Thing a Day #7 | Someecards

That's right, seven whole days... I'm rather impressed with myself! 

I have a habit of starting something and not finishing it, I blame it on being a Gemini. :-) I have too many good ideas to just stick to one. But, I like this one and I'm having a good time. So, thanks to anyone and everyone who's taken the time to check out my blog. 

Today, I'm telling you about these silly ecards, if you have a Facebook, you've probably seen them circulating. If not, you'll learn more here!

Obviously I like things that make you laugh, and these cards do. They usually are a bit sarcastic, completely politically incorrect (which I love), and often say things you really want to say but never do.

There is a huge library of them on the website someecards.com, or you can create your own. Choose from color back ground, picture, and type in your text. Voila! There's no buggy sign up, subscribe, any of that! You can just create, share, copy, save.... 

I went through and found a few I liked to share. 

Thing a Day #6 | Free Movies

Not a lot of people realize that YouTube offers free full-length videos. I'm not talking about the ones that users cut up into ten parts, and are usually less than great quality. They actually have a movie section with free and pay as you watch movies.

I like to go there and see what they are offering for free, they sometimes add a few as a promotion (probably hoping you'll see one you like better and pay for. But I have Netflix, and love it, but occasionally I am looking for something not on their site. LIke any movie watching sites you get tired of the same old selection.

I've put together a list of my favorite movies to watch for free on YouTube. They offer quite a few more, and if you are into classic films they have a ton!

Here is the link for the Free YouTube Movies. Below are my faves (In no particular order)!

Cruel Intentions

In an adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) are step-brother and step-sister living in Manhattan. With their absent parents travelling in Europe, the wealthy pair have the family penthouse to themselves as they while away their summer break before beginning senior year at a private high school. Sebastian, bad-boy lothario, has apparently slept with all the girls in town and appears numb to it all. Kathryn, who appears to be the good girl class president, is actually far more amoral and malicious than Sebastian, but maintains appearances to the contrary. When she is dumped by her boyfriend, Court Reynolds (Charlie O'Connell), for the innocent Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair), she schemes revenge by destroying Cecile's reputation. She challenges Sebastian to deflower Cecile and transform her into a tramp to humiliate Court. Sebastian isn't as interested as Cecile -- she's spent her whole life in a Catholic girl's school and presents no challenge. The girl who has caught his attention is Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), the new headmaster's daughter. Annette had written an article for Seventeen Magazine on her plans to stay a virgin until she finds her one true love. Kathryn makes a wager. If Sebastian fails to lure Annette into bed before the summer is over, Kathryn gets his car. If he succeeds, Sebastian gets Kathryn, whom he wants anyway. Sebastian accepts the bet, but Annette turns out to be more than either of them bargained for.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Judd Apatow teams up with his former roommate Adam Sandler to write a star comedy vehicle for the actor in You Don't Mess With the Zohan, the tale of an Israeli commando who fakes his own death so he can follow his dream -- to be a hairstylist in New York City. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry's Dennis Dugan directs for Happy Madison Productions and Columbia Pictures.

Flatliners

Despite its occasional lapses into silly self-consciousness, Flatliners is one of the most intriguing and well-constructed supernatural thrillers of the 1990s. A group of brilliant medical students decide to literally play with life and death. They put themselves in suspended animation, electronically inducing a near-deathlike state and then pulling out of it at the last possible moment. Things get hairy when one of the students (Kiefer Sutherland) becomes obsessed with the notion of really dying, the better to experience the Afterlife before being revived--if he can be revived. In her first dramatic starring role (playing a sensitive young lady on a misguided guilt trip), Julia Roberts is very, very good--completely bereft of movie-star mannerisms. Audiences flocked to see Flatliners back in 1990 due to the highly publicized off-screen romance between Roberts and Sutherland. Oh, yes: Kevin Bacon and William Baldwin are in the picture, too.

