Another Stressful Day

Dad is in the hospital with a COPD flairup.

Not much going on here except stress related stuff.

Keep dad in your prayers.

Hopefully I'll have more to say tomorrow.

Its No Wonder People Are Angry

I wonder how anyone can think the economy is going to get any better any time soon.

I filled up my tank today for $29.00

That's for a little over 8 gallons of gas. My Focus is pretty fuel efficient.

However, as I explained to a family member, going to a concert is going to be getting pretty pricy. As if ticket prices aren't high enough for major artists, parking costs and gas to get to the shows are going to become close rivals.


If gas does hit $5.00 the cost to fill up the tank after a drive to First Niagara Pavillon will cost close to $40.00. And let me tell you if you are traveling there from my neck of the woods, either way you chose to go, will use up about half a tank of gas.

Its scary.

I have a feeling this is going to be another Staycation year. Thank God I have a lot of books to read.

I Miss Doctor Who

I hate Saturday Night TV. There is absolutely nothing on, because everyone else in the world is out having a life and doing cool things.

What about the rest of us that don't?

There's nothing but re-runs and more re-runs.

I want my Doctor Who back!

I'm not a fan of Primeval and even Being Human has lost its luster.

I need The Doctor! I want to escape to other worlds on the Tardis!

I know it is only February, but it seems like forever since the Christmas Special aired.

I need my Doctor Who!!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 songs that bore you to tears


You guys know the drill. Play along in the comments or in your journal. This meme is created for my site Music Memoirs. Feel free to go there and check out my other weekly memes and play along.

1. The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin: Sorry Justin, this song bores me to tears, always has always will.

2. The Moody Blues - Words You Say: It would be impossible not to have this epic monstrosity by my lovely Lodgey on this list, especially if I'm picking on Justin. Actually this song also fits on my list of songs that make no f-ing sense. Still boring though it is, it makes me laugh when I play it.

3. Duran Duran - Winter Marches On: This is the worst song on one of their best albums. It is a total snoozefest and it really feels out of place on Notorious.

4. Erasure - A Long Goodbye: Yup, the title pretty much sums it up. On an album of LOOOOONG ambient techno pop, this is one boring boring boring song, not worthy of Vince and Andy's usual brilliance.

5. Elvis Costello - North...the whole freaking album!! Erm...no let me narrow it down: Let Me Tell You About Her. Dear God, I know...this album is brilliant..yada yada yada, but Elvis doing slow Krallesque jazz is a bit of a disappointment for me. This whole album puts me to sleep.

Must Make This

I've been searching websites for stuff I can make in the slow cooker, so that mom doesn't have to cook. I was really hunting for an easy Cranberry Pork recipe, but I found this instead.

Pineapple Pork!! Mmmmm this llooks so good!! I'm actually getting pretty good at this cooking thing, and I really love the crock pot.

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) boneless pork roast
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 1/2 cups chopped dried cranberries
Directions
1.Rub the pork roast on all sides with salt and pepper, and place in a slow cooker. Pour in the pineapple chunks and juice, and sprinkle in the cranberries.
2.Cover, and cook 7 hours on Low.

What A Craptastic Day

I should have known the day was going to turn out lousy when:

1. The bagel burned in the toaster.

2. Got bitched at, at work.

3. Crazy Save-A-Lot cashier walked out in front of my car as I turned out of McDonald's. Scared the hell out of me, and I missed hitting her by about an inch. No joke the lady was not looking at the light. I'm pretty sure the pavement does not tell you when a car is coming.


I'd say it can't get much worse than this..but there are still a few hours left in the day and I don't want to press my luck.

ARGH!

I call a do over on today.

I've Had It With Winter

Yesterday at 3:30 p.m. the sleet started. A few hours later, it changed over to snow. By 11 p.m. the meteorologists were saying the worst was over.

Why then, was my hill not plowed at 7:30 this morning.

Why were the roads horrible at 10:45?

Who dropped the ball on this one?

Did our boroughs and road crews sleep through the weather?

Apparently so.

