So, I was...

...driving home after crashing dinner at my parents house this evening when my heart jumped out of my chest. Why is it, that seeing a deer's behind dashing along the side of the road at night when you're traveling 70 mph can get your heart racing so fast?

Anyway, the evening went quite well. I learned over dinner that a puzzle I gave Grandpa for Christmas only had 474 pieces instead of 504. I guess it serves me right for purchasing it at the dollar store, but the dog was just so darn cute. Grandpa was also disappointed, so I had to right the situation.

I hijacked Mom and drove to Deals in Pekin in search of the same dog puzzle. Our Deals is sure to have the same products as the Deals in St. Charles, MO, right? Yes in deedy! I bought the only two in the whole store. Hopefully Grandpa can get one whole puzzle out of three boxes of pieces.

Can you help think of...

...the Top 10 reasons Jane's Co-workers should not leave her alone in the office?

'Tis the season...

...for spending time with family, and that I did. I had a wonderful "Christmas Break" and have sufficiently bummed around today so that I may be ready to go to work tomorrow. For some reason I got a newspaper today, so I took the chance to look at the ads. I might actually try to hit Target before I head into the office tomorrow. We shall see how awake I am in the morning.

Have a wonderful day! Jane

How you should NOT light a candle.

This is a "snapshot" of what my microwave looked like when I tried to melt the wax in a glass candle jar, so I could clean the jar and recycle it. Once upon a time the wick had gotten consumed by the wax and was no longer burnable.

Little did I know the teeny-tiny wick holder at the bottom had some metal in it. Within 6 seconds of pressing start, sparks were flying in the microwave and the flame looked like a blow torch. The glass even got scorched along the bottom where the metal was.

I strongly suggest NOT using your microwave to light a candle, although it is possible. Not that I was trying, but Myth CONFIRMED.

Gotta send another HOLLA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!!!
I hope you have a splendiferous day!

On to other news... I had a couple pop-ins yesterday! Thank you to the Iadipaolo's and Matt. It was wonderful. Below you can see Sophia using a flashlight through the cat door to find "chicken cat". Sure enough, he was sitting on step number two.

Saving the Snow

Does anyone have some extra freezer space I can use? The snow in my yard is melting at a rapid pace and I'd like it to stick around until Christmas. I was thinking... if I could fill up a bunch of freezers with snow and then get it out Tuesday morning, I'd be set. Sure, it may freeze into large blocks, but I could use a hammer and my Magic Bullet to turn it back into snow flakes. Then the ShopVac will come in handy. Put the snow in there and hit reverse to blow it back out into the yard. I better make sure I have a long enough extension cord to reach the whole yard.

Wednesday was better than Tuesday

Why is that, you ask? Well, my stomach didn't feel like it was on fire today. Plus, I had more to do at work, so the day went by much faster. And I smoked Jenny in the "name that tune" game.

Did you know that cats don't make good windows, and their hair static clings to a computer screen? Also, it's possible for a screen door to take off your shoe... I almost fell into my house when I got home from work today. It pretty much cracked me up.

Well, I'm going to go fix some cereal for dinner.
Later, Jane

A very sad bundt cake.

I gotta send a Holla out to my Momma.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and your birthday dessert looks more delicious then the one we attempted to make this past weekend. A note to all: pay attention to "best if used by" dates on packages, especially when they say July 2005.

New Snow Creation

It was quite chilly outside today, so I only spent enough time to shovel a majority of the driveway and the sidewalks. Jack basically turned into a gigantic ice cube, so there wasn't much hope in putting him back together.

Instead, I opted to make a snow angel in my footprint free backyard. It was like a beautiful sea of snow.

Bad News and Good News

Unfortunately, Jack's head fell off overnight, but the good news!... it's snowing today, so I should be able to put "humpty-dumpty" back together again.

Let's hear it for the snow!
Holla!

Waiting for supper to finish baking.

Today was quite the interesting day. It started off with me not being able to get out of my garage. Then I played www.freerice.com at work. Why? well, I wasn't very busy. I made it up to 10,020 grains of rice. I called Waste Management and signed up for curbside recycling... that was quite exciting. I'll be able to get rid of the pile of cans and plastic in the corner of my kitchen. Now I'm at home with my car parked comfortably in the garage and I'm waiting for my cardboard pizza to finish cooking. mmmm...pizza. Soon enough I will be watching the finale of America's Next Top Model.

A quick update on Jack... he lost his nose and several buttons. He has a slight lean. It kind of looks like he's prepping for a limbo contest. I might have to put him out of his misery tomorrow.
Have a good one!

Tonight, I can declutter no more.

I had the best of intentions to get my computer room organized this evening, but I've run out of energy. I think the rum cake really took something out of me today. Plus, this project could literally take me a whole weekend to go through everything and decide what to keep, toss, or possibly sell. At least I don't have any leftover mystery boxes from the move. Although, I am unable to find my guitar lessons guide. I really hope to find that soon. I'd really like to try out the left handed guitar I traded my righty for.

