Insomnimusing

I love finding a deal

2009-11-24T11:46:00.001-05:00

I'm always looking for a way to save money, so I used the Local Offers Search Engine at Offeretti to find a good deal on services close to my home. Winter's coming, and I need to get my car ready. Right now, that's means I need an oil change, and I'm also going to need new tires. At Offeretti, I found a deal for $10 off an oil change, and I also found a deal to buy three tires and get the fourth one free. And as luck would have it, the same place with the tires has a deal on Offeretti for free starting, charging and battery check, so I can have that done at the same time. It's always a good idea to get that evaluated before the cold Ohio weather sets in. Not bad for a search that took me ten seconds.

Can I start titling every post "Whatever"?

2009-11-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

I had a meeting to cover tonight. It was about a 45 minute drive to get there, and the meeting lasted about 25 minutes. I love those.

On the way there, I had two near-misses with deer on the road. On the way back, I took the normal route instead of the back road, and I'd forgotten that the road was closed at the railroad tracks. So two blocks from my house I had to turn off and make a four-mile detour.

When I got home and finished the story, I got a call from Book's dad saying that they'll be going out of town this weekend, so I won't be getting him Saturday. I wonder if I can get rid of the rest of the kids too. Oh well. It doesn't really matter. I've got nothing to do, and no one to do it with anyway.

Win a record deal!

2009-11-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Popstation. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm a closet X Factor UK and American Idol addict. I don't really sing myself, except in the car and in the shower. But I know understand the dream of becoming a pop star. The odds are long out in the real world - they're only slightly shorter if you can manage to get through one of those reality shows.

But you've got another option. You can make your break for the charts at PopStation, where you can sing for your chance at an album deal. Original Popstation songs are available in the practice rooms for two weeks. You pick what you want and make it your own, then enter them into the contest. Real people vote on your songs, and if you're good enough, work your way up to Number 1 on the charts.

Every three months, one Number 1 artist will, with a guest, be awarded a three-night trip to New York City to stay at a super-hip hotel and spend two days in a professional recording studio to record your own album with the help of a professional production team.

Finished albums are then posted on the Artists page at Popstation for the whole world to hear!

If you've got the dream to be a hip-hop, R&B, country, pop, rock, Latino or inspirational music star, take your chance to Win The BIG Deal at Popstation!

Good shopping :)

2009-11-22T23:50:00.001-05:00

I went shopping with my mom today. She wanted to find me some new jeans for Christmas, so we went up to Old Navy, which was the source of my favorite jeans ever (jeans that have since disintegrated, so my wardrobe's been missing a "favorite pair of jeans" for a while now). As luck would have it, I picked out two pairs, tried them on, and they were both a perfect fit. How often does that happen? She got me a new pair of pajama pants too.

After that, we hit another store and happened to come across a couple of perfect Christmas gifts for my son Pooh. He's extremely hard to buy for, so we weren't about to pass that up.

Stop number 3 was a kitchen store, at which I was able to find a replacement for a recently broken kitchen gadget for $5 less than the previous one I'd bought, and it appears to be of higher quality and more durable than the last one as well.

In another store, I bought a new webcam, as the one I have for some reason disconnects me from the internet whenever I plug it in. Kind of negates the whole purpose of a webcam. When I got home, I hooked up the new one, and it seems to work perfectly. It's plugged in right now, and I'm still online. Seems that's another problem solved.

To top off the day, we stopped for Cinnabon. :) How much better can it get?

Flashback Friday - Play That Funky Music

2009-11-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

Let's have fun with it. Wild Cherry's Play That Funky Music. :)

Another try

2009-11-20T01:02:00.002-05:00

This will be my second attempt at a mobile post through my Blackberry (by e-mail). The first one worked, so I'm hoping this one does too. I tried checking Blackberry App World to see if there was a Blogger app available, but that app (BAW) always lags so badly that I got fed up and just restarted my Blackberry.

