Footprints on the Moon

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, everyone! It’s now 8:30 pm, so I’m willing to bet most of your trick-or-treating festivities are over at this point. Trick-or-treating ended at seven around here. I was at my grandmas, and man! She gets quite a few trick-or-treaters! I like the little ones myself… like 4 or 5 years old. They’re young enough to not be overly greedy, and they still remember that they have manners. (There was one young Spiderman that was schooling my mother in her manners) Not to mention, they’re darn cute!

Dinner was great… swiss steak, mashed potatoes, my favorite salad, rolls, corn… mmm… I told Grandma she could cook for me anytime she wants to There was supposed to be a Turtle Pumpkin Pie for dessert, but that was my responsibility, and well…. it didn’t turn out. We were all disappointed because it sounded SO good, but oh well! We were all so stuffed from dinner anyways. I’ll have to try it again at some point.

The Pressure is On

I was talking to my mom on the phone while walking through the grocery store tonight, and got “yelled” at… she was reading my blog and this one had obviously not been updated yet today. Oh, and then she went to check the others and they hadn’t been updated since Friday! Horrors!
She told me, (and I’m summarizing in my own words here), that this was unacceptable, as she reads my blogs everyday, by the way, and she’s got Grandma reading them too! Well, Mom, I’m updating this one now, does this count? I’ll update the others soon, promise.

All my blogs are suffering from a condition known as LackOfMotivationItis. I have pictures for the photo blog, pictures for a post on Jenn Cooks, an update to make on Jenn Loses Weight, a list of things to talk about… but nope. No motivation. It’s coming.

In the meantime, say hi to my mom and my grandma! *waves*

Laundry Day

I didn’t blog at all yesterday. This is not because I had nothing to say– on the contrary, I had a whole list of things to blog about. Like the Self Portrait I post every week. I just didn’t have the energy to do it. I spent all day yesterday doing laundry. And I do mean ALL day. I started the first load about 10:30 am, and got the last of it out of the dryer just before I went to bed at 9pm. In between, I treated a boil (ouch), and played games on the computer. I kept meaning to open my blog, but I just didn’t want to write anything. Sundays are made to be lazy, right?

Personalized Candy

A couple of years ago, it seemed like we started seeing personalized candy popping up everywhere. It’s something you come to expect to see as wedding, or baby shower favors. What I didn’t know, that you might have, is that there are candy wrappers available for pretty much anything you can think of.
At candyundercover.com (isn’t that a cool name?), they have personalized candy wrappers available for holiday favors- everything from New Year’s to Easter to Christmas. How about a thank you candy bar instead of traditional thank you cards? I know I’d probably rather have a candy bar that says “thanks a million” than (or in addition to ) the canned “Thank you for ___! We love it, we’ll be using it for ___. Thanks again!” Because seriously? After the first 5 cards, does anyone manage to write anything personal and original? Well, someone out there somewhere might be able to, but I’m not one of those people.

TGIF

I’m aware that this is Saturday morning, not Friday, but I wanted to blog about yesterday, so I say it works! I was definitely ready for this work week to end, and I was glad when Sarah called me at work yesterday afternoon to see if I wanted to do something last night. Uh, yeah! She came over about 6, maybe? Anyways, we just hung out here and talked for a long time, and then once our growling stomachs got our attention, we finally started talking about dinner.
We’d kind of gotten into a pattern of hanging out here, and ordering in pizza, but neither one of us wanted to do that last night. We eventually decided to go to Hacienda for dinner. We went OUT. For dinner! It was so exciting! lol Even better? Our waiter, Tim, was a total hottie! We definitely lingered far longer than we would have otherwise It was also nice to be able to sit across the table from each other and just talk and share without being distracted by something on TV that neither of us really want to watch anyways.

Decorating for Christmas

I know, I know. It’s too early to start talking about decorating for Christmas. But I can’t help thinking about it since I had to wade through three aisles of Christmas decorations in order to buy my Halloween candy. Seems like the Christmas decorations come out earlier and earlier every year. As for myself, I have a strict “No Christmas before Thanksgiving” policy. Let’s have one holiday before we have the next, okay? Obviously, this only works within my own house, as it’s foisted on me everywhere else I go. But I love Christmas, and if you start on the holiday thing too early, you just get burnt out before the holiday arrives.

