4/29/10

Travel the World

Oh, I almost didn't want to write another post just because my dream house post would then keep moving to the bottom of the pile.  I think I will randomly put pictures of the house throughout future posts, and unless you've read about it you might scratch your head and be all, "What's a picutre of a house doing in a post about a dog park?"  It can be our inside joke for future reading!;o) 

However, my fingers were itchingly longing to write about more!  So, I took a look over yonder on the 'Goals for 2010' link and realized it's about to be MAY and I only have one of those suckers crossed off.  Being Vegeterian now doesn't even seem fair to me to have considered a goal.  I thought it would be a difficult task and it would take a lot of work.  Nah, I'm actually very liberated by it, and don't miss the meat in my diet at all.  It kinda grosses me out, actually.  So now I am expecting that pursuing the rest of the goals on that list will be as delightsome.

I noticed that I so boldly decided to make it a goal to go on 4, yes FOUR trips this year.  Since I moved to NJ, I cannot really consider that a "trip", however I decided to consider my visit to NYC as a trip.  After all, I did the whole "trip-py" thing.  Went to a local restaurant, comedy show, took pictures and almost bought an I HEART NY T-Shirt.  So, by my standards, it qualifies.  However, I need to fill my slots with three more.  This year, they will all be in the US of A.  Here are some ideas:

San Diego, CA (then I can go drive by MY house & check it out also:o)
Las Vegas, NV
Oklahoma City, OK
Orlando, FL
Chicago, IL
Pittsburgh, PA
NYC, NY
Atlantic City, NJ
Los Angeles, CA
Moab, UT

These have to be TRIPS, though.  Not drive throughs or anything.  Spending at least a weekend doing the stuff people do on trips.  Sightseeing, eating at local joints, mingling with locals, etc.  San Diego is definitely a destination that will be happening, now the only thing to figure out is when and where the last two places will be?

4/25/10

MY Dream Home


Ladies & Gents, allow me to introduce you.   This ^ is my dream home.  As far as I'm concerned it is already mine.  I know where it is (about 30 miles from San Diego), address and all.  It was built brand new in 2008 and was on the market for just under $6 Million.  I am not going to build a house like it, or gather some ideas about what I like about this one and build it into another house, nor am I going to build an exact replica of this house somewhere else (i.e. cheaper).  This is my very house.

If it was purchased by someone else, they are just occupying it in the meantime.  In the next several years I will be the one to answer the door to this place when you ring the bell (after you get past the security guard, of course:o)

Originally, I had cut this picture out of a dream home magazine when I saw it, because I LOVED everything about this picture.  E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  Even the lone palm tree standing watch right outside my front door.  It's beautiful.  I used to look at the picture often, and in the process of several moves I stashed it away in some binder.  Until...

A few nights ago I dreamed about this house.  I dreamed a dream where I was in it interacting with family.  When I awoke, I didn't have the sensation of "OH, I wish that hadn't been a dream, it was sooo nice," rather I had the sensation of, "Wow, I can't wait to move in there!"  And I tore apart my (already torn apart) closets to find where I had laid this photo.  BAM!  I found it.  Now it's on my desktop, my cell phone wall paper, and a binder.  This is my house, I'm looking forward to moving in.

4/23/10

Self Inflicted Injury

I am a self certified KLUTZ!  I can trip and bang my head like no one else.  In fact, I hit my head on everything on a regular basis.  Examples are:  getting out of the car, opening a door, picking something up from under the table.  You name it.  I hit my head on so many things and so many times my husband no longer offers any sympathy.  Each bang is followed by me rubbing my head and proclaiming the ever clever phrase of "OWWW" while my husband is smirking and shaking his head and rolling his eyes.  It's just a normal ocurrence around here.



One day as I was coming UP the stairs I somehow miscalculated the size of the step and tripped, causing my body to "fall" upward.  My uncoordinated hands flailed with mighty effort to no avail.  My left arm now has a new scar where I scraped a nice chunk of skin off in the motion.

Yesterday, feeling a little "un"-symmetrical I decided to now fall DOWN the stairs and I banged my right hand pretty well.  No worries, though, because now I have a matching scar on that arm.  Yes, these are my battle wounds.

Being clumsy is no longer embarrassing for me.  I fall, trip, or whatever and it hurts for a second and then I laugh.  I laugh because I'm not perfect, I have the scars to prove it, and each scar reminds me of all of that.  My life is a kaleidescope of experiences and each one has it's place.  Some are just more bodily visible than others, that's all.

Will Smith

Cannot get enough of this one.  I love, love, love his message here.

