped us out a whole lot more with different shots. No special effects, but like my mom suggested, just more play on the shadows and the mirrors. Plus, I shouldn’t have watched trailers on YouTube. It took some of the suspense away.

Since then I’ve been watching horror movies on TV and also from my collection. I still get nervous watching the classics like “The Uninvited” and “The Legend of Hell House” (not to be confused with “House on Haunted Hill”). The classics are always creepier.

Earlier tonight I was watching the original series of “V” on SciFi. I loved that series so much when I was younger, that I dressed up as the villain named Diana. Red suit and hat, black (spray painted) boots and my brother’s sunglasses. Nobody, aside from my parents, knew who I was, but I was fine with it. I do remember going to a Halloween party and realized that the paint from my black boots bled onto my friend’s carpet. I told her father, and the mess was cleaned up quickly. Taking over the world one carpet stain at a time, I guess. Muah ha ha ha.