Of Weekends, and Book Recommendations, and WWWW's

Boy, I've had a busy, busy week (preceded by a busy, busy weekend.)

Oh, the weekend was NOT busy in the bad way - it was totally the good way: eating out, playing tennis, time at the gulf, going to see a movie, crafting, and lots of time with LOML*. This past weekend totally rocked! (Not to mention, it was a FIVE DAY WEEKEND!!)

It's been so hard coming back to work after that. Usually if I'm away from work for that long, I'm out of town and out of my own bed. This time, I got to sleep late in my own, comfy bed for those days. So, I've had some serious difficulties pulling myself out of the bed these past three days. But, I'm making it happen - kinda.

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the long break (UH OH!) and realized how very much I love a good book. My reading has been slacking lately and I want to get back in the swing of delving into a great story. I'm definitely more of a fiction-reader (unless it's a craft book or comedic.) I haven't touched many classics either lately, since I read so many in high school and college. I've kinda steered clear of the more traditional reads. Now, I'm ready to hop back on the horse and get my read on. What do you recommend? Take into consideration my preference for fiction, my desire to read a few classics, and a slight interest in funny non-fiction (if at all.) So - throw some suggestions at me, I've got a library card and I'm not afraid to use it.

It's "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday" for those of you keeping up:

• Check out these Creative photos. Some are a little disturbing.
  
• How about some surfing mice. This brings a whole new definition to 'drowned rat'.
• 
• I am SO beyond glad I don't live in a place where it snows and I have to deal with this.
  
• I would, however, like to live here: Someone is finally building a neighborhood for us Lord of the Rings geeks. It's called Bendshire. How cool would it be to live there. I wonder if you'd have to pass a geek test of some sort.

That's all for now - Crafty Hope OUT!!

Getting Ready for Cruising and WWWW

YIKES!! I'm a bad, bad blogger. I will say have been BUSY and not just, simply neglectful of my blog the last several days. Getting ready for this cruise has taken up more of my time than I thought.
So, as I take a break from packing and wait for LOML* to finish working so we can go get some dinner (as he doesn't want me to dirty the kitchen I just cleaned, how sweet. Or rather, he doesn't want to have to worry with the mess while I'm gone. Hmmmm. . .) Anyway, while I have this break, I felt the need to catch up with y'all before I suffer the withdrawal of no interne for four days. Sigh!!

I had a great weekend. LOML* and I had too much to drink Fri. What a fabulous Frozen Margarita Friday it was. On Saturday, we watched the Alabama Crimson Tide football team kick some butt!!! ROLL TIDE!! On Sunday, we chilled (mostly).

This week has been consumed with planning, packing, shopping, and just preparing for my trip. Ahhhh, it'll be over far too soon. I was able to get some new clothes, which were sorely needed, and am looking forward to wearing them on the ship.

Before I leave, though I want to share some of the things I've found across the internet for this "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• 15 most artistically awesome advertisements - I recommend 1. the 1st one "1984" (for simple nostalgic reasons)2. The Carlton Draught Ad (I saw this several yeasrs ago and LOVED it then too) 3. The sony bravia one - I like the simple music and it's just fun without saying too much (I didn’t watch the BMW one b/c it was almost 10 min long) All the others were good too. Those were just the ones that elicited the biggest responses in me.
  
• life = risk
  
• Hue IQ test - see if you have a good eye for color by arranging them in order. I liked it!!
• Lastly, (and nor WEB -related) this trailer has been parked out back at work and I like to just so see it and smile.

Okay, wish me bon voyage. I hope to share some pics with you next week.

My Week Thus Far (and WWWW)

I don't really have much to say today. It's been a slow couple of days.

Monday night was spent with my nieces - homework, dinner, some crafting, and baths. I had promised that after homework, we could do a craft. Fortunately, I still had some items in my car from helping them make cards last week. Included in that stuff was a few sheets of Ruff-n-Ready Shrinky Dinks and my big box of colored pencils. Unfortunately, I didn't have a hole puncher. So, the didn't get to make pendants. Instead, I cut one sheet into four pieces and let them draw and color whatever they wanted before we shrunk them. I told them that I would bring some magnets over the next time I came and they could turn their creations into refrigerator magnets. I still have one more sheet of it in my car and will try to go ahead and put a hole puncher and some ribbon in there so they can make pendants next time too.