Will Smith;  The Alchemist

4/21/10

Intermission

I'm currently working on a HUGE project for my business and it is consuming quite a bit of time from me.  Fear not, it is a great experience and I'm excited to recant it here for you in the up coming weeks.  In the mean time as my posts are sparse for the next couple of weeks, enjoy some of my favorite videos:

David Riklan, Founder of http://www.selfgrowth.com/ on :

Making Money on the Internet in 5 minutes or less




4/19/10

File an Extension

That's it!  I'm not doing ANYONE's taxes ANYMORE!    I really am not the biggest fan of doing my taxes (Did I just strike a chord in uniqueness here?  Prolly not...)  I actually finished my federal taxes by February, but then, digressed and didn't finish my state taxes until April 14th.  A day before the deadline.  I'd say that's progress nonetheless.

Over the last couple of years I've been helping out my in-laws file theirs.  Now, I'm no tax expert, but theirs are really easy.  Same job, residence, etc. for years with nothing much to claim.  So, I agreed to help them out.  While I was filing in February I worked on their return and before I hit the "efile" button, my father-in-law said to hold off. 

Well, April 15th rolls around and we give him a call.  For tax purposes?  No, it's actually his BIRTHDAY!  Can you believe it?  At least he never forgets the deadline.  He was under the impression that we had already filed the taxes and realized that it hadn't been done, so he began to panic.  I'm not talking just a little worried and maybe fussing so that it can get done in time, I'm talking FULL BLOWN snapping-at-me-without-realizing-it panic.  It was all the way to 8:00 in the A - M and he was freaking out!  My husband talked him through most of the day as I found some time to whip them out on the computer for him to submit.

The day wasn't over, yet.  He owed money so he wanted to send out the money order in order to avoid penalties and interest.  He left work early and rushed to a store for the money orders so he can drop them off in the mail before 5:00 PM when the post office closes.  He didn't believe us when we told him that he can drop it off all the way until midnight (even though we called and confirmed it).  He was so nervous trying to fill out the money order information, but after marking up a few scribbles he put them in their envelopes and rushed over.  When he got there, he noticed a big sign right in front

"Mail deposited before Midnight tonight April 15, 2010 will be retrieved and postmarked for today's date"

Then, and only then did he take a deep breath.   Ahhh, after an entire day of drama, he finally settled at home for a bbq with the fam to celebrate his big birthday.   My husband's reaction to the day's events : "He's getting old, we have to be more patient..."  Poor old guy, hopefully the e-file gets accepted, or else I'm not the one bearing the news!

4/13/10

Kids Say the Darndest Things...


Recently I was wrestling with my testosteronely nephew Max.  I put him in a full nelson thingy and everytime I tried to hold him tightly, he wiggled his little behind right from under my grasp.  We were having fun.  Then, he went to wrestle with my husband  (three time state champion in wrestling) who actually knew some legit moves.  This kid was hillarious!  Now, the little tough guy was crying for mercy!  Too funny.

After the Max got released from the grasps of death he stood up and went to his room, seemingly to move on to another activity.  Right before he goes in to his room he looks at me and wiggles his finger towards his direction.

Max:  Aunt Eneida, can you come here?

I got up and moved toward him.

Me:  What's up?

Max:  Can you wrestle with me?  I know I can beat you...

Ohhh, kiddos.  Hey, at least they tell it like it is!

4/11/10

How to Master the Art of Sales


You want to learn how to be a successful sales person?  Just go to a fast food restaurant in Newark, NJ where you'll see a top notch example up front and personal.  My husband and I were pulled up in line at a drive through for McDonald's with the driver window rolled down ready to place our order (even though we were about 3 or 4 cars away).  Right then, we made first contact.  A lady looked straight at us and surely she noticed our UTAH license plates and decided to work her magic. 

She points in our direction and says "You two make a great couple!"

We chuckle and think 'okayyyy'

She continues, this time pointing at my husband, "Make sure you put a ring on her finger!"

We just responded, "Yeah."  And thought that was the weirdest exchange ever!  Who says East Coast people aren't nice?  So she is now walking in front of our car and then abruptly stops.  Shakes her finger at us and continues her story.

Saleslady:  "You know, I should tell you," she begins, now right up against my husbands face bent over on the driver side, speaking through our prematurely opened window.  "I work as a nurse, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke or drink and I have four kids..."

Us:  "Oh, yeahhh?"  We then exchange a glance at each other as if to say 'What the heck?'

Saleslady:  "My stove is completely broken, I just got the cops to come over to make sure there isn't a leak or anything..."

Us:  Still baffled. 

We begin to drive forward as our turn to order food quickly approaches, and she walks along side the car still bent over talking...

Saleslady:  "Look I'm just eating ice!"  At this moment she shows us a cup she's holding full of ice cubes and then continues, "I'm just trying to feed my FOUR babies at home, maybe looking to buy them some cereal or something, but I just don't have anything!"

