The hundred-and-twenty-eighth day...

I had an early morning doctor appointment today - so much for sleeping late. I had to pass by my old elementary/junior high school on my way home though. Unfortunately, the school is closed now (budget cuts, etc), but the church is still open.

Luckily I made it home before the rain started - again. I know I've said it before but I'm really getting sick of this dreary, hot, rainy weather. So, how was everyone else's Friday?

Enjoy the rest of the night!

The Friday 5

T.G.I.F. everybody! It’s a rainy one, but who cares? It’s Friday :)

And now for your reading pleasure, here’s a Taboo inspired Friday 5:

1. Who’s making a positive difference in your life? Taboo words: friends, family, husband/wife/spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend.

My colleagues and bosses (some of them anyway :)

2. Where would you like to be right now? Taboo words: home, bed, anywhere but here.

Pool – even though I don’t swim (more specifically sitting by a pool (under a wonderfully shady umbrella) enjoying the cool breeze and sipping an icy cold mango colada.

3. What’s the first thing you’d do with a $5,000 (or your local equivalent) gift? Taboo words: save, debt, vacation, payments, invest.

Spend (I’d buy a house with no less than 4 bedrooms)

4. What super-power would you really like to have? Taboo words: invisibility, x-ray vision, flying, strength, transform.

Telepathy (but only if I could turn it on and off at will)

5. What’s your favorite sound? Taboo words: laughter, music, ocean, wind, ____’s voice.

Well, if I can’t say all that other stuff, I’d say…the sound at the beginning of a movie in the theater when the lights are going down and the stereo speakers are being turned on – yeah, I’m kind of a movie geek.

Have a great Friday everyone!

The hundred-and-twenty-seventh day...

I was so busy at work today. The good side to that is that I closed a lot of projects, but the bad is that I had a raging headache for awhile and I am exhausted. It's a good thing that I have tomorrow off - even though I can't sleep late due to an early morning doctor appointment. Hopefully I'll be done there by Noon so I can enjoy the rest of the day. Who am I kidding? I just want to come home and sleep :) Sleep like it's my job.

Today was hot and humid (again) but it wasn't raining! It was great. The sun was out and the sky was nice and blue-ish :) If it had been a little cooler, it would have been an almost perfect day.

The lunchtime crowd took full advantage of the nice weather.

My last lunchtime people-watching picture for the day was of these 4 tourists.


I just got a kick out of the rainbow of I Love NY shirts. I used to have one of those shirts. I wore it until it practically fell apart. I should get another one one day. Anyway, it was nice to see people who were so obviously having fun exploring the city :)

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-twenty-sixth day...

I took a little trip to Barnes & Noble during lunch today (I just beat the rain - yes!) and walked away with two of the little box-o-nonsense things that they keep by the register. What can I say, I was bored, and I had my membership card and a 20% off coupon.

First:

Roadkill Safari

I stuck the magnets to the front of my desk so they can be seen by all who walk by. One co-worker said that they are "cute", but that's all. I don't anticipate any problems - they are a little twisted, but still a little cute.

Second:

The Mini Desk Construction Site

I tried to find a place for this in my office, but as I seriously already have way too much stuff on my desk and shelves, I moved it out to P's desk. True, a whole section of her desk is now occupied, but 1) I'm fine with that :) 2) she has a big U shaped desk and could spare the space, and 3) she was sitting at her desk while I constructed the scene (and even taped the 'Do Not Cross' tape down) so there you go :) She was well informed. It's a nice little bonus that her cubicle is the first one that is seen when anyone turns the corner, so the little construction site will be the first thing that people really see :)

So, how has the day been treating all of you? Anyone else made any completely frivolous purchases lately?

Stay dry and enjoy the rest of the day!

The hundred-and-twenty-fifth day...

It was so hazy, hot and humid in the city today...


It smelled like a toilet :( There are many smells that make up the city, and on many days the smells can be wonderful - kind of like an aromatic symphony. Today was not one of those days. The city was especially ripe today - especially the subway. I'm just glad to be home. It's sleeping time.

How did the weather treat all of you today?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-twenty-fourth day...(a little belated)

I am once again flexing this week. As a result, I was even more exhausted that usual last night. So exhausted, that on the way home I was convinced that I would fall asleep as soon as I walked through the door. I was almost prepared to collapse behind the door and fall sleep right on the floor. As it turns out, I got settled in for a bit and then lay down on the couch for an hour and a half while watching House Hunters, House Hunters International, and Three Sheets. I actually fell asleep halfway through Three Sheets. I woke up about an hour later - just in time to go to bed.

