And the blog lives on

No, I'm not giving up this blog.

It was my first and ones first is always special.

I do have the other blog still. It's been through a lot since the last post here in December 2006.

Like what you ask?

Well, the database went completely tits up in February 2007. Oh that was a fucking treat. EVERYTHING was gone! Fucking bit rot.

I moved to a new server at that time and everything went completely wonky. I was forced to leave them after only three months.

Now my blog is BACK with Tatty and Piggy, but I still retained my domain name. Hey, it's my name! I bought it so I get to use it, m'kay!

That's it! Now go to the new blog and, if you have to after a year, change your link!

Life, Family, et al

This blog STILL lives (but it's on lifesupport)

Okay, Einsteins, if you HAVEN'T figured it by now, I do not POST on this BLOG!

I have ANOTHER blog, and it's NOT the one previously mentioned. That one in the post below is d-e-a-d GONE!

This is my new blog site: Life, Family, et al. The URL (for those who even care) is http://lifefamilyetal.com and YES it is MY site.

Now, UPDATE YOUR FUCKING LINKS YOU LAZY BASTARDS!

Thank you :)

Move along, people

Seriously, I'm done with this blog.

Go here: The New and Improved Life, Family, et al

I'm not doing the auto redirect thingy yet.

Eventually, but not now

Permission

Folks, I saw this on Scotty's website (and he saw it on someone else's blog). I agree with what he had to say, it should be aired on every channel until the message is understood. I'm also posting this on the other, much better blog (since this blog's days are winding down fast). That's a hint for you procrasinators to CHANGE YOUR LINK! Thank you!

Tags: video, permission, mediathatmattersfest

My mother has her priorities

Dinker and I got haircuts today. Well, I got a cut and highlighting.

I've been going to the same place for 20 years. My mother goes there, also. She is there every blessed Saturday at 8 in the morning. So yes, she was there this morning for her hair-do update.

Odd child I have ... she can't wait to get a haircut, go to the doctor, and see a dentist. She actually cries when I tell her she won't see the dentist until it's Halloween. She's a bit too well adjusted.

My mom and dad took the Dinks to their house while I got my hair done. When I left the salon, it looked right nasty up in the sky.

"Oh lovely," I thought, "a storm is heading our way."

Either getting one's hair done or washing the car can always guarantee a good rainstorm.

Just before I got to mom and dads', the skies opened up. Ya gotta love it! So I ran into my parents' home in the frellin' rain.

After a few minutes, it seemed to stop raining. I thought that was the best time to dash out with the Dinks to the car.

As we were leaving, the skies looked right unfriendly again. As tradition dictates, my mother walked out with us to my car. As we walked out she felt a raindrop.

"Okay, I'll see you two later. I'm going back in."

"Oh," I said, "keeping your hair dry is more important then seeing off your granddaughter?"

"Yep"

And she promptly abandoned the two of us, disappearing through her front door as the skies opened up again.

My brave, brave mother.

Tags: rain, mother, family, haircut

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget about the other blog.

Majority of my future posts will now be on my Word Press blog

This is where I highly advise everyone to update their links be it on Bloglines, BlogRoll, or your own did-it-myself blogroll.

Blogger has become too annoying to to even consider keeping.

I won't, repeat, WON'T delete this blog. It will stay up for information purposes and archives. I had the darn thing for over a year, I can't just go [DELETE]. Well, I could, but I won't.

So update those Maidink and/or Life, Family, et al links to the Word Press blog.

http://lifefamilyetal.tazzyandpiggy.com (with intro)

or

http://lifefamilyetal.tazzyandpiggy.com/wordpress (no intro)

Why?

'cause that's where I'm-a postin', that's why!

Tags: blogging, blogger, wordpress, maidink, et al

Not a good day ... already

I'm not going to rant on this blog. I'm starting to dislike Blogger more and more everyday. Stupid thing already froze up at least four times trying to get this itty bitty post done.

Therefore, the rant is on my other blog.

How to (maybe) get a telephone answered in an office that could care less

I just got a call on my phone here at work and the caller ID said "Answer me, please"

I didn't.

Tags: caller id

The day BEFORE the birthday

Geo promised he would take me out for my birthday on Saturday. And he did! Yay me!

It was such a good day.