Does anyone know if there is a Blogger app for Blackberry?

Anyway, I'm posting this way because my Internet's been down half the night again. It's probably a good thing. I've been spending the past several nights feeding my insomnia by sitting up watching episodes of Ally McBeal online. I'd forgotten how much I liked that show, and since it's been almost ten years since I've seen it, it's like every episode is new. Hell, I'd even forgotten that Billy died - only about the most significant moment in the show's five seasons.

I do remember discovering Josh Grobin on the show, and I even remember most of that episode's plot. I have no idea what the name of the episode was, however, or which season it is. I guess I get to be pleasantly surprised when I come across it. I'm not quite to the end of the third season now, so I've still got many hours ahead to kill.
Hither and yon

Not even a step

2009-11-19T01:04:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to feel like I did a year and a half ago. I've been in this melancholy for a while now, but it's beginning to feel like a real depression again. The last time it was triggered by the loss of the man I loved more than any man I ever had before. This time I haven't lost anyone, because I haven't had anyone. But I think I know what it is anyway. I think I've begun to lose hope about the one I thought could be.

Sometimes I feel really stupid about it. I think about him all the time. For a while I really believed that something could come of it. I know I have this romanticized notion that you can really overcome anything if you love someone enough. And it didn't seem like that insurmountable of a thing. It's only geography. I'm not saying that we had some kind of great love. I just believed that the potential was there. And that it was worth exploring. If nothing came of it, at least we'd know. It's really not all that difficult to make that first step to find out. If it was as good as I thought it could be, then we could figure out the rest. If not, we'd know. But we can't even get to that first step, and now I'm beginning to feel the loss as if it was really there - as if all of it was really there. But we never even made the first step.

I'm not sure how I can really feel so bad about it. They say you can't miss something that you never had. That's the line of a song anyway. Of course, the next line is, so tell me why, why I could feel so bad. That's what I wonder, I guess. Why do I feel so bad?

New Moon on Monday

2009-11-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

It's a new moon today. It's Monday. I almost missed it, but I couldn't resist it anyway. :)

A new idea in the works

2009-11-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

I was having a dream the other night - I won't get into the details - but as I was waking up a phrase repeated in my head. I thought it sounded like the name of a pretty cool drink. So I got up at 3 a.m., logged onto my computer and looked it up. As far as I could tell, it didn't exist.

A concept started developing in my head. What would this drink be? It all came together in my head perfectly. It was a little complicated, but I could work out the details.

This is part of my nature. I feel the need to create. It comes out of me in lots of different ways. I used to crochet a lot, because I wanted to make something out of nothing. I found that to be very satisfying, but unfortunately, my joints being what they are, eventually it reached the point that my wrists really couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't crochet more than a few rows before the pain became too much, and I'd find myself either pushing through and causing myself too much pain and then setting it aside for so long that my creative beginnings kept going unfinished.

Over the past few years, I've been letting my creative juices flow through my cooking. And of course, throughout everything, much of my creativity is expressed through my writing (don't expect it here - this is just a brain vent, not creativity but a pressure valve).

So anyway, my very first attempt at developing a drink is coming along nicely. I bought the necessary ingredients and made my first go of it last night. I wasn't able to attempt the full concept, but I've got the flavor right. I'll buy some glasses today and start sorting out the details. If I can get it all worked out, I'll have a grand unveiling. In the meantime, I'll be drinking. :)

It's getting colder again - yech!

2009-11-13T15:50:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I woke up, and the fog was so thick that I couldn't see the trees in my back yard. I don't mind the fog, but the ground was covered with frost. THAT I definitely didn't like. It means it's getting cold. I don't like cold. Unfortunately, I live in Ohio, where cold is inevitable.

I got to go on a little vacation to Florida recently, and I saw a friend there who moved from Ohio to Florida about 10 years ago. I must admit, I begin to envy that when the weather turns. Oh who am I kidding? I envy it anyway. The beaches and palm trees. The fact that there's some kind of life there. I could deal with that.

