Does anyone need...

...anything from nutsonline.com? I will be placing an order this weekend for decaf chocolate covered espresso beans and thought if someone else wanted something random, then we could save on shipping.
...a Turbo Tax Federal Basic Edition? A free one was floating around at work and no one raised their hands to take it, so I thought I would try to find a good home for it. I'll be using the program Dad bought, when it comes time for me to do the number crunching....oh yeah, a 27" used RCA TV with no remote control or manual? Picture is good, but randomly starts to fuzz... a swift kick to the floor clears that up. Once the snow is gone, it will be finding a new home at Salvation Army, so speak up now. :)

Lazy Sunday

So, my Sunday hasn't been as lazy as my Saturday. I was completely wiped out on Saturday. Throw in a fun game night and then giving blood in the AM, equals one exhausted Jane. Sleep is good, and I got my fair share last night.

Today was much more productive. I did the laundry, dishes, decluttering, and shoveling snow thing. Even though I got quite a bit done, it was a very relaxing day. Right now I'm watching a movie documentary called Young @ Heart. The music just makes me smile.

As for game night... Matt brought a game called Trailer Park Wars. It was a fun one, and got quite a few laughs.

Break time... Break time.

Wowsers... has today been a long day. It's not helping that my brain is functioning at a snails pace. I seem to have never woke up today. I even had a cup of "coffee" this morning. As most know, it's not coffee by the time I get done adding stuff to it.

I gave in to my sweet tooth this afternoon and bought a Whatchamacallit out of the vending machine. I must say, that was quite a delicious treat. I'll need to stay away from those.Tonight I'm having dinner with Matt. Hopefully his heart rate returned to its normal pace after having a not so friendly encounter with Lizzie this weekend. The parent thing went fine... who woulda thunk I'd have to worry about the dog. Go figure!

It's a no-go on Hawaii

I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with the hope of coming back with a trip to Hawaii for the ProBowl, but I wasn't so lucky. Tom and I got there at 2pm when the registration started and left after we saw how large the crowd was. We had a nice leisurely lunch at Double A's while watching some football. I give two thumbs up to the Buffalo Chicken Pizza, I think that was the name.

Anyway, Tom told me about this betting website his calc students sucked him into. Basically, you're given $.10 from the advertisers on the website to bet with, since you can't bet with your own money. They you use that .10 to place bets. If you win, great... if not, then you loose the .10 they gave you. I thought I'd try it out to see what the dealio is. I have the chance to turn my .10 into .34. We'll see how long my interest lasts.




I did make my way back to BWW to put my name in the drawing right before their 4:00 drawing, but as I mentioned, I didn't win. I'm pretty sure if the fire marshal was there, they would have found the restaurant to be way over capacity.

Back on Track

As you may notice, I have had a chance to cleanup my backlog of blogs. Or maybe I should say I no longer have a blog backlog. Hmmmmm.... blog backlog, say that 5 times fast.

No, seriously.... try it.
Blog Backlog
Blog Backlog
Blog Backlog
Blog Backlog
Blog Backlog

Yeah, nice try, but not quite.

The Hat Stikes Again

The birthday hat was only in Mom's possession for a couple weeks before finding a new home with Laura. All the folks at Red Lobster got a kick out of it. I kept cracking up, just by seeing their reactions.

Christmas 12/25/08

What happens when you point the camera and Grandpa and say cheese? Basically, the "Old Grump" says he won't smile. What happens when Jane starts to repeatedly say smile while the volume of her voice raises? Well, Grandpa cracks up and starts laughing. Score 1 for Jane.
The fabulous wrapping styling of Ken Olson. Neon duct tape labels and neon flagging bows. Gotta love it!
A man in his camo hat. Hopefully Mom hasn't lost him in the backyard yet.
The talented Mommler made this wonder sunburst circle to go with the wire frame Dad cleaned up and painted. I can't wait for the Spring, so I can put it in my flower garden.
Momma strikes again with this wonder stained glass gift for Tom and Laura. Do you see the heart or the initials T and L?
It was an absolutely wonder Christmas Day with the family, if only Laura's work schedule had worked out a little bit better. Although she did miss out on Lizzie's "ham bone" farts.

I promise to post photos of a couple of my other gifts, once they happen. First up will be the Cubs Caravan later this week. I have a Cubs Rooftop game in my future. And I believe Mom is sharing her Little Big Town trip to the Quad Cities with me. I definitely have some fun family time in my future!

The Semi-Truck Incident 12/24/08

Luckily, I was already chillin' on the couch around 7:00AM on Christmas Eve Day when I heard a loud "rustling" outside my window. I looked out the side living room window and what did my eyes see?
I then turned to the front window to witness an 18-wheeler stuck at the end of my driveway. He was stuck in the large ice-lined puddle that forms between my driveway and the road. I must admit, it was extremely amusing to see him toss a couple handfuls of salt into the puddle. Needless to say, it didn't help... and he didn't want to take me up on my kitty litter offer. I simply watched in awe from the warmth of my house as the friction of his tires on the ice made billows of smoke and vapor. It was quite the entertainment! I even called Grandpa and gave him a play-by-play on the phone. After rocking back and forth for a good 15 minutes, the semi was finally free.

Tom's Birthday Lunch 12/23/08

I took a vacation day, the day after Tom's birthday, so we could spend part of the day together. Grandpa was able to join us for lunch and I got hijacked to the Burger Barge. I've been there twice and have yet to order a burger. I guess I'm working my way up. First time was a delicious taco salad, and below is the chicken sandwich I ordered. It was excellent, especially without the marina sauce, onions, and peppers. Later that day, Tom and I went to the Bradley game! Go BU...Go Go BU!

Ice Storm 12/19/08

I stopped by Mom and Dad's house the morning after the big ice storm. This was one of the worst looking trees, but we got it staked back and it's going to be A.O.K.

Here's the wasp nest that was hanging in one the huge trees at the front of my parents' lot. The tree branch was so heavy that it was low enough for me to snag without using a ladder.
This gives you an idea of what size the nest was. Note: I wear a womens size 11 shoe. It was cool to see the different layers inside the nest.

Eureka!

It took me a good month or so, but I finally figured out how to reformat the memory card for my phone, so I can pull photos off of it, onto the computer. Thank goodness! I'm feeling pretty darn good, and now I have the ability to take photos wherever I am... yes!

I only have a day and a half left of doctor prescribed pills to take. I'm hoping the dry mouth side-effect will go away immediately. I still have yet to top the 5 waters I drank at Red Lobster on Laura's birthday. I plan on hydrating well tomorrow afternoon before I go to dinner with Matt. I know he understands, but it's just odd to consume that much liquid all at once.

Should be a fairly busy week. I've got dinner tomorrow evening, hopefully a girls night on Wednesday, and then the Cubs Caravan on Thursday. Yee-ha... so glad I'll be feeling well for this potentially fun-filled week. It's about frickin' time!

Photos to Brighten your day.

Starting out the new year.

I hope everyone's new year has started out well, and all had safe travels throughout the holiday season. I was lucky to have gotten to see my family and some distant friends, without traveling far myself. Unfortunately, I haven't been myself for the past week and half because of some very stubborn fluid in my ears. Please see the illustration below.
I'm looking forward to this week being filled of clear hearing, no cotton mouth, and full nights of sleep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I don't know how much longer I can deal with this and keep sane.