Well, we did argue once, but it was a minute (pronounced either way) argument. I think it was one of those "you're not wearing that?", "stop nagging", "you're a jerk", "you're a nag", blah blah blah. You get the point.

WIth the obligatory once a week arguement over, we got ready and left.

We dropped the Princess off at Mom and Dad's. She was staying the night, but she didn't know that. When I picked her up the next day (my birthday), my mom looked rather haggered. It seems the Princess didn't sleep a wink. How nice. Hey, they want to watch her, so they get no sympathy for the repercussions which occur.

Now, back to Saturday night. First stop was din-din.

We went to TGIFriday's for dinner. I know, TGI's is not the place one would think of when one's other half is treating them to a birthday dinner. I honestly couldn't think of anywhere else to go to eat. I wanted a place where I knew the food was good but not expensive. TGI's won.

It was a nice meal. I had two uber fruity drinks (so not my style). We both got shrimp dinners which was good, but not like the stuff we get down in Maryland. Of course, there were children everywhere which made me miss the rugrat. And there were the occasional twenty-somethings who painfully reminded me I was no longer twenty-something (and slowly creeping out of the thirty-something crowd). It was the typical Friday's atmosphere.

And did I say not expensive? Never order two uber fruity drinks and expect a low bar tab.

Next year, I'm choosing either the Piper Tavern or the Chart House.

After dinner, we went to this area near here known as Main Street of Manayunk. I've always wanted to go there because I've heard nothing but awesome reviews of the shops and the dining. My first choice was South Street, but our neighbor suggested we hit Manayunk instead.

Boy, Geo and I were far from impressed. Everything seemed closed up and not all of the restaurants were open. It just didn't seem like it was "all that". We stayed for all of forty-five minutes and left.

And we had to pay $8.00 in parking. What a rip-off!

I mentioned the disappointment in Main Street to my co-worker on Monday.

"It just seemed so dead. I was so unimpressed."

"You do remember," she said, "that Main Street was one of the places that was flooded out a few weeks ago? Most of those shops are probably still cleaning up from the waters. They say Main Street won't be fully recovered for a few more weeks."

We had some wicked rains a few weeks ago that caused massive flooding in tons of places here in Pennsylvania. Most of Philly county was spared, but lots of surrounding areas were evacuated. Manayunk was one of them.

Okay, so they had an excuse. Geo and I made a promise to each other to check it out again in a few weeks.

Feeling disappointed, we went to South Street anyway.

You didn't flooding in that area to know it was a dump. Then again, flooding could help it.

South Street used to be a happening place from way back when until about the 1990's. It had the funky shops, the retro clothing stores, the great eateries, antiques, etc. I have spent many a coin down there. Then it quickly turned around and went to poop.

It seems all the happening people have migrated from South Street to Main Street. Main Street might become my new hang out (when I actually find a sitter and leave my house to hang out).

Back to South Street, we had a couple of drinks in some seedy little bar. And that was that.

So ends my day before tale. I know it was a ripping read (not). What, you expected more? So did I. That goes to show, next year, I'll have an menifesto printed up before we leave.

Go to the new place to find out where we are going on holiday this year:

She's gonna get the pony, I know it

Tags: philadelphia, manayunk, main street, south street, tgi friday's, floods

Today, I was born

At least that's what my birth certificate states. Or it used to.

For years, my mother had my original birth certificate carefully wrapped in cellophane and kept in her jewelery box. She let me take charge of it when I turned 30. It promptly burned up in a house fire 3 years later.

Oops.

It was hand writen and the official crimped state seal was all crumbly. No wonder it went up in flames, it was practically kindling.

To date, I have yet to order a replacement. Eventually I will. I have to. If we're ever to go overseas for holiday, I need to get a passport. And to get one of those you need a birth certificate. So, I'll order it.

Soon.

Eventually.

someday.

maybe ...

Other site: Today was my birthday

Tags: birthday, life, birth certificate, maidink

WordPress v Blogger: Get ready to change your link

Yep, this blog is going bye-bye sooner than anticipated.

It didn't take long for me to get used to WordPress. Now I look at this blog and think, "Oh, you are SO out of here."

At first, I was afraid of WordPress. It looked so ... menacing. But now I realize it's vastly easier and quite friendly. As Tazzy and Piggy said (and this is not verbatim), if you can manipulate stuff in Blogger, you'll have no problem in WordPress.