I could spend the day funning and sunning, swimming in the surf or just riding along with someone I love on our custom beach cruisers.

That sounds like a whole lot more fun than another winter in Ohio, doesn't it?

Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T13:02:00.002-05:00

It's Friday the 13th. Will that mean anything to you? According to the superstitious, Friday the 13th is bad luck. According to cinemaphiles, Friday the 13th is a series of bad movies. The fear of Friday the 13th is called "paraskevidekatriaphobia." The fear of Friday the 13th movies is called "wussiness." Nah, I'm just kidding. The first one actually wasn't too bad for the genre and the period.

I suggest if you're a teensy bit freaked out over the day, have fun with it instead! Thumb your nose at it! Throw a theme party!

I do things a little more subtly. I just wear a white cable knit sweater and speak in a slightly breathy voice, warning people not to have sex on the beach. (Hey! Serve those as your drinks for that theme party!)

Flashback Friday - Broken Wings

2009-11-13T12:41:00.002-05:00

This week for Flashback Friday, I present to you Mr. Mister's Broken Wings.

The Dirty Joke

2009-11-12T19:03:00.001-05:00

Two little fleas meet up to vacation in Florida every year. One year, one of the fleas shows up and he's cold and shivering and miserable.

The other flea asks him, "Why are you so cold?"

The first flea says, "Man, my trip was awful! I hopped a ride in Jersey, and I've spent the last eighteen hours zipping down the highway in the moustache of some dude on a Harley!"

The second flea says, "That's no way to travel! What you do is you go to the airport bar, have a couple of drinks, find yourself some sexy stewardess, crawl up her leg into her panties and nestle yourself down nice and cozy. Trust me, man. That's the way to go!"

So the next year the two fleas meet up again, and the one flea is again cold and shivering and miserable.

The second flea says, "Why are you cold again? Didn't you take my advice?"

The first flea says, "Yeah, I did just what you said. I went to the bar. I had a couple of drinks. I found myself a sexy stewardness, crawled up her leg into her panties, settled in all nice and cozy and warm, and I fell asleep. The next thing I knew, I woke up and I was zipping down the highway in the moustache of some dude on a Harley!"

Blah and stuff

2009-11-11T00:44:00.002-05:00

I got all settled in to work today (or yesterday, I guess, seeing as it's after midnight now), and then it turned out that I didn't have anything on my schedule. Yes, I finally forced myself into motivation to work, and there's nothing for me to do. I've got three stories to do tomorrow though. I wonder if I'll be remotely motivated then. Probably not.

I need a real job again. This whole freelancing thing feels so pointless and dead-end. I've been looking, but it is frightening how little is available. And of course, there's nothing in my field at all - at least not anywhere near me. I hate not having any options. I can't go anywhere else right now, because I'm bound by a custody arrangement for my son. That locks me in for the next five years. Not that I could afford to move anywhere anyway. There's quite a cost involved in that.

I wish I weren't doing all of this alone.

Flashback Friday - Two of Hearts

2009-11-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Isn't it fun? Flashback Friday this week is Stacey Q's Two of Hearts!

Decrescendo

2009-11-06T21:20:00.003-05:00

The girls didn't have school today, so, naturally, they woke up very early and very loudly, ensuring that I would not be able to sleep in this morning. At least it gave Gin the opportunity to do the chores she avoided last night, because she had plans today to go to a friend's house to spend the night. She left at noon, and Munch and I were left with an afternoon to ourselves. We spent it watching "Chicken Little" then we went out for sushi for dinner. She was in heaven, of course. :)

After that I dropped her off to her dad, and I came home to find that Pooh was actually home. Well, he got the sushi leftovers. He did save me a little though. He's a good boy. The rest of my evening is watching a movie and reading a book. It's a quiet one.

You gotta see this!

2009-11-05T11:39:00.001-05:00

Abbott Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) is sponsoring aniLASIK Video Contest inviting entrants to make a video showing how better vision can make or has made their lives better.

