Weekend Update

I wish Seth Meyers was reading my weekend update, but then again, that would put a lot more pressure on this to be funny. So I guess it's better this way.

Since wearing a truly ugly sweater won hands down in the poll, I decided I'd trust you guys not to lead me astray and I got the ugliest sweater (cardigan) I could find at the Goodwill store. And guess what!? I won third place at the first party I went to Saturday night! So thanks guys. I knew I could count on you! I felt a tiny bit self conscious when I got to the cashier at Goodwill to pay for the sweater and almost muttered some explanation about how I was only buying such an ugly sweater for a party with that theme when the cashier said enthusiastically, "Oh! My mother-in-law donated this!" Close one.

Here's a story I think you guys will enjoy. Yesterday, I gave my grandma a ride home from a family function. I love my grandma so much - she's sweet and fun and feisty and she wants sooooo much for me to get married. So much in fact that it's not uncommon for her to cry when talking about it (no pressure, right?). Well, on the ride home, she was telling me that two of her sisters died around the age she is now (87), and how we can't live forever. I said, "Grandma, you can't die! You have to live at least long enough to see me get married and have my first baby!" To which she replied, "Well, I'm trying!" I'm not sure I like what she was implying. I laughed out loud when she said that. I spent the rest of the ride home convincing her that I'm doing the best I can. I still laugh when I think about it.

On a different (and less funny) note, we had our Christmas program at church today, and several of my blogging buddies participated in it. I just wanted to say thanks to them for their exceptional music and talks. It was a very moving and beautiful meeting. I love this time of year. It puts me in a mood of gratitude so in that spirit I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate you so much. I always consider one of my greatest blessings to be my friends. I have the best friends, and I love you all and hope that you know that!

Seth Meyers would have made that funny in some way but I'm not Seth Meyers and have to end on a cheeseball note. If you're uncomfortable (as I apparently am) with the sharing of feelings, here's a Seth Meyers clip. And we can pretend this never happened.

A Festivus for the Rest of Us

It seems this is the weekend of the Christmas party! It should be a fun and festive weekend. The first party I have this weekend is my work luau, which last year was a Christmas luau, but this year is more of a going away luau for our boss who is retiring. Either way is fine by me. Since this is the second year we've had a luau themed party, the luau decorations have doubled and the transformation of our building is pretty impressive.

Walking through the hallway, you hear the soundtrack of the rain forest playing as you walk past a lagoon fully equipped with a waterfall (as pictured below). Our lunchroom has a volcano, a tiki bar, and a monkey hanging from a palm tree. I really can't do the transformation justice by trying to describe it. Let's just say that if we have a luau themed party again next year, you will not be able to tell the difference between my office building and the set of Gilligan's Island.

Then tomorrow I'm going to two ugly Christmas sweater parties. These parties seem to be pretty popular this year. Have you gone to one? After work today I'm going to go to the Salvation Army to find that perfect Christmas sweater but my question is this: should I cheat and try to find one that is actually kind of cute, or should I truly go for an ugly sweater?

Any thoughts? Maybe I'll post another poll on the side. Speaking of polls, I can't believe Magnum got five "ew"'s in the hairiness poll! But at least he got six "just right"'s so that's good. I found out who it was who chose "not hairy enough" in the poll, but I won't call him out in this post. Maybe in the next.

Wednesday Thoughts (part 2)

As some of you know, last Wednesday I posted some things I had to get off my chest. They were a mix of questions I wanted to pose to the universe. Some of you responded with answers that were quite insightful - especially about Cement City which is apparently owned and operated by my (and Emily's) extended family (ok, that's a gross exaggeration). Anyway, this week I have more to get off my chest, so here goes.

Is it wrong to have a crush on Magnum PI? I say definitely not. Not Tom Selleck. Magnum PI. There's a huge difference. My friend Kathy said that she finds his chest hair in the picture I posted gross. However, she didn't mention his mustache, which leads me to believe that she's a huge fan. I'm going to post a poll on the side and you guys can weigh in. (Only the most important topics on this blog!)

And while we're on the subject, which show had a better theme song, Magnum or the A Team?

In an unrelated thought, when playing Dr. Mario against your dad, should you let him win? Or at least not drop so many do-do-do-doots?

Also, who submitted my name to receive those AARP e-mails? Very funny, whoever you are.

Lastly, am I too young to become a snowbird? But what if I really hate winter? Can exceptions be made?

Snow hippos and other simple pleasures

As most of you know, I am not a fan of winter. But recently, with the snow piling up, I have been reminded of one of my favorite things about winter. Here's a hint:

Growing up, we called the snow that piles up behind the car tires "snow hippos" because of their appearance, and I can hardly think of anything more satisfying than kicking them off my car*. I took this picture of my car today, but haven't yet had the satisfaction of kicking it (and the others) off because I was wearing heels all day. I'm looking forward to the pleasure tomorrow though!