There is a slight hiccough, though. That would be there are two WordPress sites: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

There is a HUGE difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

WordPress.com hosts its own WordPress blogs, just like Blogger. And, just like Blogger, it's a free service. The rub is you are limited to your creativity. Blogger pretty much let's you do whatever the heck you want to your blog. Blogger's problem is that it is unreliable. I've stopped counting how many posts, comments, and even templates I have lost due to Blogger's instability. At WordPress.com, you can get a blog, but you can't alter it. As for reliability, I haven't heard any bad things about the WordPress.com host ... um, I actually don't know anyone on the .com host. But it is free! It's just that it's also limited.

Then there is the other WordPress. WordPress.org is more of a "do-it-yourself" blogging experience. First, you need to get a web host. WordPress.org has a link on their site to "recommended" web host partners in case you have no clue where to get one. Before you ask, yes, there will probably be a fee. On the upside, you get to pick your OWN domain name. Oooooo. In my case, Taz and Pig are my host, via their host, at tazzyandpiggy.com. Once I get on my feet (who knows when that will be), I'll get my own domain and web host. Next, you need to download and install WordPress. When that's complete, install the files on your PC, and you are, for the most part, ready to go.

If you love to blog and Blogger is really getting on your nerves, I recommend doing it the WordPress.org way. Sure there is a fee, but never forget the old saying, "You get what you pay for".

Now, back to ME!

I'm thinking of moving all my posts and comments from here to the other blog. The only downside with that is I'll have hundreds of "miscellaneous" categorized posts. I don't know about you, but I'll find that very annoying.

I could just very well keep this blog up indefinitely. Nothing says it has to go away. Still fence sitting.

And I want to buy a new laptop and a voice recorder. But that's another story.

And here's more reading: It took me a YEAR to get it that way

Tags: blogging, wordpress, blogger

Why should this come as no surprise?

Well, Geo just dropped a bomb on me. In his defense, it's not like he had any control over what happened.

For next week, his company switched him out of his current department to the department he just left.

Why? Who knows. There is never a rhyme or reason in the world of steel. I would venture to guess they allowed too many "voluntary" lay-offs recently. Duh!

So, more than likely, he'll be working the midnight to eight shift next week starting Sunday night. That means he'll need to be asleep around 3:00 PM to get enough sleep to last through the night.

What's the big deal, you may ask?

Sunday is my birthday. We (meaning Geo, Dink, and myself) were going ot my brother's home to celebrate it by the poolside with BBQ. It was going to be an all-day event.

"Well," I said, "I guess this means you won't be at my brother's Sunday."

Moments silence.

"Yeah, I guess."

Now, nothing is definite. He could very well be working a different schedule, although he already expressed how he prefers the midnight shift, the dope.

I feel bad for him, but it's my birthday.

Here's to praying he can be there. And if not, well ... I'll save him some cake.

maybe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other blog post: Did I say thirty days?

Tags: maidink, birthday, family, life

You know you're getting old when ...

I was going to write a list of clever endings to the opening title, but it looks like someone (probably a few hundred someones) already beat me to it.

Oh well, that's just as good. I doubt if my brain could have handled the stress.

It's sad when phrases from your youth are now obsolete. That's one helluva indicator that you're pushing the old dirt nap needle.

Phrases like "drop a dime on someone". Who the heck uses that now? No one I tell you. That was way back before mobile phones and when using a payphone cost ten cents.

And how about "you sound like a 33 on 45"? I got a few stares at the local Wawa with that one. Man, 33 and 45 rpms. I complain if my hard drive is slower then 7200 now.

Speaking of music phrases, I still call those music compilations that are normally released every Tuesday "albums" and the cover art "jackets". An album today is where one stores those old fashion photo prints and a jacket is what you wear.

For the love a all that is holy, I referred to the hot and humid weather today as being akin to living inside a terrarium. That was met with the ever more knowledgable reply of "huh?" I had one of those things in my bedroom as a little one. It evem had a froggy in it. It was actually a cool thing to have in the 1970's, dammit. So were pet rocks!

I guess for being an older person, I do consider myself relatively hip. But not twenty-something hip. I doubt if I could keep up withthe twenty-somethings of today.

And I bet that's what someone pushing forty thought about me back in my twenties.