Users can submit a video in one of three categories: "My contacts are getting in the way of my good time"; "My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision"; or "You should see life after the iLASIK procedure."

Once you submit a video, get your friends to vote on it by posting a link on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter - or any way you can think of to promote it. The grand prize winner gets $5,000, so if you haven't had iLASIK, your prize money will get it for you, or if you have, you can use that money to do all the things that are so much better now that you've got great vision! Three first prize winners will be awarded an HDTV package valued at $2,500 (one per video category). Three second prize winners will receive the Flip UltraHD camcorder (one per category).

I got my LASIK surgery about seven years ago, and I can't begin to tell you how much I love it! Whenever a friend complains about their glasses or contacts, I immediately point to my eyes and say, "LASIK! Get it! Best thing EVER!" I had contacts, but I rarely wore them because they were such a hassle, so I usually wore my glasses. Anyone who wears glasses knows what a pain that can be. The first thing I did after I got my eyes fixed was go to Sak's and buy myself a pair of gorgeous high-end designer sunglasses! Since I'd worn my glasses all the time, I never got to wear sunglasses, so I figured I deserved a real treat. That was the start of a fixation, because I started buying more and more and more sunglasses! And when it's gray and rainy out, I no longer have to try to see through the foggy, wet lenses on my glasses. When I swim, I can actually see other people around me, rather than being surrounded by a blurry fog. It's fantastic!

Back in the office for a night

2009-11-04T00:37:00.002-05:00

Like a fool, I agreed to help out with the election coverage in the office tonight. It was probably a good thing, too, because I got out of there at midnight, which was half an hour past the copy deadline, and we still didn't have all of the stories in from the people writing them. Hey, I got my three stories done, so I really don't care about the rest. I wasn't responsible for them, and I came through on my end - again, for a newspaper that won't hire me full time (because the company won't authorize any new hires). It's hard not to take a "so what?" attitude with them after a while.

I did get to hear a little fun news while I was there. It seems that the fellow who replaced me at my old job will be leaving there soon. I expected he would, but the really sweet part is that he is moving on to something waaaay better (like five times the salary), which is just a sweet little thumb of the nose to the DICK publisher of the paper. I so don't miss it at ALL.

I've had better... but I've had worse

2009-11-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

Since Halloween, I've been overindulging in the abundant candy in the house. When I went grocery shopping today, Halloween candy was half price. So, guess what? I bought more. I don't think I've ever had this much candy in the house. It could be dangerous. I've been a little depressed lately, and now I've got a massive supply of chocolate on hand. Oh well, I suppose I lost so much weight that I've got a little room to spare - particularly in all of my jeans. Of course, I've still got the upcoming overindulgence in meat and cheese nibbles for the rest of this month and most of next, along with some fruitcake coming soon as well. Maybe I should watch myself.... but then again, why? Who else is looking anyway?

Other high points of the day include my son Book breaking his glasses, me getting a hard rap on the elbow that five hours later still has me wincing whenever I bend it, and getting caught up in a caravan for an opposing school returning home from some sporting event (they honked and jeered when we turned off to go toward home).

Yesterday, however, had me watching Manchester United beat Blackburn 2-0. That was a happy. :)

I've got work to do. I should probably go get it done.

Flashback Friday - I'll Be Over You

2009-10-30T08:35:00.000-04:00

For Flashback Friday, I used to love this one, Toto's I'll Be Over You.

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-29T20:11:00.004-04:00

Munch and Gin went out trick or treating tonight with friends, so I stayed home and passed out candy. That was a tremendous waste of time and money, because only eight people showed up after I bought eight pounds of candy to give away.

For weeks, Gin had been planning to go out as a piece of paper and Munch was going to go as a pencil, which I thought would have been a really cute pair costume. But two days ago, Gin decided she was going as a soccer player and Munch found Gin's old cheerleading uniform, so she wanted to wear that.