When my family and I went out this past weekend, we ended up having lunch at Boston Market. This happens every so often, but this time we got this ridiculous amount of food.


We ordered the meal for 5 (whole chicken, 5 sides, and 5 corn breads), and then 2 more individual sides as I wanted to taste the creamed spinach (it was okay) and the baked beans (yummy). My mom also had a coupon for a free whole 2nd chicken. I love rotisserie chicken. The meal was delicious - if a little too salty - and there are still leftovers in the fridge.

Just in case anyone is interested, the other sides we ordered were mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, stuffing, and green beans.

Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-twenty-second and hundred-and-twenty-third days combined...

How is the weekend going for everyone? Mine is going okay. I didn't get to do laundry, which means that I'll just have that much more laundry to do next week; but I might get my hair done today so that's a good thing.

Yesterday, I stopped in Target to pick up a few things. While there Sis 2 and I spotted these.

At first, I was disgusted as I thought that someone had left their trash on the shelf (it wouldn't be the first time) - but then we looked closer. This wasn't trash - they were pencil cases made of recycled drink pouches and chip bags (made by Terracycle, Inc). I, of course, understand the need for recycling, but I'm not a fan of these. Even just touching them to position them for this picture felt weird. Sis 2 wasn't a fan either. But, then again, we aren't really the target audience for the cases. There were some kids running around that seemed to really get a kick out of them.

Inside a Capri Sun case

Has anyone seen these before (or any other Terracycle products)?

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

The hundred-and-twenty-first day...

Oh, I am so ridiculously glad that it's Friday. This week just crept by - especially today. I hope everyone had a great workweek and is looking forward to the weekend. As for me, I am exhausted and I have a full day tomorrow filled with check-ups and doing laundry (if I'm oh so lucky), so I'm off to sleep. I think I'll turn this into a random-sign-Friday post :)

Yeah, that sounds good :)

Enjoy...

A sign for 'Yes to Carrots' products

Have an excellent night everyone!

I'm guest posting today!!! Oh me, oh my :)

I'm guest posting over at Jeanette's place today (Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese?)! It's my first time being a guest poster and I must say, I'm excited!

If you haven't visited Jeanette's site yet, you definitely should - not just to read my post, though it is a pretty awesome tale of a girl, her bike and a cliff :) But seriously, her site is wonderful and all her blog titles lead to some great music.

Enjoy the rest of Thursday (I can see Friday on the horizon)!

The hundred-and-twentieth day...

It was raining again today - big surprise huh? Anyway, I was bringing myself down taking dreary rainy day pics, so I'm going to use some of the pictures that I took yesterday instead. I stopped in one of the souvenir shops after going to Toys-R-Us. It was packed with people carrying enormous shopping bags, and I couldn't help but see these three accidents waiting to happen...

Have a great rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-nineteenth day...

P and I went over to Toys-R-Us in Times Square this afternoon. She had to pick up some birthday gifts for her daughter. While she was shopping, I did some people watching and then found a toy that I instantly disliked.

Evil :(

I just don't like this thing. It looks like it will lie in wait at the home of its buyer, only to one day open its eyes, say hello with it's creepy mouth and smother said buyer with its extra long arms. Creepy! I like this one much better :)

Good :)

Anyway, it was my co-worker J's turn to bring in food for our little lunch swap. It was a delicious mix of cold foods that were very refreshing on a hot, muggy day.

He brought in a tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil salad, chicken with a light balsamic dressing, and rolls with pumpkin bread and grapes for dessert. It was seriously good, and I have got to get the recipe for that chicken dish.

And lastly, I pass three Vespa scooters on my way in to work each morning. This one is my favorite :)

It's just so adorable and blue and shiny, and shiny and blue and adorable :) I would never ride something like this is the city though. I don't know how bike/scooter/motorcycle riders do it. The traffic, and too many of the drivers here, are insane.

I hope everyone had a great Hump Day. Have a wonderful night!

The hundred-and-eighteenth day...

It was a rainy day; but even worse than that is that it is supposed to rain (on and off T-storms) for the entire week.

I hate taking mass transit when it rains. The trains are extra musty and smelly; some of the seats are wet, and people who have no sense of umbrella etiquette allow their wet umbrellas to drip all over you.