This was one of the worst commutes I've had in the morning, in ages. There wasn't any need for it to be this bad either. It was a wet heavy snow. The kind that can easily be plowed, if road crews were... GASP...working.


Grrrrr

I wish spring would get here...I'm losing my patience with winter

The State Of The Country Scares Me

Maybe because I just read a book about Marie Antoinette.

Maybe because the Tea Party governor in Wisconsin is badshit insane and doesn't give a fly rats ass about working people.

Then there's the total disgust most people feel for our government as a whole.

This is scary.

Really scary.

Both parties are two far to their respective sides to compromise. They are too busy worrying about getting ahead in the next election to care about the millions of people out of work, or working at the poverty level.

This is wrong.

Its depressing.

But most of all it is scary.

I think most of you know which party I associate with most of the time. But right now, I don't think either major party is doing their job, and those Tea Party-ers? Oh dear god, toss them in Boston Harbor where they belong.

There has to be some way to bring sanity back into our government?

Isn't there?

Only A Cat

Would take on a Dalek and win!

Farewell My Borders

As many of you know, Borders filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week. They also announced the closing of many of their stores, 2 of which affected me greatly. The one I will miss the most is the one located near South Hills Village Mall in the Pittsburgh burbs.

From the time I was in high school I frequented that store. I did so even more when I worked at "The Village" for a time after college, when I aspired to be a retail manager for Kaufmann's.  I had a lot of friends that worked in that store. I loved that store. They carried Q magazine from the UK...and I devoured that one like candy for the longest time. They also carried all the Doctor Who mags, which are not easy to find here in the US.

Oh and the music! When I first discovered the store, they carried all sorts of import CDs. Any album I was looking for, I could find there, or they could order it.

It is sad to see it go. I loved that store, and even though in recent years, I didn't shop there as often as I did before, I'm going to miss it.

RIP Borders South Hills. You will be missed.

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 sexy singers

You guys know the drill. Play along in the comments or in your journal. This meme is created for my site Music Memoirs. Feel free to go there and check out my other weekly memes and play along.

1. Justin Hayward

2. Mika

3. Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran

4. Andy Bell of Erasure

5. Elvis Costello

Organization is the key

I started out clipping coupons.

I'm still working at that.

The next thing in my organizational plan is to make sure I know when all of my reviews are due. So I'm not scrambling like a fool to get things done.

The next 5 weeks are going to be busy with reading and listening to music for reviews.

Yikes!

On a happy note my music reviews for this month should make me an extra $60 - $75.

Small change to some, but for me that's a lot of money.

At least it will pay for a tank of gas or my last doctor's visit.

Any money is good money, I always say.

Spring Has Arrived

Holy hell!


It was 50 degrees today!

It's going to be 60  tomorrow and 60 on Friday!!

It is so wonderful to not to have to deal with ice and snow.

FINALLY!!!

If only it could last longer than a few days, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Getting Nowhere Fast

Do you ever get that feeling that no matter what you do, you will never get ahead?

EVER!

I finished one load of laundry, only to discover I will probably have another to do in about a day or two. ARGH! I feel like I work at a Chinese laundry!

Then there's grocery shopping. I'm pretty sure I live at Giant Eagle and Save A Lot.

I have 3 reviews I need to write and 2 are due next week. I swear I don't have time to listen to music I want to listen to anymore.

At least the one review I'm half done with is actually pretty good. I'm not sure about the other two, but I need to get cranking on them ASAP.

~sigh~

At least it means some extra money coming in.

I still want to petition for the 36 hour day.

My New Phone

I finally decided to buy a Smartphone. The Motorola Citrus is a starter Smartphone.  I really coveted the LG Vortex, but I didn't want to spend $80 on a phone, especially as I don't use the phone all too often.

My regular cell plan only allows for 450 minutes and 250 text messages. I've now got a data plan though...More than I want to spend a month, but I did find out something that makes me happy.

I found out that if I bring a pay stub in to Verizon Wireless, I'll get 8 percent off my bill!

Woo hoo!

I'm kind of excited about my new toy.