Hollowman

In this sci-fi thriller, a man and a woman must fend off a killer whom they cannot see. Scientist Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) is working with a secret military research team headed by Dr. Kramer (William Devane), assigned to create new intelligence technology. With the help of his colleagues Linda McKay (Elisabeth Shue) and Matt Kensington (Josh Brolin), Sebastian has been developing a serum that makes people invisible. The formula is new and unstable, but after a risky but successful test on an ape, an impatient Sebastian, under pressure from Kramer, decides to try it on himself. It works, but no one counted on the side effects; unable to reverse the serum's effects, an invisible Sebastian goes insane, and begins pursuing Linda (his former girlfriend) and Matt (Linda's current beau) in a fog of homicidal rage. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Hollow Man also features Kim Dickens, Mary Randle, Joey Slotnick, and Greg Grunberg.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

When America's number one NASCAR speed-demon is issued a direct challenge from a gay, French Formula One racer with a hunger for the top spot and a mean talent for tight-cornering, the race is on to become the number one man in all of NASCAR in a full throttle comedy starring Will Ferrell and directed by Anchorman cohort Adam McKay. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) is a national hero with a "smokin' hot" trophy wife, pair of borderline-abusively precocious sons, and an endless line of endorsement deals filling his mansion with toys and driveway with sports cars and Hummers. His racing partner and lifelong friend Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), never fails to provide him with a hand on the racetrack, frequently performing their trademark "slingshot" maneuver to shoot Ricky into first place, leaving Cal in second. While the public loves these buddies (popularly known by the meaningless childhood nicknames they find so exceedingly cool: "Shake and Bake"), a wedge comes between the two, as Ricky Bobby's longstanding winning-streak is broken by flamboyand French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen), robbing Ricky of everything in an instant as the trauma leaves him unable to drive. Ricky's wife takes his fortunes while Cal takes his wife, and now he's back with his mother (Jane Lynch) and long-estranged father (Gary Cole). Things look bad for Ricky, but his father was once a race car driver himself, and now with the help of a training montage, a live cougar, and the courage to drive without his gleaming white Wonder Bread endorsement, Ricky might be ready to face the track again.

Endless Love

With the single-minded passion of young, first love, 17-year-old David and Jade are totally consumed by their feelings for each other. As Jade and David's relationship becomes more intense, however, it begins to take its toll on the 15-year-old high school girl.

Big Daddy

Prospective parents everywhere, meet the world's least likely paternal role model: Adam Sandler! In Big Daddy, Sandler plays 30-year-old bachelor Sonny Koufax, a carefree slob who has never much taken to adult responsibilities; he works one day a week as a tollbooth collector, and spends the remainder of his time living off of a $200,000 reward he collected from an auto accident. All told, the life suits him just fine. However, as his old buddies start getting married and drifting away, Sonny realizes that if he doesn't do something soon, he could end up all alone for the rest of his life. When his most recent girlfriend, Vanessa (Kristy Swanson), indicates that she needs some time off because she's sick of being with a man who can't act like a grown-up, he decides that it's time to take drastic action to win her back. Conveniently enough, a little boy named Julian (Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse) turns up on his doorstep, claiming that he's the biological son of Sonny's roommate and friend from law school, Kevin (Jon Stewart). 

The Freshman

In this farcical comedy, Matthew Broderick plays Clark Kellogg, an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby), leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor, Arthur Fleeber (Paul Benedict). A few days later, Clark runs into Victor and demands his money back, but Victor has already lost it (on a horse race in which he wasn't entirely sure the animal he bet on was a horse). Instead, he offers to fix Clark up with a job with his boss, an "importer and exporter" named Carmone Sabatini (Marlon Brando), who bears a stunning resemblance to Don Corleone in The Godfather. Clark's adventures with Sabatini are just beginning when he's instructed to pick up a package from the airport. Clark is expecting it to be contraband, and he's right, but not in the way he figured -- it turns out he's accepting delivery of a komodo dragon, which is to be served at a "gourmet club" specializing in dishes prepared from endangered species. Marlon Brando's hilarious comic variation on one of his best-known roles is the highlight of this film, but Bruno Kirby and Paul Benedict also deliver fine comic turns, and Matthew Broderick

The Scarlet Letter (1934 Version)

Previously filmed with Lillian Gish in 1926, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was given a remarkably faithful treatment by low-budget Majestic Pictures in 1934. In her last film appearance, Colleen Moore stars as 17th-century Salem resident Hester Prynne, who when she delivers a child out of wedlock is forced by the prudish townspeople to wear the scarlet "A" for adultery. The father of the baby is none other than Reverend Dimmesdale (Hardie Albright), who wants to confess to his indiscretion but is prohibited from doing so by the pious Hester. Things come to a sorry pass when Hester's long-missing husband Roger Chillingworth (Henry B. Walthall, repeating his role from the 1926 version) returns to Salem and demands a few immediate answers. The film's colonial-era milieu is not always realized, due to inconsistent period costumes and phraseology; also, the direction and acting ranges from adequate to stilted. Still, this Scarlet Letter is a lot more worthwhile than Demi Moore's vanity remake of 1995.