Waiting for the bus in the rain is no joy either :( It has all the of the above along with leaks that allow water to drip down on you from who knows where if you sit in a seat by the window.

I think I'm just cranky...sleep time :)

Have a great night everyone!

* 7/22/09: Sorry for the delayed finished post and picture :) For some reason, the post just would not go through last night. I'm seriously hoping it was a Blogger thing and not a my computer thing.

The hundred-and-seventeenth day...

It was a pretty uneventful day - which was good. It's good to have a truly uneventful day every now and then.

My camera was acting up a bit, but I was able to fix it when I got home. I took this picture with my phone this morning - S & M Pharmacy.


Their tag line is something like 'We make medicines for kids'. I had half a chuckle over it before the light changed.

I hope everyone had a great day, and wish everyone a wonderful night!

The hundred-and-fifteenth and hundred-and-sixteenth days combined...

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :)

My weekend was pretty low key. I stopped at Cinnabon on Saturday to get another Caramel Chillatta (yum!) and noticed their mission statement sign on the back of the register.


The Chillatta I received was definitely worthy of a "Wow"! It was that good, but I figured it would have looked and sounded sarcastic to say it after I so blatantly took that picture. You never piss off the person making your food or drink. I'll just have to say 'wow' next time :) I pretty much rested and watched TV today - it was too hot to do much else.

So, did anyone have any "Wow" moments this weekend?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone - Monday's almost here.

The Friday 5

TGIF, and here's today's Scattergories inspired Friday 5:

1. What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator? (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions)
S

2. With what famous person, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would you most like to be stuck on a desert island?
Sean Bean – he’s hot and he looks like he would actually be able to survive and help me survive on the island

3. What food item, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, can always be found in your pantry?
Spaghetti

4. What song, whose title begins with the letter in question #1, always makes you feel good?
Sex Bomb by Tom Jones (I love Tom Jones :)

5. What is your least-favorite film whose title begins with the letter in question #1?
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (I cannot even begin to convey how horrible this movie was)

6. What unusual animal, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would be a fun pet?
A seal – they are cute, they make funny sounds, and they are trainable :)

Night everyone!

The hundred-and-fourteenth day...

So, I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today! It was amazingly great - it just had so many great parts in it :) I really liked that Luna had some more screen time - she's delightful. That Gryffindor headdress was too much.

Anyway, after the movie, my man, Sis 1, Sis 2 and I went to catch a quick bite at BK, then headed back to the theater (of course :) to catch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (the Sisters hadn't seen it yet). On the way up the escalator, it made a slight screeching sound and then came to a rather hard and seriously unexpected stop. We were just about at the top of this picture:

My sisters were standing in front of me, and my man was standing behind me. Sis 2 stumbled a bit, Sis 1 had to grab onto Sis 2 to keep from falling forward, and I would have fallen all the way down to the bottom of the escalator if my man hadn't been there. There were also three other kids on the escalator at the time. It was ridiculous. The people walking down the down escalator (that wasn't working) all gasped and stared. Did I mention that it was ridiculous?

We had already had a customer service issue at BK, so needless to say, I was already in a fighting mood. I stomped up the stairs and immediately demanded to speak with a manager. The conversation started civilly enough, but it quickly turned into something filled with evil eyes, raised voices, anger, and tears when the Manager tossed me a look of fake concern and said "I've never heard of such a thing happening. Which escalator was it? This one?" Huh? Which escalator? What? How about the one leading up to the theater!

Anyway, after a while, I was drawing quite a bit of attention, and several patrons began to look back and forth between the Manager and the escalator so she finally answered one of my numerous questions (I was firing questions at her like a freaking machine gun, one of which was what she intended to do about the steel deathtrap) and she informed me that she would inform both the general manager and the maintenance company, and the escalator would be shut down. I didn't drop my gaze until she swore to call them and shut it down immediately. She then asked me if we had come to see a movie. I answered that yes, we had, as we were in a theater. She comped us the tickets for the Transformers 2, but I left her my name and number and told her to call me with the contact information for the General Manager - who I followed up with when I got home.

It's sad, but truth be told, this isn't the first time that the escalator has been shut down. One of the questions that I asked the Manager was what she would have done if someone had been seriously hurt, but (no surprise) she had no answer. I think I'll follow up with them again next week.

When did common sense become such a rarity?

Have an excellent night everyone!