More Soft Kitty LOLness

I love LOLCats and I love Big Bang Theory.

So it goes without saying that this made my day. I think this one is cuter than the cartoon version I posted awhile back

Mmm Tasty

I found a recipe for Porcupine Balls at Mennonite Girls Can Cook and today I decided I was going to make them.

OMG! They were so tasty!!

Here's the recipe

2 cans tomato soup or 1 pint tomato juice
1 lb lean ground beef
1 minced onion
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 egg
2 slices of bread soaked in milk
salt and pepper to taste I used a few shakes of Nature's seasoning to the sauce


Bring soup or juice in large pot over medium heat to a light boil (You may need to add some beef or chicken broth later if it gets to thick so keep one can handy)

Mix ground beef, rice, egg, minced onion and bread.

Form meatballs the size of a quarter (these WILL expand with the rice and bread/oatmeal. Drop in one at a time into the lightly boiling tomato base. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes or until the beef is cooked through. You may need to add some moisture if the rice in the meatballs absorb too much of the juice. I usually add a bit of chicken broth if necessary.


This is definitely a must try recipe! Check out Mennonite Girls Can Cook for more awesome recipes! I can't wait to get their cookbook!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 artists that record the best love songs


You guys know the drill. Play along in the comments or in your journal. This meme is created for my site Music Memoirs. Feel free to go there and check out my other weekly memes and play along.

1. Paul McCartney: The world will never have enough of Silly Love Songs as long as Paul is able to write and sing them. Best love song by Paul: Maybe I'm Amazed.

2. The Moody Blues: Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Ray Thomas know what love is about. One can't even pick a song that really is the best here..because their are so many.

3. Erasure: OMG these guys really do love songs well. My favorite, a b-side called Tenderest Moments.

4. Davy Jones: He even wrote a few pretty love songs, though most of The Monkees best songs were written by other people. I'll Love You Forever is one of Davy's best and prettiest tunes.

5. Michael Buble: This cutie can sing the NYC phone book and it would sound fantastic and romantic.

WTF is wrong with politicians

Yet another politician has resigned as a result of a sex scandal. And who knows maybe crybaby Boehner will be next.

Seriously, keep it in your pants guys!

What kills me about the latest one...The REPUBLICAN Christopher Lee was sending shirtless pictures of himself and saying he was unmarried to a woman he met on Craigslist.

Yikes.

Plus Mr. Lee has a beautiful wife and a cute little boy.

These guys should be ashamed of themselves. Mind you, I don't think this should be grounds to leave office, well except that he's a Repugnant Republican, but still. Don't these guys know they almost always get caught with their pants down..or in this case with their shirts off?

Which brings me to the question I ask everyday...and I'm sure Bilbo does too....How many brain cells are there in our government? Is there a full brain between them all? Somehow I don't think so.

I Have A Gripe

I hate the price of eBooks. Unless you are buying a book that has just been released in hard cover format, you aren't saving any money.

If the book is out in paperback, the ebook saving is equal to the saving you would get buying the physical copy at a store like Walmart or Target.

What is up with that?

At least when it comes to music, there is a huge difference in the price of a CD and a download.

Is it the pirating that keeps the costs low?

That's the only explanation I have for this strange phenomenon. Yet, eBooks are outselling regular books 2:1 these days. I actually think its more than that...but you catch my drift.

Which is why the only eBooks I have are ARCs from the publisher or free ones I can grab on Barnes and Noble's website.

The Money Fairy Arrived!

I got paid today!! Woo hoo!

Now I need to prioritize what needs to be done with the pay, or rather the refund. Here's what I've come up with so far

1. Get brakes checked. Its been a hard winter, and I think Francesca may need new ones.

2. Must price futons for the living room. Have I mentioned we have the worst furniture in the whole world? Plus I need somewhere to crash in the living room when mom is laying down.

3. Ipod!! (Hey it is tax deductible!!) Gotta love my side job! Especially as most of the music I'm sent comes to me digitally now.

4. Go to the dentist. This should be higher on my priority list..but oh do I hate going to doctors and dentists these days.