Anyway, why not check more of my complaining about getting older at the new site:

Youth, How I Loathe Thee

Tags: miscellaneous, life, aging

Nope ... nothing

I can't think of a darn thing to blog about.

Ten thousand things happen during the course of the day that I deem "blog worthy".

Then I get here and nothing.

*sigh*

So, go to the other blog and be bored there, too.

Still Getting Used to This

Tags: blogging

It's official, Life, Family, et al is moving

Yep, I'm moving the site.

The new site will be in WordPress format and it will be hosted by none other than Taz and Pig.

This is the new site addy: http://lifefamilyetal.tazzyandpiggy.com/

Once I get that site in full swing, I'll post here with a link in each post to the new site and vicea versa on the new site. That will continue for a month. After 30 days, no more posts will be on this site. That'll give anyone more than enough time to switch blogrolls or bloglines or whtever you do.

Poor Meg Griffin

Thanks to Tony, I'm now in Family Guy mode.

This randomized clip is long, but worth it.

Tags: family guy, stewie, meg, griffin, youtube

Kutztown Festival 2006

I finally did it! I went to the 2006 Kutztown Festival, one of the largest PA German fetes in the country.

It was really nice. Not mind-blowing. Not boring as watching paint dry (though I do find it fascinating when the colors go from darker wet hues to lighter dry hues). It was a pleasant time.

My only problem was that I had to pay an entry fee to get into something where I was going to spend more money. Sure there were hay rides, hay mazes, and assorted other entertainment for the kiddies. And there were folk who did presentations and played music and tried to get eveyone join in a sing-a-long. And it wasn't like the fee was obnoxiously high. So I really shouldn't complain.

Aside from that, the things that truly make the festival so popular are the various choices of food, vendors, and demonstrations.

Man oh man, was there a lot of food. There was tons and tons of food to choose from at this place. There was shoo-fly pie, pecan pie, water ice, funnel cake, sweet roasted almonds, strawberry short cake, ice cream, hot dogs, potpies, a whole roasted ox (this link is not for a vegan or animal lover to witness so you are being warned), corn dogs, meat sandwhiches, corn nuggets, raosted veggies ... good gravy! I could go on forever. I admit the prices were a bit high, but the food was great so well worth the bucks. To drink, there was the obligatory beer, sassperilla, ginger beer, birch beer, and, of course, expensive bottled water.

The demonstrations were pretty interesting. There was the hay-baling demo. That one scared me. The machine that does the baling is a steam engine and when something is about to happen (don't ask me what 'cause I don't know), this rather loud steam whistle goes TWWEEEEEEEE!! Holy chowder! Did that scare the bejesus out of me.

In other demos, the picture shows how wooden brooms are fashioned. Brooms fare heavily in PA German superstitions. Wide brooms were hung on walls to serve as a warning that witches would be swept out of a home if discovered. If one thought they were bewitched, they were to lay a broom by the entrance to the house. The first person to enter and pick up the broom was the witch. (source)

I particularly like the photo (which was taken by Geo). Check out Geo's flickr account here.

There were scads of vendors everywhere. One vendor that I liked demonstrated the PA German art of "scherenschnitte" or papercutting. Think of scherenschnitte as the grandfather of laser-cut paper art. In the same way we didn't get to taste all the different foods, we didn't get to see all the vendors there were so dang many.

In all it was a good time. It was something different for all us. As always , Dinker had a fun. She kept pointing to different items she wanted us to buy for her; however, for the first time that I can think of, she walked out a place empty-handed. The only thing she had was a full belly. Geo loved the photo ops he had which gave him a great excuse to lug around his Rebel XT. I wanted to shop, but I wasn't in a shopping mood. I instead opted for meandering and taken in all the different sites and mingling smells in the air.

I do recommend if you find yourself in the Philadelphia or Allentown area next year between the dates of June 30th and July 8th, bite the bullet, pay the entry fee, and see the Kutztown Festival. You'll be glad you went and you'll walk away with memories like this ...

Tags: kutztown festival, kutztown, pa german, pa dutch, pennsylvania, pa, amish, mennonite

A Pointless Meme

Why, it's another super-duper, incredibly thought provoking, more knowledge about one person than you ever dared to know MEME!

This meme is brought to you by that fabulous guy, Mr Fabulous!