Donny Brasco

This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia (and killing 26 people) with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife (Anne Heche) and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself. The supporting cast includes Michael Madsen as Sonny, Lefty's boss, and Bruno Kirby as Nicky, one of Sonny's henchmen. The real-life Joe Pistone today lives under an assumed name with a 500,000-dollar contract on his life still in effect.

The Little Princess

Shirley Temple's first Technicolor feature, The Little Princess was inspired by the oft-filmed novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Set in turn-of-the-century England, the film finds Temple being enrolled in a boarding school by her wealthy widowed father (Ian Hunter), who must head off to fight in the Boer War. At first, Temple is treated like royalty; her behavior couldn't be more down to earth, but this preferential treatment foments resentment. When her father is reported killed in the war, circumstances are severely altered. The spiteful headmistress (Mary Nash) relegates Temple to servant status and forces the girl to sleep in a drafty attic. She keeps her spirits up by hoping against hope that her father will return, and to that end she haunts the corridors of a nearby military hospital. Queen Victoria doesn't have to make a guest appearance in the tearfully joyous closing sequence, but it does serve as icing on the cake to this, one of Temple's most enjoyable feature films. Reliable Shirley Temple flick supporting actors Cesar Romero and Arthur Treacher are back in harness in The Little Princess, while adult leading lady Anita Louise figures prominently in a sugary dream sequence.

Thing a Day #5 | Text Messaging

Text Messaging seems to have taken over forms of communication. I rather like it. Sorry, if you were expecting some philosophical debate on how it's ruing personal communication.  I have no real opinion on that. I can equally see both sides of the debate.

I like how it's quick and I don't have to stop whatever I'm doing to make time to answer a phone call. I am an avid, "Call me when you get a chance" texter, or, "are you free to talk later"  because that way both people are setting aside time to have a quality conversation.  How many times have you called someone to ask a question, talked for fifteen minutes then after hanging up realized you forgot to ask your question? Texting eliminates this... "I'm meeting everyone at the movies at 5, want to go together?" Simple.

I'm one of those people that gets phone numbers from everyone. If I'm out with friends and I meet someone I'll grab a number or send a funny picture to them while hanging out so they can forward it. This happens often, so I have a ton of numbers from people I don't really know. I'm going to share one in particular with you that I find absolutely hilarious.

I met this guy when out with friends, we'd seen him there a few times and as it goes one time we all started up a conversation. There was a funny message I'd had from Christmas and I shared it with him.

A week later I hadn't texted him, nor him me... My friend and I were at the same place and there was a guy we thought was him wearing a beanie hat, but we couldn't figure out whether it was him or not. So, I had a great idea, I'd look at the message I sent him to get his number and text him.

Me: Are you wearing a hat?

     Him: Should I be?

Me: Maybe you should.

     Him: Are You wearing a hat?

Me: No, I am not, I have a hoodie though. Does that count?

     Him: Is the hood up?

Me: No

     Him: Then no.

A week later

Him: Are you wearing a hat?

     Me: No, haha! Are you?

Him: No, but I will if it makes a difference! Lol

     Me: Haha! :-) It might

Him: It's like we're talking in code, but no one knows what it means if you wear a hat or not LOL!!!

Him: I'll bring a hat next Thursday night and you can see if it does nor not. Me and my buddy are planning on going out Thursday. Are you gonna go?

    Me: Not sure but ya never know.

Him: If you go will you be sure to say hi to everyone wearing a hat ;-)

     Me: It's possible. Maybe I'll wear a hat. LOL

Him: Baseball cap or are you a fedora kinda girl? Are you going this weekend at all?

     Me: I rock a fedora. LOL I have a date tomorrow night, tonight catching up on reading my book.

2 Days Later

     Me: (Picture of me in a fedora) Caption says: Hat?

Him: LOL & matching shirt!

     Me: Nice eye

4 Days Later

Him: Going hatless

     Me: I'm chilling hatless at home tonight.

Him: With your hat collection?

     Me: All I have are ski hats.

9 Days Later

     Me: Are you wearing a hat?

Him: LOL no. I should. Need a haircut. Good thing I'm getting one tomorrow.

     Me: A hat or haircut?

Him: LOL good question, you're sharp. Haircut.

     Me: Why not a hat?