That being said, I’ve been thinking about decorations. I just dug out the Halloween decorations earlier this week, and I had to move my Christmas tree (well, my Dad’s Christmas tree that I borrowed and didn’t give back) in order to reach them. I don’t think I’ll be setting it up this year. It was too much of a pain to keep the cats from breaking it last year. I still want to decorate this year, so I’ll probably be stuck with just the stockings on the wall (they try to get those down too), and lights in the window.

I had lights in the window last year, but I didn’t have them on too much. I was worried about them getting too hot, and also about having to pay the electric bill! That’s why I’ve been thinking about the new LED holiday lights. Well, I don’t know if they’re new, but I just heard about them this year. They are cooler than normal lights, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the heat of them, and they also use less energy. They do cost a little more than traditional lights, but it sounds like they’d pay for themselves in due time. I’m not sure if I’ll have money to buy new decorations this year, so it might have to wait until next year. I very much like the idea of them though! I’ve still got a month to figure it out, so we’ll have to see. I like the strawberry lights, but I’m torn on whether I’d want the traditional multi-colored lights, or if I’d want to switch to a solid color. Decisions, decisions.

Do you live here?

I’m sorry, but do you live here? That’s the question I was asking myself earlier this week. If you read my photo blog, you saw that I had a clogged tub, and called maintenance out to fix it. They started on Monday, and came back to fix the job on Tuesday. And left me wondering if it might have been done differently had it not been my uncle. On Monday, I had a funeral to attend, so I left work early, stopped off at home for lunch on my way, and discovered that my bathtub had been taken apart, the pieces put in a bowl I had sitting near the tub, and there was a leaf in the toilet. Um… okay. Come to find out, my uncle was in the process of working on my tub when he found out he had 20 minutes before he was “supposed” to be at the funeral home.

So my tub stayed torn apart Monday night, and he came out to finish it on Tuesday. It’s the subtle differences that left me wondering, with the whole “do you live here” question. Moved washcloths, the “dirt” (chemical residue) left in the bottom of the tub, but most importantly the cats. Now, that statement might leave you confused, so let me explain. When I got home on Tuesday, the cats greeted me in the living room, then ran back to the bathroom and meowed. Usually that means “Where have you bee? The bowl is empty, feed us, we’re starved!” So I glance in and their bowl is full. I told them such and ignored them. Later, they keep repeating this. Sitting near the bowls and talking to me. Finally I look closer. Yes, their bowl is full, but not with the food that I feed them. My uncle fed my cats. It would be weird in and of itself, but here’s the really strange part– he didn’t get the food from inside my apartment. Where I keep the cat food is probably not in a very intuitive place, so it’s quite likely he looked around, and didn’t find it. But there was a sample bag of cat food (which just so happens to be the same kind that he DID put in the bowl) in the bathroom, and he didn’t use that either.

So best I can figure is that he went home and got food to feed my cats. Which of course they didn’t want because they were like, what the heck is this?? It was just very strange to me. I appreciate him feeding them if they were hungry, but he’s got my phone number– he could’ve called and asked me where their food was! And then I couldn’t help but wonder… does he feed other people’s cats too? Or just mine? Maybe I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.

The Clear “Cold Cut” Choice

It’s no secret that I eat out more than I should. Often this includes burgers and fries, or as Subway puts it a “muffin top” and a “triple chin.” But I’m trying to make healthier choices in my life now, so that also includes moving to another love — Subway… you may have seen that coming. In college, Subway was always our go-to restaurant. Pretty much every year during college, Dad got me $50 worth of Subway gift cards for Christmas. We’d head out on Friday nights, and get our subs, and then truck back to the dorms to eat our subs, and watch DVDs, usually Friends.