She gives a sad look and then continues to remind us that she doesn't do drugs, smoke, or drink and that she's a nurse in the area.  But, alas, it was almost our turn, and I'm a sucker so I reached in my bag, pulled out a dollar bill and handed it over across from my husband into her eager snatching hand.  But that's not all...

Saleslady:  Facing my husband now, "Sir, do you have any change?  I don't like asking the ladies!"  Was she being polite, demeaning, or just slick?" 

Us:  My husband shakes his head no, and by that time I give her a few more cents I found in my bag. 

Saleslady:  Snatchingly, "Thanks..." and then just walks away rapidly.

My husband looks over at me for being such a fool, but I've justified it as she needed it way more than I did. If her story was true, then I helped.  If it wasn't, then too bad for her living a life where she had to beg.  Either way, I did a good deed, :o).

After getting our food and driving down the town on our way to run errands we pulled over to a spot by a sidewalk to enter an address into our GPS and saw two men walking past.  They were innocently, conversing together, with seemingly no perceived agenda.  I reached over and locked the car doors as they were about to pass by.

My husband: "Are you serious?"  Wondering why I was so paranoid.

Me:  "Did you not just see that lady poke her head through our windshield?  Yes I'm serious!"

Ahhh, just another Friday night in Jersey!

4/10/10

Pigeons

I am that lady.  Yes, the one who opens her window and throws bread out on her window sill to watch the birds come over and graze upon the bounty.  Am I really that big of a bird lover?  Well, let's just say that I just love ALL animals and make no exception.  So, what kind of birds come to my window?  Since I'm on the east coast, about 10 miles away from New York City, I get the infamous PIGEONS!  Yes, the cockroach of the sky.  Dirty ghetto pigeons that don't fly away if you get too close, since they're used to and comfortable with humans.  To me, they aren't any lower class than a robin or a blue jay.  I think they're cute little chubby creatures and they make interesting noises:o).

It's funny how animals stay perceptive to the history of their locations.  I usually see at least three or four of the suckers perched against my window daily and we've had as many as a dozen birds at a time during the feeding frenzy.  It's funny to watch.  Some of them are lazy little things that don't walk over to the pieces of bread  unless you throw a piece right in front of them.  Even my pigeons are SPOILED!

So, recently, as my husband and I were napping during the days of the East Coast Heat Wave we heard the pigeons perform their unusual cooing just outside our window.  This was a sound we have gotten used to (like the sirens and loud car radios) so we really didn't think much about it, until it started getting louder than usual.  We opened our eyes at the exact same time and looked over to our bedroom window and saw two pigeons sitting on our opened window pane facing INSIDE of our house.  YES!  They were coming INTO our home!  My dogs were going crazy!

I about rolled over three times laughing so hard as my husband skipped straight up and shooed them back out and closed the window.  Silly pigeons, the outside of our window is all yours, but the inside of our house is for the dogs!

4/8/10

Funny Bone

You're minding your own business, perhaps completely focused on the task at hand and it comes at you with no warning whatsoever.  WHACK!  You hit your Humerus Bone (AKA Funny Bone). 

As I described the above scenario you probably cringed.  There's nothing FUNNY about that!  It hurts and it's the weirdest kind of pain, too.  I think it's really called a "funny" bone (other than for the obvious reason) because it makes others laugh when they see it happen to you.

Do you ever notice how if someone gets hurt and they're  not permanently damaged, that it's actually funny?  You see it in movies and cartoons all the time.  We laugh when someone falls and we are especially hardy in our chuckle when we see someone bonk their head on something (which I do on PLENTY of occassions).  It's plain and simple funny to be goofy and out of the ordinary, no matter the scenario.

I guess, I feel that if we can get a laugh out of someone else, shouldn't we also (if not more so) get a laugh when silly things happen to us?  I think so.  Usually when I fall or trip or bump my noggin, instead of looking around to see if anyone (heaven forbid) "saw" the tragedy which just ocurred, I laugh. I  So much more fun than being stressed.

This should be a good day.  Watch your step!

4/6/10

Innocence

A few days ago I was walking the isles of our local grocery store, which is actually an experience I look forward to weekly since I get to wander around and "think"!  I mean, really, how often do we get to just space out for about an hour and think about all the stuff that wants to pulse through our minds on a regular basis?  So I was completely oblivious to the world around me as I went up and down each lane picking out my supplies.

Turning a corner to enter a new aisle of thought I noticed a mom with two little boys at the end.  One little boy was small enough to be sitting in the cart with his chicken legs dangling about.  He was also waving ferociously.  Honestly, I didn't notice until I was almost up to them that he'd been waving all along.  As I was passing them by I smiled at him but his vibrating hand just mechanically continued back and forth, back and forth with amazing speed.  He kept this pace up the whole time I was walking the aisle.

Finally as I almost turned to leave that aisle I decided to wave back to him.  That was it. That's all he wanted.  He smiled and stopped his waving duty.