Him: I have a lot already.

     Me: Do you have a cat? A cat in a hat?

Him: No cat, but if I had one, you better believe I'd put him in the hat.

8 Days later

Him: I heard a rumor that we are both wearing hats.

     Me: Are you wearing a hat?

Him: Are you wearing a hat?

     Me: No

Him: No

     Me: False rumor.

3 Weeks Later

Him: Are you wearing a hat?

     Me: No... but I see a hat.

Him: Is there a cat in it?

     Me: No but there is one in between me and the hat.

Him: Pounce on him, then gently place him into aforementioned hat.

     Me: He's too fat to fit inside said hat.

Him: Blast! Foiled again.

     Me: (Picture of the hat on the cat)

Him: Close enough for me!

    

If it wasn't late right now I'd ask him if he's wearing a hat, dang! So, I've met him once, and we are already friends. I wouldn't know him if I saw him on the street. But I think this is absolutely hilarious.

Go out and get yourself a text pen pal too, maybe they like wearing hats?

I found some super funny text messages online at work today... must share my favorites!

I seriously died laughing at some of these, enjoy!!

Thing a Day #4 | Books

I love to read! Reading for me is a total escape from reality. I've noticed that a lot of people don't like to read, I think this is simply because they haven't found the right book, or style of writing.

An example: My best friend always hated reading, and had recently told me she's always hated that I take her to book stores. I had always thought this was an activity we both liked, cause when we were in our teens we'd pick out a book at a used book store and go to the park and read it together. These weren't novels, more like books on horoscopes, dreams, or even magazines. Apparently she didn't enjoy the book stores, but because I dragged her along she more or less agreed to get one with me so we could get out of there. 

 A few months ago she saw the 4th Twilight movie Breaking Dawn, she really wanted to know what happened in the second half. If you aren't familiar with the Twilight series, the 4th book (Breaking Dawn) was made into a 2 part movie, they haven't released the second movie from book 4 yet. So, knowing I had read the series she asked me, I told her I wasn't going to tell her . If she wanted to find out what happens she'd have to go get the book. She did, just the 4th book (Breaking Dawn). Three days later she was at the book store buying book 1 (Twilight), and so on. This was in December since she's read 15 books.

If you don't like vampires or fantasy there are all sorts of YA fiction books that can get your brain in shape again so you can move onto books with more complex story lines.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

I really like to stick with an author once I've enjoyed on of their books, which is why I gravitate towards series. If you are (or are not) a reader try not to get overwhelmed by the size of a book. If it's a good read that just means there is more to read, and you're not sitting there after the book ends wishing there was more, well, not as quickly anyway.

I was planning on doing a top ten books or authors, but I feel like I'd truncate things too much so right now I'm going to focus on one.

OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon

This is my NUMBER ONE BEST LOVED MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD book (series).

Why I was skeptical.

Time Travel... Really?, 18th Century Scottish Wars... Ugh?, How many pages... No way!

All these had me against this series, but Diana Gabaldon somehow it's pulled off in this series, maybe because in 7 books there is exactly 5 occurences of time travel, back and forth between 18th and 20th century. So, even though it is a character defining aspect, it isn't book defining. Make sense? Claire the main character and narrator, she is super strong willed, opinionated, not at all traditional woman... and by a force of natural phenomenon finds her self in a time where women were property. She meets someone, and falls in love, hard, but misses her home and her husband in the 20th century. There are all sorts of tricky situations she gets into because she it isn't in her to be a submissive woman.  The writing constantly has me laughing, Claire will think something and it will make me laugh out loud because it's a thought I would have but never admit to anyone.


Outlander takes place in Scotland, and is filled with a rich appreciation for the country and it's people. While reading I would often research things as I came upon them, such as where exactly IS Scotland. Yes, I know... but I really did look. As I got more into the first book I was looking up clan histories, Gaelic, music and all sorts of things... Thank God for Wikipedia and YouTube. I started to fall in love with the dynamic of the country, the scenery, and their history

So far there are 7 published books in this order:

1. Outlander
2. Dragonfly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. Echo in the Bone
8. (2013)Written In My Own Hearts Blood

I went through Goodreads.com and here are some lines from people's reviews to show how passionate they are about these books. Their names link to their review if you want to read more.

HeatherJay: As I am currently without any books to read and nothing catching my interest, I decide to finally give it a try.......... All I can say is " I cannot believe I wasted almost 20 years of my life without reading this book!" I won't go into the plot as it's already been covered, but, Holy Shit, this is one fantastic book! 

