More Photos – The Brothers Hillstrand

A slightly better version of the photo from the Cleveland signing.

I can’t figure out why my pics came out so badly. Normally my camera and photos are On Point. Just not lucky this time around. Of course it means the next time they’re in town I will have to force myself to see them…I know, life is filled with sacrifice.

Johnathan and I in Concord, NC. I was coming north, he was headed south – two ships that pass in the night…

Okay, bad pun.

He threw his arm around me and whispered, ‘didn’t we just do this a few days ago?’

We had but that didn’t stop us from posing again. LOL.

If nothing else, the weather down south was fabulous. For this Ohio girl – I could use all the warm weather I can get…and if you throw in a handsome man…where do I stand in line?

Much fun was had….I swear I only got about 3 hours sleep each time. I’m way too old for this craziness.

The Deadliest Men – The Brothers Hillstrand from Deadliest Catch

Yes, I know the photo is crappy.

The person taking the photo didn’t know what they were doing…as we can tell.

You can either layer it in a glass or shake it up with ice like a martini – Watch out, they will KICK your ass.

First Love

I was in the shower this morning and it hit me – if my breasts sag any more then I’ll be in danger of tripping over them.

Oh wait, that’s not my topic.

Do you remember your first love? You know – the one over which you took great pains to be ‘ready’ should you run into them? Just saying their name was enough to make you giddy for hours and you can’t stop smiling like a fool when someone mentions them. Maybe you were in high school and that One Perfect Soul was in your history class and you absolutely obsessed over seeing them. Just a glance of their beloved face was enough to cause you to float on air the rest of the day.

Then, if you were really, really lucky – they brushed past you in the hall and their sleeve touched your arm. You swore to your friends you would never ever wash that arm again.

The motherlode came when they actually SPOKE to you. Ah…the sheer rapture of just hearing their sexy voice directed at you – their unknown love of their life. For the next two days you relive those seconds when they spoke to you…’did you know you have a bugger hanging out of your nose?’ and you swear those words were spoken only to you and you alone. Never had something so utterly poetic been spoken to anyone else in the world. You Have Found The Greatest Of All Loves.

Remember that?

My first crush was the fourth grade – his name was Phillip and he moved away in the fifth. I was crushed, inconsolable….until the next cute boy came along. Yeah, I’m fickle at times.

My first real ‘love’ was in high school. His name was Johnny Jones (how original) and he worked at the skating rink. His co-worker (Doug of the frosted hair) was my best friend’s crush so we went through the agonies of the damned getting ready to go skating.

First the hair had to be curled to within an inch of its life. Back in the early 80′s this meant wrapping your hair in the curling iron and brandishing a can of Aqua Net at the same time. You sprayed your hair ON THE IRON until it crackled. Once you saw a whiff of smoke – it was ready.

Next was the makeup – heavy on the blue and applied with a palette knife. I wore so much mascara that I was in danger of gluing my eyes shut.

Next – the clothes. Now this was the most important part! Blue jeans – VERY TIGHT. If you could fit your finger between the waistband and your skin, they were too loose. We would dry our pants for HOURS before laying on the bed to zip them up. It was also the very last thing we’d put on as we didn’t want our clothing to stretch before our loves saw us in our immaculate state.

Shirt – yes, a little cleveage was necessary – a lot was better. The goal was to fall down on the floor so they’d skate over and see if you were okay. Lots of cleavage would leave a good impression…on the floor maybe.

So this morning I was thinking, I don’t believe that we ever fall in love with the same enthusiasm as we do that first time. People come and go from our lives and we begin building up this wall between us and the world where we guard our hearts even if only a little. I think it’s sad and we’re cutting ourselves off from the human experience even though it is understandable.

So your mission, should you chose to accept it, sometime this week find something that just amuses the hell out of you and THROW yourself into it with all the enthusiasm of a three year old. I think we would all be better off if we’d embrace that child side of ourselves and let them out to play.

13 Signs You're a 'Deadliest Catch' Fanatic

13 Signs You’re a Deadliest Catch Fanatic 13. You hear the DC theme and your heart beats just a little faster.12. You catch yourself building a crab pot using only old fencing and duct tape.11. You then find yourself trying to toss said homemade crab pot into your tub and catch Red Gold, baby!10. Your pajamas have a photo of the Northwestern across the chest.9. You name your kids Edgar, Russell, Johnathan and Maverick.8. Your favorite game is pin the cigarette in Phil’s mouth.7. You wake up screaming, ‘Shut up and fish!’6. You think wearing an orange slicker is the latest in fashion statements.5. At your wedding, the song for your first dance is Bon Jovi’s Dead or Alive.4. While on the treadmill you listen to the DC soundtrack.3. All your friends and family know not to call you when DC is on or you’ll ‘show them there’s only one captain on this ship.’2. You keep hoping that in your next life you’ll come back as a horse so Andy can ‘whisper’ to you.1. You are arrested in the local grocery store for feeling up the frozen crab while screaming, “big, big, big, big, big, big.”

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James Frey….Fried….

I’m BACK and feelin’ SNARKY!

In a recent Galley Cat Feed, author (koff….fraud….koff) James Frey announced that he ‘feared and loathed’ the press and wouldn’t be doing any any other interviews.

Wait a minute – wasn’t this revealed in an INTERVIEW? According to the article, his publisher asked him to do more press and he did this one interview…so I guess he was just following orders?

I’ve got news for Mr. Fried – if an author isn’t willing to do something to promote their work, then they aren’t serious about their craft. Doing the promotional work involved with writing is every author’s least favorite part. Let’s face it, our job forces us to be solitary creatures – does anyone think we want to be shoved out the front door in our panties?

Uh, no.