Gin's soccer player costume transformed into a bit of a protest that we don't have a soccer team here in our little town, despite the fact that for several years now "they" have been saying that we'd get one set up. It's the perfect sort of town for it. What's holding it up, I have no idea. She got quite a few compliments on it, actually, so I'm not the only one apparently a little annoyed at the fact that it hasn't happened yet.

Getting the news via Facebook status... again

2009-10-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears that my son Pooh and his girlfriend have broken up. I found this out in the same way that I found it out the last time: via his Facebook status. She is on my friend list as well,so I waited to see what would appear on hers. It finally changed, saying only that he is a great man and whatever woman ends up with him will be blessed. "But other than that I don't want to talk about it."

I have no idea what might have brought this on, as he has not yet come to me about it. I don't know that he will. Last time they split up, he actually told me - when I asked him about it - that he'd put it on his Facebook status as his way of telling me. Fairly apparent he's done that again, but this time, I would like to see if he comes to me. It's struck me out of the blue much the same as it did last time too. She was here just a couple of days ago, and they were giggling and having fun just as they always do. They made a remarkably good couple, and I've always liked her - despite some personal issues that she's had in her past. They were good influences on each other, and I never had to worry about any trouble from either of them. Frankly, I'd expected them to end up getting married. Not soon. They both want to get school out of the way and establish themselves first. But they just "felt" like a match all the way.

I expect him to come to me within the next few days, if I don't end up just doing it myself. Which I probably will. I wonder this time if it's really and truly over for good. It certainly caught me off guard.

Ah crap

2009-10-25T13:11:00.004-04:00

I needed a morale boost today, so naturally I didn't get it. Man United lost - and to LIVERPOOL, no less. Now, I have to go on with my entire day because I have too many things to do, and I can't even wallow. I'll have to wait and wallow tonight. I'm sure the misery will last until then. They are really magnificent at disappointing just when I need them the most. Yeah, they're guys alright... But I still love them.

Win a $32,000 dream kitchen makeover!

2009-10-23T13:21:00.001-04:00

I can't participate in this one, but I know from checking my blog stats that a lot of you can, so I'd like to let you know about the opportunity to win a $32,000 dream kitchen makeover from Maple Leaf Market.

Canadian residents can enter the contest every day to win a $32,000 kitchen makeover or one of twelve Frigidaire refrigerators to be given away by Maple Leaf Foods.

And while you're at the Maple Leaf website (this goes for non-Canadian residents too) you can pick up great cooking and kitchen tips by visiting the butcher, the baker and the pasta maker, so there's something in it for everyone. Need some advice on making great meals in minutes? They've got that here too. You can put together a meal plan in minutes, find recipes and get a customized shopping list, so you can easily find everything you need. Whether you're looking for quick and easy meals, gourmet meals, snacks or side dishes, Maple Leaf Foods has got you covered.

So enjoy the site, and don't forget (Canadian residents) to enter the contest once a day through Dec. 15 for your chance to win a dream kitchen makeover or one of twelve Frigidaire refrigerators stocked with new Maple Leaf Prime Premium frozen chicken. Every entrant into the contest will also be eligible for a $500 rebate offer from Frigidaire.

Flashback Friday - Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

2009-10-23T08:39:00.002-04:00

This one's timely. For Flashback Friday, I give you Def Leppard's "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?"

Yes, I'll admit. It's a bit pathetic of me. I've taken to heart the advice that I'm probably better off forgetting about the person who's been an endless source of frustration for so long now. But I also receive conflicting advice that he's probably worth the effort to wait out and make an attempt. Much of the conflicting advice is probably because of so many conflicting messages I get from him.

And of course, I have the additional problem of the fact that, regardless of what I decide to do, how exactly do I go about doing it? It is as impossible to make oneself not feel something as it is impossible to make someone feel something that they don't. Maybe I just need suffering. Perhaps I'm an artist. :)