Easter Bunny Car

Some people take issue with cars that are decorated for holidays or season but I really don't see why......
How do you not smile a little bit when you see a car with a pink "nose"?

Phonemania: The Conclusion

I finally decided on a new phone! It's the HTC Inspire from AT&T. I have to note that we made follow up visits to T Mobile and were still pretty sold but then went to the AT&T store in the mall, which made a world of difference!
Unlike the other two locations we had visited, the mall store actually had phones that were charged and working so we could figure out what we liked. The service was great, as well. Whereas the guy we talked to a a different location told us that they basically didn't care to keep as customers, the staff at the mall store was very accommodating and tried to work deals out with us to keep us. And it worked!
The  new phone is way too fancy for me. I seriously need to read up and study it in order to really understand what it can do and how to do it. I tried to post a blog entry the other night so I could attach a picture of the kitten licking the phone, which I found so bizarre, but I couldn't figure out how to add a title and the typing is an acquired skill, for sure.
One really cool feature  is that I can speak my text message. Sometimes it mishears me and recorded " I use the animal hospital as a vet" as " I use the animal hospital as a bed" but my real friends would get that either of those could be true so don't judge:)
So....I hope to figure this thing out soon and have tremendous pictures to share with you!

More Random Tidbits

Last week I decided I want to be in a flash mob. I am insanely jealous of anyone who has performed the Thriller dance as part of a large group. Unfortunately, most of the flash mobs seem to happen on the west coast. However, I still signed up to be in the know in case one comes near my doorstep. Keep you posted!

Also, last week I engaged in a peanut butter debate on facebook. Fatty vs Reduced fat, natural vs sugary. Regardless of your personal preference, you have to admit that it's amusing that people could have such strong opinions about a nut butter that it would spark a public forum debate weighing the merits and disadvantages of different options. Don't even get me started on the peanut allergy classrooms.....

Have you all heard of the new Ben and Jerry's flavor, Late Night Snack, inspired by Jimmy Fallon? It's phenomenal! Picture this: vanilla ice cream with swirls of salty caramel (not just normal caramel deliciousness) and then there are chocolate covered clumps of.....wait for it.......POTATO CHIPS! I'm not a big chip fan. Most days I prefer sweet over salty but to have them make an appearance in your ice cream is an entirely different story. The unexpectedness of it is so fun that I can't help but dig for gold in my pint carton. And it's only a few seconds of potato chip goodness in your mouth before you are back to the ice creaminess of it all. Wow, I have to hand it to those guys on this one and recommend strongly that you get yourself some to sample.

The sweet/salty debate reminds me of a sweet/savory debate we have at my office once a month during staff breakfast. The first Monday of every month, one of the head honchos buys all the rest of the staff bagels and fruit, juice and such. It kind of makes me smile that the Executive Director, the highest honcho, sometimes slips in a box of pop tarts, too, as she believes they are valid breakfast food. Something about someone so legit giving something so unlegit street cred pleases me. Anyway, back to the debate...we have to get a whole bag of everything bagels and then a second bag for the "others" include anything sweet. The same pop tart toting woman scoffs at sugary bagels' existence. I like a good french toast bagel from Panera (with whom I am currently waging a morals war with online) but for breakfast, it has to be an everything bagel, no?

PS-the war with Panera is that my MyPanera card earned me a free "coffee, tea, or soda". Since I don't partake of most of those beverages, I asked for a lemonade and was told NO! I now have an ongoing conversation with Panera employees and customers nationwide regarding the lemonade debate.

How is it that 90% of this post ended up being about food?

Whiney Wednesday

Today is a drag. I had to wake up at what I consider an insane hour. I won't bother to mention the time because all the mothers will yell at me about how they get up earlier every day. I know. That's why I'm not one of you.

It's raining and nasty outside and I was really proud that I found my rain jacket because I couldn't find it when I went hiking. I drove my usual, long commute to get to court, which I like other than the time it starts. I consider it the theater of the living. I situated my rain jacket proudly and exited my car to walk into court. Instead of walking around the guardrail and taking a long, rainy stroll through the parking lot, I climbed over the guardrail. Ummmm, the wet guardrail. So my head was dry but my pants looked like I had too much to drink and couldn't get to a restroom in time.

