Happy April Fool's Day

I love youtube.

Rick Astley has probably never had so many people watch his video.

Awesome.

Happy Easter!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

I love you so much BP.

They are absolutely gorgeous!

(He got me the bouquet on the left!)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

V-Day Gifts to Avoid

For Him:

1. Soaps, lotions, potions, anything that smells like candy. Unless it's actually candy.

2. Flowers. He just doesn't understand why you would buy him something that he has to a) nurture and b) nurture. If you simply must, a cactus might pass--but remember, he wants a gift that can take care of itself.

3. Unfun tools. Yeah, he gets it. You want him to shovel the snow. Do not buy him a shovel to drive the point home. (Large noisemaking power tools excluded.)

4. Dinner. It's a blatant cop-out. Saving him the 80 bucks does not a romantic gesture make. A gift should come in a box. (Unless it is a kitty or a pup, which are other things you should not get him. See rule #2). (Uh-oh. I seem to remember a post yesterday in which I said A and I would probably go out for dinner... Perhaps I should re-think?)

5. An electric razor. If he wanted one, he would have bought it for himself (and of all the gadgets, this is not likely one he's coveting). Ask yourself: Do you want him to buy you a razor?

6. Boxer shorts. To men, they're truly utilitarian. No frills. No styles. (Same goes for socks.)

7. A tie. Dude, he's not your dad. So unless you plan to tie him up with it and give him his real present, ditch the old standard.

For Her:

1. Anything that even remotely implies that she is not physically perfect: gym memberships, Botox, diet plan subscriptions, self help books and the like.

2. A bathing suit. Unless it comes with a trip to the Bahamas, she does not want your input on this personal matter. What's more, you're likely to give her an anxiety attack when she thinks about trying it on (especially after the great binge/food fest with the in-laws that were the Holidays 2007).

3. Toys. Women usually do not want video games. We might occasionally like to kick your butt in Wii, but that does not mean we want Street Fighter II (or whatever game it is you're playing). Also, your avatar is lame.

4. Homemade coupons. Whether they're for dish duty, garbage duty, dinner, or something else, she's not likely to be impressed. Did your high school girlfriend even use hers?

5. A gift certificate. Step it up with something a little more personal--unless it's for 300 dollars and you can't wait to take her to the store and shop. All. Day.

6. Food. Unless you're the Iron Chef or Francois Payard, skip anything home-baked. When her friends ask what you got her for V-day, she does not want to have to regurgitate. Literally.

7. A magazine subscription. Bo-ring.

8. Tickets to the "big game." Hate to break it to you, but when she said she loved football, she was lying. Save the sports stuff for your buddies.

9. A DVD box set of your favorite show. You've both already seen every episode. It will just accumulate dust with the rest of the collection.

10. Same goes for CDs. Hello, iTunes.

11. Appliances. Every man has made this guffaw. Just because she says, "I need a new vacuum" does not mean you should buy her a vacuum.12. Any gift you once bought for an ex-girlfriend. She will find out--and punish you.

* From Yahoo.com

Will you celebrate?

Are you celebrating Valentine's Day with your sweetie this year?

Any great gift ideas you'd like to share?

While I will not be with my sweetie (Can I get a woohoo to the Virginia road trip, girls?!), I'm thinking of making a crafty card like the one in the picture to the right. Then, when I give it to him, we'll look at each other just like that. Awwww.

In all seriousness, we'll probably do a nice dinner out. Josephine's was pretty darn yummy A...

Oh no. Not good.

Perhaps he should have planned his day a little better. Say, by stopping by Starbucks before the ceremony began?

Merry Christmas!

Since I'll be away from home for the next few days, I thought I'd wish my loyal blog readers a very Merry Christmas today. Have a wonderful holiday! Can't wait to see or talk to all of you soon!

Happy Ninja Day!

Facts brought to you by realultimatepower.net:

1. Ninjas are mammals.
2. Ninjas fight ALL the time.
3. The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

(Ninja is one of those words that starts getting crazy lookin' the more you look at it...)

Did you partake?

Did you partake in Black Friday shopping?

We passed a Best Buy around 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening and there were already a number of folks in line, in tents. I found this to be absolutely ridiculous. No TV, computer or any other electronic apparatus is worth that much to me.

We went to the mall for dinner. (Classy, eh?) But, I did not do any holiday shopping.

Understanding

I'm so blessed to still have three of my four grandparents in my life. At 27 years old, I know it's quite rare. I love them all so much and get a kick out of seeing them whenever I hit Mayberry.

My Grandma T., though, continues to get more senile everytime I see her. On Thanksgiving, it seemed even worse. From not hearing a word that was said to making up her own versions of stories to going on racist tirades, I found it very difficult to remain in my seat.

Frankly, it scared me. Both in the way that she's changing every day and in the way that I couldn't be more understanding. I don't want to remember feeling this way around her. She deserves more from me.

She is, after all, Granny Goodrich. :)

* She ALWAYS has lifesavers in her purse for us. ALWAYS.

Feel free to call me Martha

Although I haven't yet made it, I can tell you right now that my green bean casserole is going to be the hit of the day.

Why wouldn't it be? I plan on following the recipe on the onion can.

I know. You're jealous of my amazingly awesome culinary skills. I get that a lot.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy (early) Thanksgiving to all of my devoted blog readers.

I am so thankful for you, my friends and family, and feel so lucky to have you in my life.


Have a wonderful day celebrating all things that make you thankful.

Speaking of the Christmas spirit...

... What is this world coming to?!!!

SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.

"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.

"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho, ho, ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she told the Telegraph.

"Leave Santa alone."

A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.

* Story on yahoo.com

Must. Be. Patient.

I would like to preface my next statement by first saying, no, I don't think Christmas items should hit stores until after Thanksgiving.

That said, I cannot wait to put up our Christmas tree. Something about the holiday season just makes me absolutely giddy.

Just like the fall leaves rule in my office, though, I'm told I must wait until after I eat Thanksgiving dinner...

(Seriously, tell me that picture doesn't make you happy somehow.)

Happy Labor Day!