Another Football Season Over

To say I'm disappointed in the result of yesterday's game is an understatement.

I didn't watch the game.

My heart can't take football, especially if it is our team. But from the first half hour, I knew things weren't going the way we wanted them to.

It's just hard to believe that there will be no more football for 5 months.

Yet games like hockey and baseball seem to go on forever and ever.

But all in all, Pittsburgh had a good year. I'm sure the players got a hefty bonus for getting to the big game, but it sure is a shame they had to blow it.

~ Sigh ~

You can't win em all.

Here We Go!!

Climbing that stairway to 7

It Was A Busy Day

I woke up to a phone call from my boss asking for a favor. That favor involved me going to Washington, PA this morning.

No problem.

I actually got to Target for the first time since Christmas! I also got a wonderful breakfast sandwich at Panera Bread too. Mmmm. Oh and dad got his dozen Krispy Kreme donuts too. Oh and I got the book light for my Nook!!! Yipee!

Yup this morning was all about "win!"

I even managed to get to the YMCA for a half hour on the exercise bike and then went grocery shopping.

I dumped my spare change in the Coinstar machine and got a gift card for Amazon for $18.54! No wonder my purse was so heavy!

Then I made dinner...

After which I passed out on the couch watching Bones.

I think this was my most eventful Saturday in ages! Woo hoo!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 artists you wish would play during half time at the Super Bowl


You guys know the drill. Play along in the comments or in your journal. This meme is created for my site Music Memoirs. Feel free to go there and check out my other weekly memes and play along.

Well a good deal of my favorites have played the big game! Paul McCartney...The Stones..I mean, it really is hard to top that! Plus its hard to figure out what HUGE bands would rate the game.

Let's see:

1. Sugarland (They are country superstars and we haven't seen country take a lead here in awhile)

2. Cher (I wonder if the guys would react to her costumes?)

3. Madonna (There would have to be some recovery time for the players if they actually watched the show)

4. Lady Gaga (Don't like her, but it sure would make Halftime memorable)

5. Lady Antebellum (Just because I love them)

Not Looking Forward To Tomorrow

Tomorrow I get to make my twice a year visit to the girly doctor. Now, don't get me wrong, I like my doctor. I like her more than my primary care doctor, but frankly I do not like being poked and prodded where the sun doesn't shine by anyone.

I have my appointment at 4 o'clock.

What a nice way to start my weekend!

BAH!

However it does seem like a fitting way to cap off a rather cruddy week.

I can only hope this visit doesn't result in another colposcopy. I don't have the money for this.

~ note to the elected officials...FIX HEALTHCARE!!

Do You Remember

When salad bars were just salad bars?

I got a coupon sheet from Ponderosa today and I got to thinking back to when I was a little girl. When my family would go to Ponderosa you followed a cafeteria line from the time you placed your order until you reached the register. And you had your food when you got there!

For awhile, you got a tiny wooden bowl of salad as you made your way down the line. Then the first salad bar arrived. It was tiny and had all the basics, veggies, bacon bits and croutons.

Then the food bar arrived.

Oye vey.

The salad bar grew up.

Now Ponderosa is pretty much a buffett with steak and seafood.

It is kind of depressing, because I think the food was better when they stuck to the basics. However they do make great fried chicken!

Tuesday Tunes

American Idol has started so lets do an Idol themed meme:

American Idol, love it, or hate it? Tell us why!!
I hate it. I wish talent scouts would go out to the clubs and find the "real" talent lurking in this country. Its out there. Country scouts, for the love of god, sign Sarah Marince to a major label! This girl has a voice of gold! Plus she's cuter than Taylor Swift.

Who is your favorite Idol artist? If you don't like any of them, feel free to tell us why!
I love Carrie Underwood, now that all the Idol crap is over. She really is a great vocalist. Taylor Hicks is actually the next in line cos he's cute.

Who is your favorite Idol judge?
I loved Simon, because he was so damn nasty! Tell it like it is!!!


Do you miss Simon this season?
Can't miss someone if you don't watch, right?