Last night, the LOML* and I ate dinner and watched a little tv before he had to get back to work. He's trying to finish this project so he can move on to another. He's really ready to be done with this one and is pushing to get it completed. It stresses him out so, and I can't stand to see him like that. He's usually sooooooooo laid back. I'm the one who supposed to worry and stress. He's supposed to be the calm one. While he worked, I went in the craft room for a bit and worked on my shrink plastic pendants. Of course, I had been doodling on some blank pieces while dinner cooked as well. I think my current crafty obsession is shrink plastic again. In fact, I have some with me at work.

Tonight, I'm meeting a good friend and some of her co-workers for dinner and then going to see "The House Bunny." I know it's supposed to be kinda silly, but I think I need that. I'm looking forward to it.

I guess I had more to say than I thought. Y'all said you wanted to hear more about my everyday life in the poll from last month. Are you still sure it's that interesting??

I better get on to the fun stuff since it is "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• Lindsey Lohan's Gay and getting married to her girlfriend? I don't really follow the celebrity gossip, but I tend to have somewhat of a clue. This TOTALLY surprised me.
  
• Try this tv theme song quiz. I thought it would be a breeze for me and it was harder than I thought.
  
• I guess I never really thought about the similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars. But, it totally makes sense.
  
• How long could you survive chained to a bunk bed with a velocoraptor? Take the quiz to find out. Me? 47 seconds.
• I've posted a link to some bad domain names before, but here's whole new list of them.

Hopefully, I've healed the numbness you experienced in reading about the first half of my week with these links. Happy Hump Day!

Not Really Much to Say, But It Is WWWW

Last night, I went to the second funeral in a week. This one was simply a memorial. Touching, inspiring, and healing words were said and some Lynyrd Skynyrd was played (I live in Alabama people.) It was short and heartfelt, a fitting service for closure and beginnings.

As I ended up visiting with my mom for some time following the service, I didn't make it home early enough to work on the craft room. I hope to make it up tonight. Of course, it is also Project Runway night. So. . . well. . . I'll make it work!! ;)

Since there's not much else I can say, I'll get right to "Wild, Wild Web Wednesday"

• Ever since seeing Scooby Doo as a kid, I've always wanted a secret passage in my house. LOML* has pointed out a house in our town that he knows has them. Check out this company that specializes in making secret passagways.
• Want to save space and make a statement, this cool one piece plumbing art should do it.
• I love this house with "tentacular cancer."
  
• Some cool art "stickwork" by Patrick Dougherty. Check it out!
  
• High heels for babies - You've GOT to be kidding!

Here's hoping I made your Wednesday a little more wild.

Another Trip and and WWWW

I'm leaving in a few hours to head to Mississippi for my great-uncle's funeral. It's in the morning. So. . . my mom, great-aunt, another great-uncle, a cousin, her kids, and I are leaving this evening. I'm not sure if the hotel as WiFi or not and am debating whether or not to lug my laptop. I still have my iPhone and can post from that if needed. I just won't have my links to share (I keep those on a flash drive.) Since I'm not sure how posting will go, I decided to go ahead and post what I can for "Wild Wild Web Wednesday" today. Enjoy!:

• Here's how you can transform a dollhouse into a fairy house

• Check out Steve Martin on the dating game, back when he really was just a wild and crazy guy!!
  
• I used to make those cornstarch and water concoctions all the time at my previous job. The kids loved them (and so did I)
  
• Have you heard of jowlers? They're photos taken of people as they are shaking their heads. Worth a look.
  
• I've posted several links and pictures of Lego creations, so why not post these lego recreations of famous pictures.

Have a great hump day and I'll be back when I'm back. Or whenever, who knows?

A Little Explaining to Do and WWWW

I survived the mountain of work that faced me on my return to the office yesterday, and I apologize for not posting anything more interesting. I'm trying to get back in the groove of normal life. However, the past several weeks were so overwhelming, that it may take some time.