I still like to get Subway subs, and wouldn’t you know, I still always get the same thing:
Cold Cut Combo, on Monterey Cheddar bread. American cheese. Lettuce, green pepper, and pickles. Mayo and Mustard. I used to get tomatoes, vinegar and oil, but the sandwiches tended to get soggy, and I found I like them better without the extras anyways. No, it’s probably not the best option that they have, but it’s better than a grease soaked hamburger right?
And even better, Subway now has their Fresh Fit Meals, where you have healthy side options, such as All Natural yogurt. If you go to the site there, and click on the Subway side of the billboard, the over-dressed, slightly creepy man will offer to “whisk you away to a world of taste.” Or you can click on the Burgertown side, and the greasy looking man on that side will tell you how much he looks forward to seeing what your triple chin looks like. I don’t know, what would you choose?
Lucy chooses Subway.

Where does the time go?

Okay, I would like to know just where the heck time is going! Pretty much everyone who comes through my area has to comment on the weather… someone just a minute ago came down for a package, and the sun has come out now, despite a completely dreary morning, and I was lamenting the fact that we’ve jumped straight from summer to winter. After he looked at me like I was crazy for a minute, he asked me if I was from around here. (The answer is, of course, yes). The two things that came from our conversation are 1) it’s downright WARM for the end of October around here and 2) Holy Crap! It’s almost November!!
My summer to winter comment makes less sense in that context, but I was mainly making that point because we used to enjoy such wonderful “Indian Summer” days. He claims that that is what today could be called, but I disagree. To me, those nice fall days I enjoy are the ones where the weather is in the high 60s, low 70s… sunny… beautiful… calming… I think everyone knows what picture I’m trying to paint here. It’s certainly doesn’t qualify when it’s 52 and the sun happens to be out, when it’s usually much colder than this. We’ve had a few of those days, but mostly we’ve gone from overbearing heat, to pretty darn cold.
And before you point it out, no there is no making me happy! When it comes to the weather, I want it to be warm if it’s cold, and I want it to be cooler if it’s warm. But I think most people are like that.

ChatterJam

I heard about a new site today called ChatterJam.com. When you click over there, one of the first things you’ll see are the words “Like free stuff?” Is the sky blue? Heck yeah, I like free stuff!! It’s a word-of-mouth marketing website geared for Christians. Participants, called “Jammers”, get to check out new goods and services, and offer their feedback to the original company. Definitely sounds interesting, but don’t take my word for it. Check out the ChatterJam press release below to read about it for yourself:

ORLANDO, FL, October 23, 2007 - Covenant Communications Int’l., an Orlando based marketing solutions partner, is pleased to announce the launch of ChatterJam, an innovative word-of-mouth marketing service with a unique window into the faith-based market.

ChatterJam provides a mutually beneficial network between marketers and real consumers with valuable perspectives. At www.chatterjam.com Christian trendsetters from all walks of life have the opportunity to receive hot-off-the-press products and information about the latest music, television shows, books, and movies. While these “Jammers” are enjoying the inside scoop and using goods and services they believe in, they are naturally influencing, connecting, and marketing through their social circles. Marketers who use the service not only build up word-of-mouth credibility this way, they receive honest and fair evaluations that generate valuable market feedback on their products and services.

ChatterJam’s network stretches across the diverse body of those who share a common foundation of faith: from ministers to professionals, parents to plugged-in youth. Jammers have an array of online social networking tools at their fingertips; they can comment on all services utilized, share reviews with one another, and even participate in fan clubs for favorite artists and products!

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful and effective tool with the potential to stimulate viral campaigns possessing a scope beyond the reach of traditional advertising methods. It is also a direct conduit of information to and from influential consumers, yielding precise market data on new products and services. “ChatterJam provides an easy way for Christians to connect with the latest products and services– for free — and give unbiased feedback in their spheres of influence. It is an instant generator of buzz in the faith community,” said founder Justin Ramb.

Covenant Communications (www.covweb.com) helps businesses throughout the US to define and create identity, craft communication strategy, develop quality marketing vehicles, and implement strategy through the creative, production, and distribution processes. Covenant is excited to offer ChatterJam as yet another cutting-edge marketing resource.