*canned audience clapping*

GRUB-OLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice? Caesar
What is your favorite fast food restaurant? McDeath
What is your favorite sit down restaurant? Still trying to find it.
On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? 20%
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Pizza or peanut butter ... or both.
Name three foods you detest above all others. Lima beans, that Italian squidly stuff, and souse.
What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? Anything spicy
What are your pizza toppings of choice? Gimme a garbage pizza
What do you like to put on your toast? Butter
What is your favorite type of gum? Bubble

TECH-OLOGY
Number of contacts in your cell phone? 15. And most of those are realted to the Dinks (doctor, daycare, etc). I openly admit I have almost no friends.
Number of contacts in your email address book? 30
What is your wallpaper on your computer? Superman Returns
What is your screensaver on your computer? AOL Photo thingy with lots of Dinker photos
Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? nada
How many land line phones do you have in your house? 1
How many televisions are in your house? 2
What kitchen appliance do you use the least? It was the blender until we chucked it. now, I'm not so sure ...
What is the format of the radio station you listen to the most? Either hard rock 93.3 'MMR or indie music 88.5 WXPN. Depends on my mood
How many sex toys do you own that require batteries? None. Manual all the way!

BI-OLOGY
What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? Nothing.
Are you right handed or left handed? Right handed.
Do you like your smile? Nope.
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Do splinters count?
Would you like to? Nah, I'm greedy
Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom? Good Heavens, YES!
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? It's definitely touch. Hey, I'm a clairsentient, what else would I choose?
When was the last time you had a cavity? April 2006
What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? Dinker
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Eee-yep. Both times before I was ten. That might explain a few things.

MISC-OLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Tempting, but no.
If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? My name was Mary Elizabeth when I was born. I kinda like the one my parents picked better. If they didn't, I fear I would have been destined to be a nun.
How do you express your artistic side? Writing, drawing, painting, and sculpting.
What color do you think you look best in? I like orange (some of you already know that).
How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? Two maybe three seconds. Then I'd whimper, ball up in a corner, and suck my thumb.
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? I can't recall.
If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? If you met my family, you would have never asked me this question.
How often do you go to church? Once a month.
Have you ever saved someone’s life? Nope.
Has someone ever saved yours? A few lifeguards after I drifted a wee bit too far off the shoreline while boogieboarding.

DARE-OLOGY
For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? Not with this body. A million would be a strong maybe.
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Sure. I've done it for free, duh!
Would you have sex with a member of the same sex for $10,000? Read above answer.
Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? No. I like my body parts. Remember, I'm greedy?
Would you never blog again for $50,000? In a heartbeat.
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? What, like Playboy? Hugh hasn't lost his mind, so I doubt the offer would ever be extended.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Depends on the doctor bill afterward.
Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? Never. But, if that human life touched, harmed, or did something very bad to my child, it would be a freebie.
Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? Sure, why not.
Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Like I watch any now. That's an easy $25,000.

I'd like to tag, but I'd rather see who is brave enough to do this one on their own.

Tags: meme

A better weekend

This was one of the better weekends for me on record.

We got out and did lots of stuff on Saturday (I'll blog on it tomorrow).

Today was so ... so ... nice.

Darn but it's a pleasant change to have a cheery post rather than the usual "the weekend was horrible", "why does this stuff always happen to me?", and the ever more popular "I'm in one bad mad mood".

Not this time!

*laughs at self realizing this is a rather boring post*

Oh well ....

Tags: maidink, weekend

The "what kinda margarita are you?" test

I got this at Laurie's site.

You Are an Orange Margarita

At first glance, you are very unique - but deep down you are still quite a traditionalist. A margarita may be "too fancy" for you, but you'll never turn a free one down.

What Flavor Margarita Are You?

Tags: quiz, margarita, drink

Actual plans have been made

We (meaning Geo, Dinker, and I) are going to the Kutztown Festival tomorrow.

According to legend, I am of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. I should be able to just slide on in there and blend.

Tags: kutztown festival, kutztwon, Pennsylvania, PA, PA Dutch, Pennsylvania dutch, single distlefink, hexes, hex signs

Some more pleasant conversations starring Maidink and Dinker

So we're in Dunkin' Donuts bathroom.

Dinker was using the facilities when I asked her if she was okay.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure, sweetpea?"