Claire: Don't let the romance label put you off, this series is difficult to define. The historical content is accurate and amazing, the characters are amazingly real and complicated, the storylines interesting and unexpected - really, I just can't say enough great things about this series.

Shell S: It took me a crazy long time, to convince myself to pick up these books. Convinced it just wasn't my thing, I ignored the numerous pleas from fellow book lover friends, to take on this series. Eventually of course, their tenacious badgering, and my over all curiousity won out in the end... And... Amazing. Beautiful, Magical, Heart wrenching, fantastic, awe inspiring, mind blowing, epic in its originality. My all time favorite books, ones I will forever keep, and read over, and over again.

"I Promised Ye Honesty"

To be fair, these books aren't for everyone. My mom didn't care for them. There are some intense sex scenes, language and violence that some people may find offensive.  The thing I really like is how the historical scenes are so accurate. I learned so much about English/Scottish history that it became a new favorite genre of reading.

To be fair here are some additional reviews from readers who weren't as impressed as I am.

Methodtomadness: The book needs some sort of warning on the cover for those like myself, who aimlessly pick it up secondhand thinking, "time travel, Scotland, men in kilts, okay, I'm on board," and then grow progressively more irritated and unamused at Gabaldon's love of whips and general abuse for women, kids, adult men -- oh, right, basically everyone.  

Emily G: After that many pages take your time to wrap it up, don't squeeze it into a couple of paragraphs. My other pet peeve was with the number of times the main characters were suddenly thrust into a life/death situation and barely survived.

Mark B: The narrative moves in fits and starts. I guess that's fitting since the novel was broken into seven sections, but there's a lot of time where there's not so much movement and then a lot of things happen at once. Some of the sections are better than others. Some are harder to follow. It's tough to keep track of who's been kidnapped and what jail they're in and who is trying to break them out, at times.

I have many more suggestions in various genres, if you want suggestions based on what you like I'd be more than happy to share.

Check out Goodreads.com too, it's a great resource!

Girly Stuff!

Came across a blog with a makeup giveaway!! Loads of cool stuff, shadows, gloss, perfume... you name it. :-)  It's called Funny Face beauty and it has all sorts of beauty tips and fun information.

Here is a link to her giveaway post and blog: 

I wouldn't have found it if it wasn't for Valentina who commented on my Pinky and the Brain quote. Glad someone got it! :-)

Valentina also has great tips for eyeshadow techniques, you know when you're reading a magazine and it says, "Use a smoky eye to enhance...." and you're like, "Great, I would but how do I get the look?" she's got it all there! 

Viva La Vida Valentina

I Found It!!

This is that radio ad I mentioned in yesterday's post that I've heard on RedFM. It has a different ending sometimes, but this still cracks me up!!

Thing a Day #3 | Wheels

Today I was driving home for lunch to make a tasty PBJ and large glass of milk. I know, my culinary skills are probably making everyone salivate. Anywho, on my drive I pulled behind this car, loud exhaust (not by choice I'm guessing), perhaps mid to early 80's LTD, I can't define the color but closest I can describe is the color of coffee beans     with music blasting so loud you could hear the nuts and bolts holding it together rattling. Regardless, this road warrior was sporting the biggest shiniest chrome wheels imaginable.  

I've owned a lot of cars, my favorites were my Mitsubishi Eclipses, they came stock with low profile Z rated tires and 17 in rims. These were wayyy bigger. Now, believe it not I'm not totally ignoramus when it comes to cars, my parents had a few repair shops, I was a parts delivery girl for 3 years, and I had a boyfriend that was in NHRA Drag Racing. I'm guessing these rims were about 20 inchers, and the average price I saw online for the types of rims were around $250 each. Let's pretend that this person spent about $1000 for the set. This isn't calculating tax, installation balancing and of course the always present $15 Environmental Fee, Safe Disposal Fee, whatever they want to call it. 

Not trying to be a complete snob, but REALLY? I mean SERIOUS? I don't get it?  Someone please help me understand the appeal? We mustn't forget the sound system either.