I don't know if I mentioned what I was doing in Huntsville or not. Basically I was at Alabama's Grand Assembly for the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. I will not summarize all that happened as two of my friends have already done a much better job. I will say that I held the honorary position of State Mother Advisor this past year and the trip to Huntsville was the culmination of that duty/honor. I handed the job over to one of my best friends' mother. The job was a love/hate thing for me. I loved being able to work with the girls and encourage them to do their best, but it is also an adult position that overrides my "girl" title. Some of you know what I'm talking about. As usual, the convention hit a chaotic high with the announcement of Grand Officers. I went back to being a State Executive (big surprise) and was happy that my friend, Julie, gets to Chair the Ritual Committee (a job I've held for several years and don't mind that she'll get the opportunity to do it.) It's nice to take a break from many of the obligations I've had the past several years and try to focus on other things I enjoy. Grand Assembly is a lot of things for us 'has beens' in Alabama. We really enjoy getting to see each other, visit with the girls, participate in the banquets; but at the same time, it can be very stressful when the girls and some of the adults get so upset about what office the girls are assigned. They don't think about the honor that has been bestowed upon them by simply getting an office, about all the other girls in other states who will NEVER have the opportunity to hold a grand office, or about the fact that a group of people intentionally deliberated over what office to give them. I hope, in time, they all learn to appreciate what has been HANDED to them, whether they have earned it or not.

That's all I want to say about that!! On to more fun subjects, which is the turn I hope my life takes now that Grand Assembly has passed.
It is "WILD WILD WEB WEDNESDAY"!! YAY. And, I have some stuff for you guys. Somehow, I have amassed links to photo collections that I think are cool. I hope you like them too.

• Japanese fashion gallery
• Photos of people getting items dumped on their heads. Couldn't get photos, but this is my favorite on this list!! Check it out!)
  
• Photos by a 3 year old. Some are what you expect, and some are pretty good.
• Celebrity money - mashups of celebrity pictures and faces on money.
• Great moments in history on etch-a-sketches, below is the Salem Witch Burnings.

Okalie-Dokalie, I hope that was worth waiting for. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I'm trying to catch back up to normalcy (and most of you know what that was like). Hopefully, you'll hear from me tomorrow, we'll see!

Cheering Myself Up and WWWW

I'm having a really BLAH day.
This getting pregnant thing is much harder than all my 'accidental pregnancy' friends and family make it out to be. I'm trying to find things that make me feel better liiiiike -
1. the thought of going to the new Thai restaurant tonight for dinner
2. remembering the good, tight hug LOML* gave me this morning when I was so upset
3. a chocolate milkshake with lunch
4. these pictures I took all by my lonesome
They're not much, but I like them. I'm still playing with the settings on my camera to get the effect I want.

Those make me feel better AND guess what?!! It's "Wild Wild Web Wednesday" and I want to share some things with you because you coming to read my blog makes me feel better too. (5.)Here we go:

• Domain names can be misleading, so before you buy one - think about all the ways it can be interpreted.
  
• Wanna be a ninja? Who doesn't? Check out this ninja recruitment ad. AWESOME.
• I made you this monk-e-mail message. It was fun.
• These sheets could be fun.
• I haven't gotten my stimulus check yet, but have had some fun checking out how others have spent theirs.

Happy hump day. I'm feeling a bit better now that I've shared with you. Thanks!

*LOML=Love of My Life

Wild Wild Web Wednesday

I'm trying to be better about posting so here's another edition of "Wild Wild Web Wednesday"
Today's WWWW is leaning toward being mostly centered around images:

• Have you ever wondered where your cat goes and sees while outside? One man equipped his cat with a camera to find out and has posted some great photos from the CatCam.
  
• Most fish tanks can be such boring boxes of water. This one from Octopus Studios eliminates that notion.
• Water Balloons are awesome, but this image of three water balloons being shot captivates me.
• Make your own Jackson Pollack painting. To change color, click your mouse. To erase, press your enter or space bars.

I hope your Wednesday is WILD!!