"Whatever."

?????

I smiled, shook my head, and thought, "Ah yes, our little parrot."

"Whatever, hmm? That's what daddy says all the time."

"Yeah."

"What else does daddy say all the time?"

"Shit."

Tags: conversation, children, dunkin donuts, bathroom

Philly politicians say the darndest things

Scandals are always abundant in Philadelphia politics. I'm sure they are in other cities; however, our scandals have some comic moments.

Take today's sentencing of one Councilman Rick Mariano. He was convicted back in March 2006 of taking more then US$28,000 in bribes. In exchange, the bribee helped the bribers get city business.

The prosecution wanted to send Rick to jail for 8 to 10 years. The defense said that a sentencing like that would have been too harsh.

But Mariano gave a counteroffer for his possible jailtime.

"Just prior to sentencing, Mariano addressed the court. He admitted responsibility for his crimes but said that he didn't want to go to jail and that jail time wouldn't do him any good. He offered to go fight the war in Iraq instead." (source)

The judge sentenced him to 6 ½ years.

At least Mariano didn't say he was too pretty to go to jail.

Tags: rick mariano, philadelphia, news, politics

How bored do you want to be?

Here was my benign weekend rundown:

Friday night: bored. Really really bored. Frighteningly bored. Bored enough to put stuff on Ebay. So far, two things are selling. Ooo, eee, ooo, ahh.

Saturday: Check this post.

Sunday: Completely non-eventful. Just drove around Philly, went to Oxford Valley Mall, got caught in a nasty thunderstorm, and had ice cream at the local Dairy Queen.

Monday: Car in the shop, food shopping, went to Barnes and Noble, and then the Willow Grove Mall. All with the Dinkmeister. She is the one who must be obeyed.

Tuesday: Independence Day! Fourth of July! Whoopdee-friggin-doo. I could care less why I'm not working just so as long I'm not at work. They can give me off for Groundhog's Day for all I care. Wait. I might actually like celebrating that one. Anyway, Independence Day was never a big deal to me. A family or friend BBQ and the occasional fireworks display. Whatever. No fireworks this year unless you want to count the fight I had with Geo (don't worry, we made up an hour later). So I went to a friend's house and ate and drank and I came home. Yep, that was it.

And today, it was life as usual.

Life, family et al.

Tags: life family et al, maidink, philadelphia, journal, dinker, fourth of july, independence independence day, fourth, willow grove mall, oxford valley mall, barnes and noble

Kenneth Lay - Dead at 64

Kenneth Lay, convicted on 05/25/2006 for his out and out involvement in the ruining of Enron and thousands of lives, is dead.

He had a heart attack Wednesday morning.

I thought I heard a collective "NO!" this morning screamed by millions. I guess those were the ones who wanted to see him spend forever in jail.

See? I told everyone he would manage to escape jailtime. However, I didn't think of THIS extreme.

Enron Founder Kenneth Lay Dies at 64

Tags: kenneth lay, enron, news, current events, death

Thanks to IKEA, Dinker now has a big girl's room

First, a big thanks to everyone who tried to cheer me up over my predicted weekend from Hades. You really did help me get through it. Seriously.

Though I did miss out on an "awesome" time Friday night, the entire weekend was not a complete washout. More about that on the next post.

This post is dedicated to she who must be obeyed. Yep, that would be Princess Dinker.

Geo took me and the Dinks out to breakfast Saturday morning while my car was getting it's maintainence done. After the car was done, we surprised Dinker by taking her to IKEA in Conshohocken PA to get her a big girl bed.

We could have gone to the IKEA in Philadelphia, which is closer to our home; however, I hate the location and Geo refuses to pay the extra 1% tax Philly demands on purchases within the city's limits.

So there we are. Folks, you would have thought this girl just won the lottery.

She kept putting her hands up to her mouth and saying things like "Oh my, I can't believe it", "This is the best place ever", and "I don't know what to pick".

And the Oscar for Lead Actress goes to ...

She went nuts! She hopped on every bed she saw with the exclamation of, "I love this one." Geo and I were trying to maintain our composure as she jumped from bed to bed in giddy excitement.

Though I like shopping there, there is one thing about IKEA that I do find ... unsettling. During a visit there, I feel like a lab rat in a giant maze. I always expect a hunk of cheese to be at the check-out register as my reward for making it to the end. But that' my hang-up.