This will be a good segue into a ghetto car pictures! Enjoy. :-)

Thing a Day #3 | Call Me Maybe

I♥♫

Do you ever hear a song and you stop everything you're doing to do a little jig in your chair, sing along, and bob your head while lip syncing (or singing depending on your location, I'm a rock-star in the car).  I've found must hear song of the week and I can't stop listening to it. Amazingly enough it's not an Adele song, probably because I've watched the Live From Royal "effing" Albert Hall DVD 1,252,577 times in two weeks. The "Effing" part will make sense if you've seen the DVD, Adele likes to drop F bombs like crazy! FOCUS JESSICA: I was referencing my must hear song of the week, so far today I've heard it on Pandora, car radio, streaming radio, YouTube, posted it on my FB from YouTube and Pandora and now here.

The song is "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson and it just has such a fun, chipper, happy sound. I love it and it's so catchy! I understand not everyone likes pop, but I love music that makes you smile, and this song makes me smile! Take a chance and listen.

|||||   ♧   |||||

I like to listen to music stations in the UK  and Ireland while at work, I love the accents and the commercials. Sometimes you hear a great song that isn't really that popular in the US.
This year has kinda been my year of dating guys from Europe, okay that sounds more worldly, they have all been from Ireland. Let's just say the Irish aren't lucky for me. Anywho... a good friend just moved back to Ireland a few weeks ago and I think I've been missing the accent and the T's "Tirty tree and a turd", "half 6", "brilliant" to name a few.  The past couple weeks I've been listening to a station in Cork City, RedFM, and they play this song all the time. I looked up the charts and saw that it's been #1 and currently #2 there, probably why I've heard it so much.

I'd suggest checking out international stations now and then, a lot of them stream and it's kind of fun to hear a different culture and what their listeners are discussing locally. Just remember there is a significant time difference 9 hours later than PST.

You can stream RedFm here: 

There is this commercial that makes me laugh so hard, it is one of those things that just tickles my funny bone something serious! Particularly this line, "How's your cougar?" "Hey, the kids love me" LMAO.... Probably one of those things you need to hear so I'm going to try to get a sound clip of it to share. If that happens I'll plug it in right here.

Yippee Skippy!

I got 'em! I tried to find places to try on size 10 in each brand but all I could find was the lower end in size 9, and only Rollerblade. I'm gonna have to try them on and hope for the best.

InlineSkates.net did have a Buy 2 Keep 1 program but I couldn't find enough information to make it worth checking out.

This makes me giggle...

Hehehe!!

Thing a Day #2 | Rollerblades

My latest obsession has been purchasing a pair of Rollerblades. Sounds fun, right?  I have a few friends that go regularly and I want to go with them.  I'm always looking for a social activity that will be a healthier alternative to sitting by the pool with a half frozen beer dripping icy condensation on my chest as I take a cooling sip on a 100° day. Wow, that does sound great! LOL  FOCUS: ... healthier alternative to sitting by the pool drinking beer.  Living in AZ that's a pretty common activity, even at night.


I have no problem doing things alone, I will go hiking, hit a movie, lunch at a restaurant, or hang at the pool.  However, I think with any activity that involves a little exercise it's always easier to keep into it if you have people to go with you, since this is already in place I'm ten times more thrilled about it.

I mentioned my new plan to a few friends, and a few responses were:  "Jessica, you'll poke your eye out!", "You'll definitely need a helmet, and pads.", "I'm not sure you on wheels is a good idea",  "You're going to sprain something again" and "You won't be near moving vehicles, will you?" So, now that I also have the support of my peers the anticipation is overwhelming!

When I was in Jr. High I was really into Rollerblading too, my next door neighbor who I thought was "sooooo cuuuute" wheeled by my house all the time and I was dying to join him.  Every time we had gone snow skiing together he had always paired up with me and helped me to overcome the bad habits I'd clung to since my first ski lesson at 7. Bless my mother, who didn't care why I wanted Rollerblades, promptly bought me a pair. She thinks my renewed interest is a fantastic idea! Even offered to send me my old pair, but since I'm not really into hot pink on black with teal anymore... I think I'll get a new pair.

Learning from Past Experience:

A few years ago I lived in Ann Arbor, MI I had a friend who really enjoyed bicycling, she had MS and the low impact of biking was an exercise she could thoroughly enjoy. My bike was a few years old, given to me by a friend who's wife left him and he was bitterly dispersing her assets. I thought it worked great, but after a while I wanted something pretty since my friend and I started biking 10-15 miles 3 times a week (Shout Out to the Lower Huron Parks and Rec). I took my bike to a bike shop, they said it need a tune but was still in good shape so would be a $100 to tune. I thought it would just be a good idea  to hop over to K-Mart buy a $100 pink and white bike instead of keeping the old one. After taking one ride on it I realized my error, it rode awful and I returned it the next day. I asked the bike shop guy what a replacement for my regular bike would be and it was around $700, so I saved the $600 additional and just got a tune and rode merrily on my way. Lesson Learned, Cheaper is just that, cheaper!

