Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Two Books And A Movie Review!

I have the day off from work! No, I didn't call off, it's my scheduled day. I have some serious house cleaning that I want to get done. I also want to find some new tunes for my IPOD. And I want to spend a couple of hours reading. I am reading two books right now, and I thought I would share a little bit of my opinion of them with you all. Now remember everyone, I am BEHIND the times! Let me just go ahead and get this one out of the way!

I am so Behind the times, that I think this is some kind of generic book cover or something. It took me forever to find a picture of it! I found tons of sites that had the hands holding the apple. It made me wonder if I was reading the right book! I was at Walmart last weekend, and finally remembered to look for it. There it was, in paperback for $5.95. Well, I couldn't pass it up. Normally I would buy the hardback, as I just prefer the "feel" of a hardback book over a paperback. If I really get into it, I will go back and spring for the good one. I'm only on page 32 right now, but I think that I am going to like it. I'll keep you posted.

This next one, I started about two weeks ago, and I am having a hard time with it! It started off weird, and it keeps getting weirder. I don't really like it, but I have to know how it ends. Again, behind the times. I would LOVE to go see the Broadway Production, but for now I will struggle through the book. I actually prefer to read a book before seeing the movie or stage performance. So here it is...

I am about half way done with it, and it's my goal to finish it before the end of the week. I keep hoping that there will be that "Ah-Ha" moment where it all comes together, and the weirdness of it all makes so much sense. We'll see!

And I am throwing this review in here as a treat just for you. Go ahead, yell at me.....blow off some steam...throw something at the monitor...kick me out of the chick flick club...question my judgment for what I am about to write...I watched this the other night...


...and I don't like it. There, I said it. I didn't hate it (not like I hate "Fargo"!), but I didn't like it.

The first time I watched it, I got into my favorite PJ's, I sat down with my supper and my favorite blanket, and pushed the play button expecting great things! .......hmmm.......

The second time I watched it (same night), I turned on the sing-a-long feature, turned the surround sound on, and sang along to the great ABBA songs!......hmmmmm........

The third time I watched it, (next night), I had been out to dinner and had a couple of drinks. I came home and poured one more glass of wine, scooted the foot stool out of the way, turned on the surround sound, turned on the sing-a-long feature, and danced and sang while I watched it!

Still. Nothing. I must be doing something wrong, because people LOVE this movie! I love musicals. I even liked "Moulin Rouge" for crying out loud.

What movies did you have high expectations for, that left you feeling like the odd one out?

Sunday, February 22, 2009

My Favorite Picture

Jeannie over at Jeannie's Happy World is having a celebration this week, as it's her Blogiversary!! She has started off this sure to be fun week with a challenge. It is to post our favorite picture, and go back and leave a link to it in her comments. Why, you ask! Well, for one Jeannie's super cool and alot of fun, and I like blogging with her, and two...there's a prize! Of course there is a prize!

So here is my favorite picture. It is from the first full day of a vacation that I took a couple of years ago. And yes the time is correct....I was up at 5:00am, because I was not going to miss my first sunrise in the islands! I have many pictures from this trip that I think are very pretty, but this one just says it all to me. So, it's my fave!

Trash to Treasure??

Hi everyone! Later on today, I will be posting a new tag, but I had to throw an extra one in here to tell you a little bit about my new project. And this will be a long post, as I feel that you need a little background information to truly appreciate this story! Many bloggers post pictures of things that they found in thrift stores, and make them over to be cute as heck. Well....My Aunt stopped by yesterday morning all excited. Her exact words were, "Wait 'til I tell you about the stupid thing that I have done"! Translation: "I bought something that I don't need...yes another thing, that could potentially be alot of fun, but I will need your help with it....ALOT of help with it, and we will probably never use it". It's been a while since I've heard these words.