 Now, I should add that my whole ensemble for the day was already pretty drab. When I go the court against someone I think is a bad guy, I try to be as unmemorable as possible. Frumpy and forgettable is my goal and I think I did well today-two t shirts, a bulky sweater, a big scarf, wide leg pants, a ponytail, no makeup and all blue and brown tones. good?

So, I spent four hours in the theater of the living and got desirable outcomes, thankfully. Then I went and got gas.....$51.00 to fill a Ford Focus!!! That's crazy talk!

With that, I will just say "Wednesday, I have had enough of you for this week."

Personas

In addition to the Sex and the City names from a previous post, the four girls traveling to Spain  (see more here) also all have Jersey Shore personas and (drumroll......) Golden Girls names!
Here's the breakdown-
Dana=Samantha=Deena=Blanche
Sio=Carrie=Sammie=Dorothy
Sanya=Miranda=Snookie=Rose (Sio assigned that one because it's just not nice to equate anyone to flaky Rose)
Me=Charlotte=JWOWW=Sophia

Phonemania

This weekend the plan was to relax and not let this daylight savings stuff throw me off my game. Despite having my garbage disposal break and make a dent in an already busted budget and leak vast amounts of nasty smelling liquid under my sink, mission accomplished.
The other big activity of the weekend was launching Operation: New Phone. As previously mentioned here (probably too many times because it's been on my mind a lot lately), I still have just a regular, chunky phone with no internet or special features. I am ready to upgrade into the world of Smartphones and Androids, although I have to admit I don't understand all the differences. Hubby and I went on a tour de telephones this weekend, visiting T-Mobile, Sprint, Metro PCS, and AT&T-twice. Most of them tried to wow me with gigabytes and features beyond my comprehension. I did get to play Angry Birds for the first time and it's like the Muddy Buddy of games. I want more!
So, no purchases were made and we are still analyzing plans and phones and prices but here's a brief, novice breakdown.
AT&T is our home base. It's the only cell carrier I have ever used in my personal life. (My work phone is a simple Verizon one). We started here and were intimidated by the pricing. Over the course of the weekend, the prices didn't fluctuate a ton, though there are slight differences in what the price gets you. The phones were all uncharged so we couldn't play with the phones and figure out if we like them. A different AT&T store was our final stop, as well. This time, I admit I was rattled by a customer with sagging pants and  no undies revealing too much crevice and hair. The customer service also shook me as the sales guy straight out told us that the company doesn't care if we take our service elsewhere. Well, that just made me feel all warm and loyal!
Metro PCS-affordable until  you really look. They still charge roaming fees. It just didn't seem practical if you want to use your phone anywhere but your house.
T-Mobile was enthralling. The sales guy was fun, the phones were on and Angry Birds was in play. They offer good incentives in terms of cash back to switch over but their mobile to mobile minutes are only free to other T-Mobile phones, whereas AT&T and Sprint are free mobile to any other mobile, regardless of carrier. The phones are more expensive than AT&T phones but they are practically magical. The My Touch 4 thing actually had a flashlight app with different brightness levels. Way to wow me!
Sprint was a little too stuffy. The sales people stood behind tall cubicles and asked our first names, which I didn't even bother correcting when it was repeated back erroneously. We went in there right as they were closing so we didn't linger but the environment didn't sell me. A friend told me their coverage isn't great and he can't wait to switch back to Verizon.
Speaking of, Verizon is the one place we didn't go. We were working under the assumption from a few people that the prices are higher there and we already get our cable and stuff through them so have dealt with their customer service and stuff.
I just want something with a good camera and fun effects. Suggestions???

A walk in the park

I'm so bad at downloading my pictures! (Why I need a fancy new phone) But since the cord has been found, here are some photos from my walk in the park. I was feeling not-so-great and needed some rejuvination. Some fresh air was part of my solution. It was really beautiful out there!

I have to admit that as picturesque as this scene is, I'm super glad that the snow magically melted over the weekend and dead grass has emerged. Hooray for Spring!

Danger: Ice. That doesn't scare us!