Another of my favorite simple pleasures is stepping on the thin ice on the sides of the sidewalk. It's a little above the sidewalk and begs to be stomped on. I have to admit that I go out of my way to crunch that ice. It's so satisfying.

I was talking about kicking snow hippos with a friend the other night, and we got talking about other simple pleasures that you never really grow out of, like pealing your sun burn, or... actually, the others were kind of gross and some of you might be eating so I'll leave it at that.

What about you? Do you guys have any simple (maybe guilty) pleasures?

*I should warn you that at times, the snow hippos are totally frozen and you might hurt your foot if you kick them. Now you can't sue me if this happens.

Tagged!

Aren't tags the best? They give me a chance to focus on my favorite person: moi. Please know that was a joke. (...or was it?) Thanks for the tag, Angie!

3 Joys
Good relationships
Good books
Feeling hopeful and happy

3 Fears
Being captured by a giant bug, as evidenced in this picture (that's my face on the doll's body, thank you Justin.)
Being lonely
The economy and job loss

3 Obsessions or Collections
Hmmm....I don't really have any. Well, I do have a ton of books. I guess that could be a collection. Oh, and I check the news and my e-mail way too often. I guess that's an obsession. And Emily reminded me of some more in the comments and I can't deny that I am also obsessed with Lost! I love that show!

Surprising Facts
I keep getting e-mails from the AARP and it's scaring me.

I tag: Katherine, Emily (yes, you Emily! Time to update your blog!), Alecia, Priscilla, and Christi!

Wednesday Thoughts

Do two donut halves equal one full donut? Wait, I didn't tell you the important part of the question: what if you ate one of the halves in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon? Does it still count as one donut? I say it doesn't.

Did you guys know there's a place in Michigan called Cement City?

Is 45 minutes too far to drive to TP someone?

Is it my stapler that's busted, or are my staples substandard? If it turns out it's my stapler, then I owe the staple company an apology.

These are questions to which I may never have answers. Except the second one. There actually is a place in Michigan called Cement City.

The Replacements

Recently, as part of my apparent ongoing quest to waste time, I discovered that there are a ton of episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch on youtube. Do you guys remember that show? I loved it back in the day, although I really only liked the high school years. The college years, with no aunts or Harvey just didn't do anything for me.

Something I've noticed while re-watching these old episodes is that there was a replacement of best friends made every couple years that I find, frankly, unacceptable. First, Sabrina was best friends with Jenny, then with no notice, Jenny was out, and Valerie was in. Valerie was great, and definitely my favorite of the best friends. Then suddenly Valerie was out and Dreama was in! Dreama was no Valerie, people!

This got me thinking about other replacements that have been made in some of my favorite shows over the years. I think I need to talk this one out, so here are some of the replacements that stand out most in my memory, along with brief discussions about who I think was the better choice.

Jenny Kelly vs. Valerie Birkhead (Sabrina, TTW)
So, Jenny was fine I guess. She had really big hair which I can relate to, and she was open minded to the weirdness surrounding Sabrina. But I still think Valerie was a much better best friend. She was funnier and less annoying than Jenny. She was also much more like-able. I'm not even going to discuss Dreama, who was an awful replacement for Valerie. Boo!

Rudy vs. Olivia (The Cosby Show)
As if kids aren't self conscious enough when they hit puberty, the Cosby show sent a not-so-discreet message to poor Rudy that since she was no longer adorable, she'd need to be replaced. Cue Olivia. Based on the way I started this rant, you probably think I prefer Rudy. That's where you're wrong - I just feel bad for her. But who can deny the over-the-top cuteness of Olivia!? I approve of this replacement.

Sharona vs. Natalie (Monk)
For Monk fans, this is a sensitive subject. At the beginning of the show, Sharona played Monk's assistant, but due to some sort of contract negotiations gone bad, she was replaced with Natalie. This one was hard for me to get used to. Jason Evans, who always watches Monk with Katherine and me, claims that Natalie is way better and feels very passionately about this subject (and anyone who knows him knows how passionate he gets when arguing his point). I always thought that Sharona was a good fit for Mr. Monk, but I also like Natalie. This one's a toss up.

DJ's boyfriends: Stevarino vs. Viper and Nelson (Full House, duh)
Guys, I still miss Steve-a-rino. Remember him? He'd eat all of Mr. T (Tanner)'s food, he was on the wrestling team, and one time Michelle wanted to marry him. Why did he and DJ have to break up that one day when they went rock climbing? After Steve, DJ went through a series of bad boyfriend choices. Viper!? Come on, DJ. And Nelson!? Booooorring!! No one can compare to Steve. Sigh.

Now that I've revealed my embarrassing knowledge of Full House plot lines, I should probably move on. If there are any important replacements that I've forgotten to include, feel free to vent. Personally, I feel better having gotten that off my chest. And yes, I do feel a little bit embarrassed about watching so much tv.