The last time, it ended up being a peddle boat (paddle boat, I'm not sure which one it's called). She agreed to buy it from a guy (man child) through an email based on a picture that she saw on Craig's List. The guy lived in the boondocks of Missouri, and we had to go NOW to snag it before someone else got it. We headed out in one of her 3 vehicles (the one that we might possibly be able to squeeze a boat into the back of), to what ended up being a scene right out of the movie Deliverance. To top it off, she had Obama stickers all over her vehicle (that she had put on), AND Confederate Flag stickers, that the PREVIOUS owner had put on, that she had never taken off. We got alot of confused and sometimes nasty looks. After stopping and asking for directions from a young couple and their 3 kids (none of which were wearing shoes, walking along side the road), we wound our way deeper into the woods passing shanty after shanty, while keeping to the main road as we were instructed to do. I'm not judging...any one of these folks could have been related to me, I'm just sayin'! We finally came to a lake and found the house.

The guy came out to greet us, and his Mother yelled from inside their home "Don't you bring those people in here"! Uh yeah, no problem at all with that lady! We walked down the hill to what they called a dock and there was the boat. Of course my Aunt wanted to take it for a spin in the freezing cold weather. I declined and suggested the owner go out with her. He admitted that he couldn't swim, and kept standing up and almost falling out of the boat. Fiinally, they finished their business, money was handed over, and the boat was all hers! We left without it, and she had to go pick it up with a vehicle more suited to stow a boat in the back. We've used it once since she's had it.

Why did she need a peddle boat in the first place you ask....You see, my family are boaters. Not ski boaters, but live onboard boaters. My Brother has a houseboat (we call it the floating camper, as it's one of the smallest boats at the yacht club where it is docked). My Aunt has a sailboat (a pretty respectable one), and it's docked at the same place. There is about 1/2 a football fields length by water between them. When we head down for the weekend, we need a boat to go back and forth, because it is too long of a walk to take the road back and forth. Now, we had went to the bowels of Missouri the year before the peddle boat era, and picked up a dinghy for this very purpose, but it still has never made it to the yacht club. Neither has the peddle boat. We use the peddle boat at the small lake here in town (once), that also is home to the 2 other smaller sailboats that she owns, which we have each been out on the lake only once. My brother took it to his lake lot (once) and let the kids use it, so he wouldn't have to take them for rides in his fishing boat.

When she got the larger sailboat (it's large enough to have comfortable living quarters), she wanted to sell the pop-up camper that she owned, after all, it had been years since she had used it. I told her not to sell it, I would probably use it. All I needed to do was have the zipper repaired, get it painted, and it would be good to go. It's mine, but I haven't seen it yet, because she hasn't hauled it up here from Missouri. So, technically it is still hers, since it is not in my possesion and it was coming to me free of charge.

So that brings us back to her visit yesterday. And all I will say is...do you remember these famous lines from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation...."Shi##ers Full"!


Yep. She bought another camper. AND....the seller threw the truck in! Yep, they both came with the deal, and she found them on Craig's List! She has a truck already that she bought off of Craig's List, last year. This latest one is a late 1990's model, and honestly isn't that bad. The interior is practically brand new looking. The camper is a 1970's model. My whole family likes to camp, and stay the weekend on the boats, but ANOTHER camper? Don't get me wrong, it could be fixed up inside and be alot of fun, but I would bet my bottom dollar that it won't get used anymore than the boats or the lake lot or the cabin. So anyway, it's my job to get it cleaned up and decorated. It has a kitchen, 3 sleeping areas (including the table/sitting area that lays out into a bed), a bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower, a furnace, and an air conditioner. Here is what I have to work with...


This is the couch that lays out into a good sized bed, and it has a bunk bed over it. The bathroom is on the left here, but you can't really see the door in this picture.


The kitchen and dining area, that lays out into a good sized bed.


A very blurry shot of the kitchen.