IMO, his ‘fear and loathing’ of the press is due to the fact that he lied and was outted by the press. He needs to put on his Big Boy Panties and face the mess he created instead of making lame excuses.

Karma can be a real bitch…and I just love her.

Cheapskate Friday

Growing up we pinched every penny until it screamed bloody murder. Looking back now, it wasn’t easy but I thank my lucky stars because I can make fifteen dollars last for a week of meals!

Since the economy is going into the ditch, we could all use a few extra dollars to get by. I thought I’d share some of my favorite money saving tips and I asked my friends to share some too.

Laundry – My latest and greatest discovery is Sudsy Ammonia – you can find it in the cleaning products. Use 1/4 cup along with HALF of your normal amount of laundry detergent and your clothing will come out smelling fresh and sweet. This is especially good if you are washing something particularly smelly like gym clothes or dog beds. This stuff is a miracle!

Grocery Bags – It takes 1000 years for a simple plastic bag to decompose. Buy cloth bags and reuse them over and over again.

Coupons – don’t be afraid to clip coupons! Thanks to the Internet:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-msgr&p=coupons&type=

you can find coupons for almost anything you want to buy. Mom is the Queen of the Coupons and it isn’t unusual for her to save 50.00 or more every time she shops.

Milk – buy powdered milk and mix it with half regular milk. If you serve it ice cold then no one will notice. This is also good for cooking.

Ramen Noodles – Hey, love them or hate them, they are a college student’s staple. Here are a ton of recipes to use for Ramen Noodles:

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu.FqcCRI.WwAOGlXNyoA?fr2=sg-gac&sado=1&p=101%20ramen%20noodle%20recipes&fr=slv8-msgr&ei=UTF-8

Turn down the thermostat – In the winter we keep it around 66 and in the summer 74. Not only are we saving money but we also help the planet.

Cooking – Learn how to Braise meat. You can buy the cheapest cuts and create a masterpiece with a good braising liquid.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu8pucCRI2k0Bn19XNyoA?fr2=sg-gac&sado=1&p=braising%20recipes&fr=slv8-msgr&ei=UTF-8

Postage – pay everything online. I think I send out maybe 2 checks a month now.

And now some suggestions from my friends:

Jennifer Dunne – I bought a refrigerator negative ionizer that was recommended by my cooking club. It keeps foods from going moldy in the fridge, so I don’t have to throw out fruits, salad greens, and vegetables because they’ve gone bad, or make multiple trips to the grocery store each week to buy foods right before I use them. Plus, it also gets rid of food odors, so I don’t have to throw out foods because they’re “off”.

Kate Douglas – We got rid of the extra car that just sat in the driveway…with hubby retired we realized we almost always go places together and he’s got his motorcycle if I need the car. Saved us on insurance and registration. The only one we have is an economy pickup that gets good mileage—with gas up here already $4.18 a gallon for regular, we’re definitely watching the number of trips we take!

Sharon Horton – I highly recommend garage sales and visiting those antique/junk stores that have popped up all around. Last weekend, I went to a garage sale and saw a carousel horse that I recognized as being worth a pretty penny. I collect them, so I knew this horse probably retailed for a few hundred dollars. The tag said “make offer”, but when I asked about the cost, the woman said she was hoping to get between $30.00 and $40.00 dollars. I offered to split the difference at $35.00 and she (happily) took it.
In addition to my carousel horse, I’ve saved lots of money by purchasing lamps, tables, wooden furniture and even decorative faux plants by visiting garage sales. Also, I like the idea of buying used items because it feels like I’m helping in the recycling effort.

JL Wilson – I also endorse Freecycle (a yahoo group) or Craigslist. I’ve sold 3 handheld computers in the last 2 days on Craigslist and since they were sitting around gathering dust, anything I got for them was a win.
Don’t forget Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I got an excellent end table at Goodwill for $8 — it’s supposed to be one of those decorative flower pot holders, but I use it to store my TBR stack, thus freeing up space on the real end table for other things. And I’ve gotten some great clothing at Salvation Army for $2 – $3 each — oversized men’s shirts that I wear over a tank top in the summer time.
I also score big at K-Mart, which is my first stop shopping place. They’ve merged with Sears and Lands End, so the quality is really pretty good (Craftsmen tools, etc.)
Really, though, the best tip is STOP AND THINK: do I need it? will I use it? is it essential? do I have something that will work? We just rennovated our house, redesigning our home offices. I reused just about every piece of furniture (with some painting and some ‘editing’) and only added new bookcases from IKEA where needed. We added trim pieces of molding, and the $300 bookcases look custom-made and built-in.

NJ Walters – One of the best ways to save money is to ask yourself if you really need something before you buy it. Look at the clothing in your closet before you actually buy new. Be realistic–how many pairs of shoes or purses do you actually need. I know it’s tough, but it’s better to have two or three fabulous purses, or pairs of shoes, you love then to have a closet full of ones you don’t use. If the clothing item or accessory is still good, but you’re just tired of wearing it, then donate it before you buy more.
Shop thrift stores and yard sales. There’s not a new dish in my cupboard. They’re all yard sale. My every day dishes are from the early 1900′s. It’s cool to eat off vintage dishes every day.
Use public transit when possible.
Use reusable bags.
Once eve

ry six months, live off what’s in your cupboard before you go out and buy new. If you’re inventive, you’d be amazed how many days you can go before you have to buy much food. That way the food that is stored in your pantry doesn’t expire and have to be tossed.

Ann Bruce – I did a TT on Saving Money at:

http://annbruce.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/tt-16-money-matters/

So what things do you do to save a few dollars?

Granny and the airbag…

My sister sent me this and it is too funny. The story is a lady was out videotaping some kids skateboarding when she hears the screech of tires. She turns to see whats going on and…well…its all here in humiliating glory.