Ah, the Humane-ity :)

Oh happy day...I was given an award by Miss Cindy @ Simple Life and Reading :)

The Humane Award :)

According to Miss Cindy’s awesome blog the Humane Award is to honor certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals who regularly take part in my blog and always leave comments :) This lovely award is to thank those individuals for their growing friendships through the blog world.

Very cool! Thanks again Miss Cindy!

I’m passing this on to…

1. Jeanette @ Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese?

2. Fidgeting Gidget @ Fidgeting Gidget

3. Badass Geek @ The Badass Geek

4. Moonjava @ Moonjava's Muse; and

5. Kimberly @ My Wooden Heart.

Enjoy the rest of the night!

The hundred-and-thirteenth day...

I went home early from work today. I felt so horrible that I just had to leave. I had a splitting headache and was more than a little nauseous :( I was a trooper though. I waited around until my most pressing project was cleared before I went home. I got some rest and drank some tea.


I feel a little better, but I'm going to head to bed soon.

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-twelfth day...

Well, today was Shea's birthday :) Shea is P and L's favorite stuffed animal - yeah, you read that right. They went around Facebook telling everyone that today was his birthday, and asking everyone what they were getting him as a gift. I decided to give the gift of friendship - so sweet, I know :) So, before I left work for the night, I made a cute little birthday sign and had P and my work mascots hold it up for their friend.

Happy Birthday Shea!

Gift giving done :) You can't put a price on stuffed animal friendship!

I was discussing Sesame Street with Sis 1 tonight - actually we were discussing the 'chong chong' sound that can be heard on all the Law & Order shows (it was a pretty hilarious conversation), and we remembered the following old Sesame Street skit. Whether you've seen it before, or you're seeing it for the first time...enjoy :)



Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-eleventh day...

I love love love Hoops and Yoyo :)

I bought my What a Week! Sound Button button at Hallmark and it goes through the days of the week as you press it. I get a kick out of all the phrases, but my favorite is Wednesday's which goes something like 'bomp chicka bomp chicka bomp chicka Wednesday!' I think I shall press it at least three times tomorrow - for kicks :)

As for tonight - I am exhausted and am going to bed.

Have a wonderful night everyone!

The hundred-and-tenth day...(a little belated)

Two of the toys that keep me (and visitors to my office) entertained at work - and yes, that is a stack of "The Office" sticky notes :)

Sorry for the belated post everyone. I am once again flexing at work this week so I, of course, fell asleep almost as soon as I got home last night. I often wonder if these compressed workweek hours are worth it to have a day off when most of what I do on my day off is sleep. It is worth it though because (1) a day off is a day off, and (2) I love sleeping. In addition to all that, I'm very excited this week because on this day off my man, my sisters and I will be going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yea! I just have to actually wake up on time to catch that matinee show :)

Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-eighth and hundred-and-ninth days combined...

Whenever I go to Target I like to walk past the boardgames. I really want to pick up the electronic, credit card versions of Monopoly and The Game of Life, but that will have to wait until the price drops significantly. Anyway, this is one of the games that I saw yesterday - The Fancy Nancy Posh Bedroom Game.


According to BoardGameGeek.com, in this game, players compete to help Fancy Nancy transform her bedroom from plain to posh! Players bring in her boas, ribbons, tiaras and other fancy accessories....the first player to complete the posh bedroom makeover wins. Based on the best selling children's picture books by Jane O'Connor. 2 to 4 players. Game Contents: 1 Color Die, 4 Bedroom Game Boards,40 Posh Cards, including: 14 Purple "Let's Get Fancy!" Cards, 18 Pink "Accessories!" Cards, 8 Blue "Oops!" Cards.

I was just caught by the the fact that the bottom of the box says "Posh is a fancy word for fancy!" It's not even that funny, but that didn't stop me from laughing about it - in the middle of the aisle - for a good five minutes.

I hope everyone's weekend is going well :)

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone!

The hundred-and-seventh day...It's Free Friday Concert Time

Well, I saw a wonderful mini concert this morning (Sugar Ray!), so my Friday started off great. Then one of my projects at work was voided out and another one pushed its start date, so my afternoon was great. Then, after work, my man and I saw a movie. True it was Bruno, but still, it was a movie, so my evening has been great.

Happy Happy Friday - and here's some Sugar Ray pics from this morning (it really pays to always have a camera on hand :)

Thanks for the Friday morning pick-me-up Fox 5 :)

Yea Mark McGrath!