Finally, the Princess declared what bed she really, really, REALY wanted. She settled on this one:
It's a junior bed and that was a good thing. Geo's truck has a short bed meaning we couldn't have taken home a conventional size bed even if we wanted, too. I mean, we could have, but the tailgate would have been down, and, knowing us, we would have ended up on some traffic report about a bed in the middle of the road with a short redneck screaming and jumping up and down in anger.

Thankfully, that never happened.

Of course, I had to get all accessorized on the Dinks and I picked out this for her room, also.
Add some new bed linens and a new pillow and voila!

We paid for everything (Geo and I picked up some little items along the route), I got my hunk of cheese, and we were homeward bound. Then the fun part came after we got home.

No, not putting the stuff together. That's cakewalk. I've been putting IKEA stuff together since IKEA first opened it's doors here in the US near me. My apartment (back in the day) could have been an IKEA photo shoot.

Okay, okay, I'm an IKEA junkie, I admit it. I don't care that Generation X defines IKEA as "Swedish for semi-disposable furniture". I like it!

After it is built, our new home will have scads of IKEA stuff. So there!

Okay, I'm back.

No, the fun part was cleaning all the stuff out of Dinker's room that was considered "baby" or "toddler". We also had to dismantle her crib. And then there was the cradle (yes, her cradle was still in her room) that was home to at least a dozen dust mite breeding zone stuffed animals. Out went all of it, stuffed animals and all.

Now her room has her new bed, new storage unit, a few (meaning about ten) stuffies on her bed and on a shelf, her bureau that was her changing table (sorry, we spent too much to get rid of that and besides, it's a nice friggin piece of furniture), a bookcase chock full of books (and she reads all of them), and a shoe holder. Yes, she needs one those, trust me.

And the Princess couldn't be happier.

Tags: ikea, furniture, hensvik, bedroom, sweden, generation x, philadelphia, conshohocken, pennsylvania, pa

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, USA!

Today, we're headin' to my buddy's abode for food, drink, more food, and fireworks!

And besides a flag, what else should you expect to find on my blog in honor of America's birthday?


Captain America so kicks butt!

Tags: captain america, america, usa, fourth of july, 4th of july, fourth, 4th

Stick to the Status Quo

Yep, I LOVE this song.

And I love this video.

And the movie!

HELP ME!

Tags: Disney, High School Musical, Status quo, video, music, musical, Disney Channel

Next she'll want to start reading Tiger Beat

This CD is what Dinker DEMANDS to have played in my car every single day.

To make matters worse, it's really not a CD but on my iPod.

Yes, I have High School Musical on my iPod.

I have found myself actually liking, nay, loving it. I even sing some of the songs in work.

My favorite is Status Quo. It's a great song! Heck, it's a great soundtrack!

Today, I bought Dinker the DVD. But, honestly, I want to see it.

Someone please help me.

Tags: high school musical, disney, disney channel, movies, musical, music, iPod

My newest acquistion

Meet Kon-El, otherwise known as Conner Kent. He's a clone out of Superman and Lex Luthor. And in the world of DC Comics, he's dead. But who knows for how long.

There is your comic lesson for today.

He joins my other Superboys (1st and 2nd versions). This one is the only 3rd version I have.

I so need help.

Tags: dc comics, superboy

Some holiday weekend

Here in the states, almost everyone is gearing up for a long holiday weekend. My apologies for those that work for evil establishments that are making you work on Monday. My sympathies to those who must work on Tuesday.

Anyway, everyone, at least in my company, is all abuzz about their "holiday" plans. Some are going to Baltimore while others are going to the mountains and a few are heading for the Jersey Shore.

And almost everyone will kick off the weekend by going to Happy Hour at a local hotspot called Kildare's. They claim they are the area's ONLY authentic Irish pub and that they "are an authentic Irish experience". SID, I'll need you to fly straight away here to the states to prove that claim.

Yep, everyone is all light and giddy and happy. There are even people that USED to work here who are going to be in attendence tonight. And these are people I actually liked. It should be a goodtime for all.

Except me.

For the record, I haven't smiled once today since I got in the office. And I know my weekend will suck so bad I could probably market it as a vacuum cleaner.