Research!

Using my past experiences, I knew that I needed to do a little research to make sure I was making the best purchase for me possible.  At first I thought I'd be set back around $50-$75, I was wrong... unless I wanted to go to Target, but even then I'd be starting at $60-$70. Since I'm not eager to revisit my bike purchasing mistakes I knew I'd have to open the purse a bit more. I couldn't just look at something and think, "OMG! It's sooooo cuuuute, I'm getting it!" and plan on it working out. There are quite a few resources online, my favorite are YouTube videos and product reviews, Inlineskates.net has tons of product reviews.  I found Donna Marie Webber who has a whole Rollerblading  channel on YouTube, as well as a website, so I watched most of her videos to get an idea of what I was looking for.  She was very thorough, covering types of skates, brands, wheels, costs... I knew I was getting closer.

Here is the first video I watched:

If you are like me, recently back into it, or just starting I strongly suggest watching. You don't want to waste your money.

Decisions, Decisions...

I decided I was going to go with the Spark 84 by Rollerblade, K2 had the 2nd runner up with the Andra. Honestly, what it comes down to is I like the color/design of the Spark but there are some other features as well. Third and fourth runner up were the Rollerblade Spiritblade and K2 Escape each running about $100 online and in stores, these are both the cheapest models for the respective brands, and originally what I was looking at, but I really want to have a good experience so the extra $50 will be worth it. AND of course aesthetics are pretty important to me, the design of the base models seems a bit more bulky and square, not as streamlined, though I do like the colors more.  Also, I've sprained my ankles numerous times, I spent all last summer hobbling around, so I like the higher more supportive ankle on the Spark 84.

Tomorrow is my final decision day, and I'm pretty stoked. I decided I want to order them from http://www.inlineskates.net/. For a couple reasons, some personal.... :-)  I used a lot of the resources I found there to make my decisions. They offer a lot of information about each skate, and also videos on each product that interview a manufacturer representative as well as an inlineskates.net employee.  I did find them a little cheaper elsewhere, but I did use their resources to make my final decision.  I think it might be bad karma if I went elsewhere because I also make product pages for a website, and I try really hard to have as much information as possible. Many people think this may just be a copy paste kind of job but you'd be surprised how little information is often provided by a manufacturer. Looks like InlineSkates.net really goes the extra mile to inform the customer, and hopefully this gives the little pat on the back to that person in a cubicle trying to find exciting ways to describe 200 different types of InlineSkates.  

The final final final step is to go try each brand on tomorrow. This may prove difficult, as I have a size 10 foot... yes 10 quit judging, I'M TALL okay? I'd look really funny wearing a size 7 and being 5'9. I've tried to find some of them in stores but have had little luck, well, I've found them but not in my size. I'm going to compare a K2 to a Rollerblade and see how they feel. Sometimes with larger sizes manufacturers make the foot wider, but I don't have wide feet.

ACCESSORIES CORNER!!!

As you might imagine I talk a lot, so at work I was mentioning the Rollerblade thingy, and the accessories, blah blah... I mentioned I wanted over the knee or thigh high tube socks to skate in, how cute is that!? AND they tell me, "We have those!"

I say, "YAY! Looking them up right now!!" Happy for me, go online to look at what's in stock, and no one has bothered to ever put them online. Which means I'll probably have to do it. But it would have been much more exciting to discover what we carried without having to do the work myself.
SHOUTOUT: You are appreciated Inlineskates.net  web developers!!


If you happen to be driving in SE Phoenix Suburbs and see this... wave, it might be me!

Thing a Day #1 | The Ice Tray

This again was inspired by Greg, and our Ice conversation. I never have Ice Cubes, ever. A friend who would come over and want a cool refreshment was stuck with my usual tepid beverage. Not ideal. So, he purchased an ice tray for me.

Sweet idea. WORST ICE TRAY EVER! All the cubes are tiny, quarter circumference. I thought it would be a good thing for a quarters game because of this, and the fact that the guys playing quarters next to me were not having any success. (Protective eyewear was advised by me)

The Ice Tray

You can see the cubes are tiny, I'll be positive... there are 21 of them.