Have an amazing rest of the night everyone!

The Friday 5

TGIF!

Happy Happy Happy Friday everyone! I just realized that I missed last Friday’s Friday 5; so you can find those answers, and the one’s for this week included below:

This week:

1. Where can you go for a really good bagel, and how do you like yours?
The supermarket mostly, but sometimes from Dunkin Donuts. I like the cinnamon raisin, plain, blueberry or sesame seed ones toasted with butter, plain cream cheese or blueberry cream cheese please :)

2. What is your favorite style of doughnut?
Jelly filled and glazed

3. What’s your favorite flavor of Lifesavers?
Butter Rum

4. What O-shaped breakfast cereals do you like?
Cheerios (apple cinnamon or honey nut)

5. How do you feel about onion rings, and where can you get some good ones?
I like them enough to swap my fries out for them every so often, but I don’t get them often enough to know all the best places.

Last week:

1. How do you feel about fireworks displays?
I love them. The sights, the sounds – it all works :)

2. What were the details surrounding one of your mishaps with fire?
None really (knock on wood)

3. Who in your life could be described as a real firecracker?
I’m not really sure about that one…

4. When did you last feel you were being put on display?
At work during one of those ‘tell us about XYZ project’ moments

5. How confident are you in your barbecue skills?
Pretty darn confident :)

Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-sixth day...

I was in one of those moods - the kind where I wanted cake :) The result? Funfetti Cake with pink vanilla flavored funfetti icing...yummm :)

My family and I dove into it before I even thought to take a picture. It was delicious though :)

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-fifth day...

First, today's picture. I just like how the flagpole is surrounded by the trees (some of the rare Midtown Manhattan greenery :)


Second, I'll admit it. I am getting more and more excited as each day goes by. What am I excited about? The new Harry Potter film. That's right. I said it - The new Harry Potter film. It is high time that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince brought its wonderful self to theaters. I was upset when its release was delayed (ages ago); but the void was filled with Twilight and many, many, many other movies since then. Then, just as I had almost forgotten about Hogwarts and that world of muggles, witches and wizardry completely (not really - I mean come on), out come all the movie premiere pics, movie stills, clips and HBO First Looks. Yea! I am very excited to see how it all turns out. I'm surprised that it is rated PG, as it looks pretty dark, but whatever. It looks great to me. As excited as I am, I will be waiting until the 17th to see it. I'd rather not have to fight for seats and quiet with the opening day goers.

Anyone else looking forward to it?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-fourth day...(a little belated)

Yesterday was a tough day at work. I was still feeling a bit under the weather and that just made the day drag. I fell asleep as soon as I got home. Literally - I fell asleep right on the couch. P and I did take a small walk at lunch though (gotta stretch the legs :) and I saw two signs that caught my interest.

First, the sale sign at Jos A. Bank.

I think there are a few price ranges missing from this sale

Second, this sign. Sis 1 says that this is the ad for Chick-fil-A. I've never been to one, and have never really paid attention to their ads, but the sign is adorable :)


Have a great day everyone!

The hundred-and-third day...

Today was kind of a crappy day for me :( Not only was it hot, but I also had a mild case of food poisoning which put a damper on the whole day.

On a more pleasant note, I found the old Heart-to-Heart Bear that I had as a kid.

I was thinking about selling it on e-bay or craigslist, but I think I would prefer to hold onto it and pass it on to my kids one day. Who knows.

Well, I hope the day went well for everyone else :) I'm still under the weather a bit, so I'm off to bed. Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-first and hundred-and-second days combined...

Well, the weekend is over. Le sigh :( Good thing I just happened to take another vacation day tomorrow :) Yea! I intend on sleeping the day away. I have so much work waiting for my on Tuesday (it actually makes my eye start to twitch just thinking about it) that I am going to spend tomorrow doing absolutely nothing. The rest of the week is going to be a stressfest so why not spend my Monday relaxing.

I am so excited that Torchwood is coming back on July 20th (on BBC America). I'm disappointed that it's only going to be for 5 episodes as a weeklong mini-series event, but I'm still very happy that it's back. I love that show (and Doctor Who of course :)

Here are some pictures that I took during the Torchwood/Doctor Who panel at this year's Comic Con :) Yea, Torchwood!

Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper of Torchwood and Doctor Who as well as Gwyneth in Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead)

Eve Myles and, director for both Torchwood and Doctor Who, Euros Lyn

Have a great night everyone!