Why the all out bitchiness? Let's rundown the list, shall we?

1. I have no sitter for tonight so I can NOT go to the soiree after work. In the past ten years, I have not ONCE gone out after work with my coworkers. In the past decade, I have been prevented to go to these events by either my late psycho abusive bastard husband or my child. She's not abusive but I do question the psycho part. I'm not blaming Dinks at all. I am her Mommy and I should be there for her. But DAMMIT, I want to have fun, too!
2. I'll have my car in the shop AGAIN on Saturday. It's nothing major, just maintenance. But I still lose a good portion of my day. Why not just reschedule, you may ask? I have. This is reschedule number 4. And believe me, the car needs it.
3. Sunday will either be boring as hell or boring as hell without my car. I have no concrete plans, nor can I ever make any. And thanks to my social absence for the past decade, all my friends have written me off as "consistently unavailable" spare one, bless her soul.
4. Monday is back to the shop for more major work. The last time I had three of my four locks replaced due to some malfunction or another. Guess what? The fourth lock now doesn't work. If those bastards make me pay a deductible for warranty work ten days after I had the car in the shop for the SAME problem, I'll go ballistic.
5. This is the legal holiday, Independence Day, or the Fourth of July. Seriously, we Yanks actually call the day by it's name. I don't think any uses Independence Day anymore. It's always, "So, whatcha doin' on the Fourth?" I'm going to my friend's house, with Dink in tow, to her annual Fourth Bash. I've known Donna (that's her name) for over 23 years. And everyone in Donna's family as well as her hubby's family (his name is Paul) know me. Between the two families, there will be over forty people there. And these people love nothing better than to rib and poke fun at me (all with love, mind you).

It'll be Tuesday, the Fourth ... that day will be my only saving grace from a weekend of beyond benign boredom. I have no clue if Geo can make it to the Bash. He might have to work. Oh well. Work or not, I'm going.

Tags: independence day, kildare's, kildare's pub, holiday, cookout, fourth of july, happy hour, saturn

Land barrons no more

We found out yesterday that the lot we were purchasing in Albrightsville PA failed the perk test back in 1989.

"And if nothing has been done to the lot since then," warned the county worker via the telephone, "it won't pass now."

Peachy.

We'll be getting a refund for our downpayment less the doc fees we had to pay.

We're not giving up. Geo and I are making an appintment to talk to our H & S Homes rep, Jackie, this weekend to discuss other options (i.e., they supply the lot and build the house).

Tags: perk test, albrightsville, pennsylvania, poconos

This is why Cranky Prof is my heroine

When I read this on Overheard in Philly, I darn near piddled in my shorts. And what makes it even more special is that my educator buddy, Cranky Prof, submitted it.

OIP Proudly Supports the Entire 5-County Region

Tags: philadelphia, eavesdropping

Me and my girl

Me and my girl
Originally uploaded by maidink.

The picture says it all.

Up to the Poconos and back

NOTE: This post was originally meant for 28 May 2006. I noticed it said draft next to it on my posting list. Ooops. So, here is boring old stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At her school on Friday, my loving daughter told the school's owner that she (meaning the Dinks) was going to the mountains this weekend. The owner, of course, tried to confirm that with me.

I thought, "You listened to a three year old and you run this place?"

"No," I replied, "we're probably gonna do a whole lot of nuttin'."

I was hearing it everywhere. The owner was going to the shore. Another kid was going to the shore. One was going out of state, but not to the shore.

Poor unfortunate Dinks. Her daft parents made no concrete plans. And she wanted to go to the shore to see the beach.

Aces.

Yesterday was a day for Geo and I, what with the food and movie (I'm still not giving away any spoilers).

Today, all three of us ... were gypsies.

"Let's go up around where we bought the land tomorrow", says Geo last night.

"Okay", I said and called my rents with our morning plans.

We picked up the little sprog around 9:00AM from Nana and PopPop's. After a little deprogramming, we headed north to our soon-to-be home near the Poconos.

Did we have an itinerary? Nope. Do we ever? Nope. Did we have a clue? Well, Geo did. I never do. Dinks? She was happy in her own little world filled with Ratty, Lambie, crocodiles, and butterflies.

I won't bore you with all the details considering 75% of what we did was drive around in the truck. We were mapping and scoping. Checking out doctors,