There is this squishy green rubber on the bottom so you can push the ice cube out. Sounds easier than it is, need some serious finger strength.

Now I have all the cubes in the cup 24 oz. They don't even fill half the cup. :-(

Add water.

Where did they go? Fill it to the top and there is too much surface area so the water melts them all right away and the water isn't really that much colder.

Summary:

4 hours to freeze cubes

5 minutes to try to hack them out of the ice tray

1 minute filling and observing

4:06 Total for slightly less warm water.

Lesson? If you want something colder than tap water at my place, bring your own cubes!

I'm in Business!

I'm through the techy part of my set-up checklist, fooled around with some of the layout stuff. I tried not to get too swept up in detail, this is something I'd normally get tunnel vision on and tweak to death.

I have a viewer!!! One person checked me out. SO to the Firefox viewer from Germany, I give many thanks, danke schön! And that fully exercises my entire knowledge of German.


I'm really going to try to do a review a day, post a day, a thing a day.... OOH! New title "Thing a Day! Day 1"!!! <-- (Sorry, these bursts are parts of my daily speech, I just must share.) Anywho, as I was stating previously. I'll try to do my "thing" a day, live up to Greg's Song a Day inspiration. I'm online every day, so no reason I can't add 5 seconds here. I'm Really Really going to try not to stay girl-centric. That way my man friends can get some entertainment also.


Coming up.... "Thing a Day: Day 1"

Meet Me, Jessica, and My Pla...

Jess-B-Cuz It's Me... A Girl

Hello! I'm Jessica, 33 going on 34.  Live in Arizona, yes it's hot. I don't care if it's a dry 110, it's still effing hot. Obviously I'm not a native Arizonan.

THE PLA... 

I love Blogging, but normally mine are between close friends or only for my personal journals. Not sure exactly where this will take me, but this is the Pla...
        Pla: Friends reference, Season 1 Episode 4

"Monica: Pheebs, do you have a plan?

Phoebe: I don't even have a "pla.""

So... the Pla. I really like to comment on my daily life. I'm one of those people that does stuff and I'm like, "Did I really just do that?" and I shamelessly share this on some social network forum.  However, as much as I love Facebook (that is not sarcasm, I really do love it) I don't think it is the best forum for my constant updates on:
             (this is exciting, I feel the pla coming to head)

• Things I want to buy
• Things I just ate
• Oddities observed in others
• My kittens &hearts;
• Random things I see at work (more on this later)
• Craft Projects
• Dreams
• Pink things I find SOOO cute!
• Bumps and Bruises (This happens often)
• Facebooky things that I find comedic.
• Jessica inspired words
• Pet Peeves
• Randomblings (this will get a full post and descriptions, examples...)
• Things I find cool
• Make Up
• Clothes
• Do-it-at-Home
• Cooking (Burning)
• Cynicism
• Optimism

Wow, that just oozed out of me without any great thought. Now that is 20 subjects, I definitely could post on at any moment.


How did I get this idea?
My friend Greg posts a song a day:

 I'm doin' it! And it's gonna work cause as the time stamp shows above, the idea juices on this project have been flowing for almost a whole 24 hours.

No need for a header but I want one!!

I feel like to engage potential readers I need to point out some things about me, what makes me stir, Jessicisms (I feel a possible Jessica Dictionary beginning).

To start a picture: Hi! It's me... when I was 3. I was too cute, and I really don't look that much different now. But Don't worry, I love to take bizarre pictures of myself. 

• I really like being sarcastic, making jokes of serious situations (insert "inappropriate laughter") some people don't get it. Oh well! I enjoy making fun of myself for the many disasters I run into.
• I eff up ALL the time, and it's okay I'm human and I don't pretend to be perfect.
• I'm not going to pretend to be someone I'm not. 
• I don't fit into a mold at all!! I'm a girly girl, love pink (have since 3), I do nails hair, facials, massages... you name it! BUT - I like hanging with guys and I'm not uber sensitive.
• Sometimes I whine and complain about something stupid but again, I reserve my right to be human and therefore my opinions change with circumstance.
• Movie, TV, Music quotes are amazing, "You light up my life"

SOoooo.... I think the randombling should begin.

New Blog Checklist (in technical terms):

1. Banner picture thingy
2. Cutesy background
3. Muster friends into reading, and hopefully coming back?
4. KEEP WRITING
5. The same thing we do every day, try to take over the world.