One of my favorite activities in the whole wide world is hiking. I used to hike throughout the winter but I didn't get out as much this winter. Maybe because it was Snowmaggedon, perhaps. I was super excited to hike with some of my triathlon buddies and a friend from nursery school on Saturday. Yes, I said nursery school-pretty impressive that someone has known me that long and would still go into the woods with me, no?

That's how I roll

A life dream came true about a week and a half ago when I got to attend roller derby! There weren't ramps and railings like on tv so it was a wee bit anticlimatic but there were crazy names (I'm pretty sure the one in this pic is offensive in French), and awesome outfits.

Have you played Robot Unicorn Attack?

 YOU SHOULD

Best of all, though, was the people watching. Check out the hot pink pants center stage!

Living with a Basketball Coach

sometimes you come home to scenes like this

so you have to comfort yourself by eating this for dinner

What kind of food would you consider eating off the floor?

Ok, if it was a pretty clean floor, non carpeted, in my own home or the home of someone even cleaner, I would eat most dry foods. At least I'm keeping it real!

Now picture this: a carpeted floor in an office you have vacuumed 2 or 3 times in about as many years? I almost reached down for a piece of muddy buddy (chex with melted chocolate and peanut butter, covered in powdered sugar). I had the good sense to stop myself but if it had been the last piece, this might be a very different blog post.

Metal Detector Man

there has been a man on the playground i can see from my window for the last half hour with a metal detector and a shovel. he focused heavily on the slide area, as if a toddler may  have dropped some precious gems. i did, actually, see him pocket something. i think i would rather panhandle...

I'd like to write a creative post tonight

But it's not in the cards. I had a great weekend and took more pictures that I need to catch up on downloading and posting here but....I CAN'T FIND THE CAMERA CORD THING! At least I tried, right? This problem might be solved if I had one of those fancy phones that takes pics and posts them online. I am like Zack Morris currently, with none of those special features. My hubby has the same phone and I can hardly understand him; he honestly sounds like a T operator on the phone.
So...on the to do list:
Find camera cord thing
Figure out if you spell it cord or chord. feel free to weigh in
Go phone shopping
Write a better blog post when I have pics to go with my stories.

skins

Let me begin by clearly stating for the record that I love MTV and VH1 and reality TV. A LOT.
But....
what's up with this 'skins' show?? Not a lot of TV offends me to the point that I can't even try it. This is an exception, though. I feel dirtier every time I even see a commercial for skins! Do those topics really speak to teens today? And I'm not at all bothered by the lesbian relationship theme that was ruffling some parents' feathers. I am, however, really bothered by the substance use and casual sex that seems to be running rampant. What parents let their kids stay out all night only to walk home over a bridge early in the morning? I'm not saying it doesn't happen but when it does, it's problematic. If this was geared toward 21 year olds, I would surely feel differently. I mean, I adore Jersey Shore, which is inundated with the same themes I just said I didn't like. Maybe it's also about the melancholy nature of the drama. I predict a teen suicide linked to this show and that's no good.
I say all this with utter ignorance, not having seen the show but if I can't deal with the ads, I'm pretty sure I would not be a fan.

Dear work neighbor,

Dear work neighbor,
Perhaps it has not been brought to your attention that when the snow melts, it reveals all the goodies your dog left all winter. Maybe it was unclear to you that many people park in the lot and have to walk by those large piles. I'm sure you didn't realize that if someone stepped in your dog's poop on a Monday morning, it would not be a good start to the week. I can tell the dog who was a puppy last year is growing into a large, hearty animal-congratulations!
With Regret,
Your work neigbhor

P.S. Did you know there is a park just across the street?

Ode to Minneolas

I have been Muddy Buddy free for two days now. No Goldfish, either! Instead, I just snacked on the most delicious minneola on the planet. What's the difference between a minneola and an orange? I wondered that, too. So I put Google to work and found a whole website dedicated to fruit. The citrus page www.thefruitpages.com told me that a minneola is actually a mix between a tangerine and a grapefruit. Funny thing is, I  have never had either one of those! Maybe I will pick them up to sample on my next grocery trip. I think it would be fabulous if I could fall in love with grapefruit and go on one of those grapefruit diets!