Now, I'm not usually the kind of person who dotes on little children as if they were angelic little souls with a precious aura.  I usually look at kids and think they're cute and all, but then think of the work and responsibility tied to them (hence after 8 years of marriage I am still childless. Also I'm deathly terrified of being responsible for an entire human being's life...ugh...makes me shudder in fright!).  However, in this instance I couldn't help but smile. 

This little guy was so persistent.  Was he looking for something in return?  Only the same gesture of kindess.  Then I think about adults.  We walk past hundreds of our kindred spirits ever day.  Certainly, we don't go out of our way to wave and make sure they feel acknowledged.  Heck, most of the time we're just wearing a scowl from all the "weight" we feel we have endured that day.  If anything, kids teach us a lesson.  Smile.  Say hello to a stranger.  Loosen your load.  At the end of the day, it's those little things that can change your outlook on life.

4/4/10

Easter Sunday

I wish you all a Happy Easter. May your day be filled with the rememberance that our Savior died for us and then triumphantly rose from the grave to grant us the most precious gift of all. Eternal Life.

4/3/10

New York City Fun

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our EIGHTH (*8*) wedding anniversary.  Eight years!  I'm still not over the fact that I can be old enough to have been married so long.  Granted I did marry young, but the speed at which time continues to travel is always a phenomenon to me. 

We had a blast!  Did some time travel and shared some laughs.  Since we're only a 20 minute commute away, we decided to celebrate it in one of the liveliest cities on earth... NEW YORK CITY!  I love NYC.  I have grown up exploring the City and it never gets old.  There is so much to do in New York that boredom really isn't an option.

We got off on 34th Street and walked along Broadway.  We were recommended to Caroline's Comedy Club and then to a restaurant called Mars 2112.  So we found Caroline's and went inside to buy tickets.  The scalper-ticket-pawner-dude (These guys are all over the City) sold us a pair for $40 and we had over an hour and forty minutes before the show started.  Right across the street was the destination of our inter-galactic restaurant experience.





We entered the restaurant and noticed that there was a $2.00 admission to enter the restaurant per person.  Why?  Because, my friends, you literally entered into a space ship and it virtually carried you through space, dodging meteors and all, onto the planet Mars.  This couple minute ride was cute and it was funny to see the little kids go wide eyed over the experience.  Upon landing one little boy even asked if we REALLY WERE on MARS?  The whole space ship chuckled.





Our host was an alien clad creature who greeted us, "Welcome Earthlings" and guided us to our seat.  They had space creatures walking around the place and it was REALLY DARK!  (Probably a good thing, considering it would be kinda scary to think about what the place looked like if it was well lit up:o)  I ordered a Veggie Burger and my husband ordered a 12 oz. steak (I know we're meant for each other, right?:o).  The food was okay, not really something to rave about, but you no doubt pay for the experience and not the cuisine.  Our bill at the end of the night including the tip to our Star Trek waitress?  $67.00.  Yeah.  Welcome to New York City.

We headed across the street (after we safely arrived back on Earth of course) to make it in time for our comedy show.  Apparently the scalper-ticket-pawner-dude sold us the wrong tickets to the wrong show or something.  No worries, though because we got our $40 reimbursed and free tickets to a different show just off Broadway.  Since there's a two drink minimum per person (we always get 4 Cokes and it costs about $25-$30 bucks extra) we were really stoked to get into a show for free. 

I don't even remember the name of the place, nor do I need to.  Not going back, they weren't funny.  Actually kinda weird.  But so it is with Comedy Clubs, hit or miss I guess. 

On our walk back we got lost getting to the train!  We found our destination, so we thought, paid for tickets to get on the train and realized we were in the wrong station.  We then walked out of there, found the right station and paid for tickets to the RIGHT train.  (Usually it helps when you are headed the right direction if you want to go home.  Only "if", though!)

We rode the train to our transfer point and then followed the crowd up a couple of flights of stairs.  Then we realized we walked out of the train station!  Duh!  So, we paid for another set of tickets and waited for a half an hour for the train to come back and pick up our lost souls at the unheard of hour of 2:00AM.  Oh, the joys!  We made it, though and came home safely and sound.  My poor dogs were starving!

All in all, we had a blast.  I love New York City and it was worth the $105 of adventure.  So, happy 8th anniversary to my husband.  I'm excited to see what this year will bring.

4/1/10

Google Changes its Name

You read that right!  The company we all affectionately know as "Google" has officially changed its name to "Topeka"!  Yes, like the city in Kansas!

Apparently Topeka, Kansas initiated the gesture by changing the name of the city to Google, Kansas.  How nice of Google to return the favor!  So, does this mean that our email will no longer be @gmail.com and instead become @Tmail.com?  We'll see!




Ahem...check the date:o)