So these are the before pictures. My brother is assessing the condition of the flooring, walls, counter top, furnace and various holding tanks today. And after he gets that all squared away, I will be put in charge of cleaning it, making curtains and bedding, and decorating it. I'll keep you updated on my progress, but I know that it will be slow going. As soon as the ice on the Mighty Miss cracks up a little, we'll all be back into boating, and this will go forgotten!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tag You're It...Love and Romance

This week over at Tag You're It, the theme is Love and Romance. They have a special prize this week also, and the winner will be chosen at random from the participants! Again, please forgive the photography. I just can't seem to find the spot in the house to take a good picture! And now I can also see that it is blurry! I was in a hurry taking it, because Extreme Makeover Home Edition is on, and I have to watch Ty Pennington every Sunday....


The tag is made from the back cardboard of a used up legal pad! I love saving them, and cutting them up for tags and other crafty things. I hope that you all had a lovely weekend, and thanks for stopping in for a visit!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!


Sunday, February 8, 2009

Tag You're It & A Lovely Surprise!

Hi all! I hope that everyone's weekend has gone well. The challenge over at Tag You're It this week is a sketch challenge. The paper and flowers are some of the goodies that were sent to me by my bloggy friend Dawn from Crafty Ramblings. The rest of it is just bits and pieces from my stash. Thanks for taking a peak at it.


I had a very aggravating day at work Saturday, and was more than happy when the time came to clock out and come home. When I got home, I found a package in the mailbox! It was from my bloggy friend Nicolle from Boyd's Crazy Mama! She is such a sweetheart, and sent me the perfect things to put a smile on my face. AND!!!!....I now have a Valentine hanging on my fridge! Thank you so much Nicolle and Boyd!



I've decided that the glare on Boyd's Valentine is not from my poor picture taking....It is his bright smile lighting up the room! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Oh Happy Day!

Hi everyone! Whew, I am actually getting to throw a post in mid-week! I was off from work today and spent time doing the things that I have fallen way behind on! Like, taking my car to the shop, going grocery shopping, cleaning house, doing laundry, sifting through a bundle of lovely goodies that I got in the mail! Yep, I got a lovely surprise today in the mail. Dawn over at Crafty Ramblings won a prize. She had a little contest to see if anyone could guess what she won, and she gave us the clue..."it starts with the letter F". Well, I instantly thought of Fiskars, and I was right! Dawn won a Fiskars 4 in 1 Corner Embossing Punch and she sent a prize to me for guessing correctly! Now remember folk, I am no photographer so this picture is borderline lousy and doesn't do the goodies justice!


Look at all of this lovely stuff! There is loads of various papers, some laces, borders, stamped cardstock, a baggie full of little embellishments, envelopes and cards, and things that I'm not sure what to call but they are pretty! I can't wait to make something this weekend! I'm hoping to use some of it in the Tag You're It challenge, which by the way Dawn is on their Design Team!

She also sent this card along with everything. I am thrilled to have received a handcrafted card from her, because well...her cards are truly amazing!

Thank you so much Dawn! I truly love every item that you sent! I hope that I can incorporate some it into a challenge or two this weekend!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Tag You're It...Purple!

Well, it's week 43 over at Tag You're It! The challenge this week is to create a Purple Tag. The inspiration for my tag is simply this: I had that purple friends embellishment, and I have made alot of new friends through my blog! That's it. I built the rest of the tag around that. I still couldn't get a very decent picture, but the colors in the photo this week are very close to real life at least! Please excuse the artificial greenery in the background! And PLEASE if you enlarge it and see any dust, don't say anything because I will just simply die of embarrassment! Ha!


The purple theme was chosen this week, because they have a lovely guest, Michelle from Purple Onion Designs. And, Michelle has donated some stamps to be given away to one lucky winner this week! If you have thought about joining in on the fun at Tag You're It, this is a good week to get started! All you have to do is create your purple tag, then leave a link in the comment section at Tag You're It! Hope to see you there, and thank you for looking!