He Shall be Named Jack

I like the name Jack, it fits pretty well. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Jack during the next day or two. Will the precipitation form a nice hard coating on Jack, almost as if he were shellacked? Will the rain and ice extend his life or bring him to an early demise?

I can't wait to see, this should be interesting! It would be so cool if he turned into a sculpture like this.

Help name the snowperson.

I had a half day of work today and then went to see Beowulf in 3D with Mom. It was really cool, but the storyline wasn't really up my alley today. I could have used a good laugh, so I think Bee Movie would have been more appropriate. Anyway, trying to waken myself, I decided to shovel my drive and sidewalk after Mom went home.

As you can see, I eventually got a little sidetracked. I wonder what people shopping at Trefzgers thought of me. Oh well, I guess I'll never know. Now, I need your help. Help me come up with some good names for my snowperson before it melts and freezes on my driveway... or gets destroyed by some hooligans overnight.
Can you think of any good names?

Oops, I just realized I forgot a mouth... maybe I'll have a chance to add one tomorrow.

Watching the snow.

Apparently Velma is just as excited as some of us are about getting snow. I hope there will be enough to play in this weekend!

Who doesn't like a field trip?

Myself and several coworkers got to go on a field trip today! We started organizing the "junk" closet at work and took two carloads of file boxes to Charlie's house. His family has an absolutely beautiful home and they live in a nice area of Edwards, just west of Peoria. After that, he treated the six of us to lunch at Ludy's for some down home cookin'! The fun didn't stop there, we headed over to Adam's house to say hi to him and Louie, a mid-size poodle.

Right now I'd like to take the time to thank the utility workers who helped this happen. Thank you for cutting the phone and internet lines. It allowed us to free up some space in the office and get outside for some fresh air.

Outsmarting Myself

Last time I did my bills, I got on a kick of trying to pay my accounts online if possible and getting rid of the paper statements. So far I've come across two confusing items since that day. I'm normally quite good at documenting my spending, but I outsmarted myself on these.

I lost check number 1306. Not sure if maybe I wrote it out, then tore it up when I paid online? And then tonight I noticed this login, password, and code I wrote down to one of the accounts I started. I thought I knew which one it was for, but apparently I was wrong. I suppose I'll hold on to it. The mysterious account is sure to resurface sometime in the near future.

For some of you... yes, younger people do forget things too.

If you could be a cookie, what kind would you be?

I would probably be a very colorful spritz cookie, almond flavored of course. Today was holiday cookie baking day with a few of my coworkers. I could post photos of the work in progress, but I might get in trouble... I didn't have them sign and photo release forms.

Why not post a picture of the cookies? Well, after giving cookies to Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Tom, Laura, Sandra, and Vince, I don't have a wide variety left. They took their favorites, which were not my favorites. Now I just have my favorites, a few spritz and peanut butter kisses....mmmm.

What did you do Friday Night?

I hijacked Mom and we went the Peoria Civic Center to watch the 2007 CMT Change Tour. We saw Jake Owen, Little Big Town, and my favorite, Sugarland. Talk about concerts! They topped them all!

I'd like to send a HOLLA out to...

PAJAMA WOMAN! Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your day to write some comments on my silly blog page. That was the highlight of my day, getting to read those. This blog has been a creative outlet for me and it's nice to have some additional feedback. The comment section is the closest I can get to a message board. Maybe I'll see if I can change the title to something more inviting. Some days I feel like I'm just having a one-sided conversation. I know, I'll add a new poll to the bottom of the page.

I missed a few.

I did my best to rake the leaves, but I seem to have missed a few.... well, a few hundred or thousand it seems. I would take my own photo to show you, but it's usually dark before I get home. Yes, I have a flash on my camera, but it's really cold and windy out right now. Plus, my feet are really cozy in my Cubs slippers. Anyway, I'm mentioning the whole leaf thing because they caused a small delay for me this morning. I was backing down the driveway as my garage door closed and as I threw the car into drive, I saw the garage start to go back up! I pulled back into the driveway, pushed the button, waited for the door to close, and watched some leaves scoot in front of the closing door. Jinkies! The leaves blowing through the motion sensors on the garage door are what caused the door to go back up in the first place. Who would have thunk?

So much to do, So little time

Nowadays, who doesn't fall into this category? Oh yeah, my cats. Goodness gracious! The other day I stopped home from lunch and Jinkies hadn't even moved from his couch spot in the window. Wouldn't it be nice to do that one day, when you're not home sick? Sure, most people have vacation days, but you're too busy catching up on housework or just out having fun.

Anyway, I did find a way to get the cats moving, but they also became a little obsessed, so I'll have to find a different motivation other than chasing the red dot.

Mature for my age?

I was doing my bills tonight and took a closer look at my oil change bill from the dealership. I saw the negative number and was slightly confused because I forgot to bring in oil change coupon I left sitting on my kitchen table. As you can see, my 'elder Bradley basketball fan' disguise pulled one over on them and they thought I was a senior citizen. (I know it's hard to read... if you don't believe me, then click on the photo)
Maybe what really happed was showing up at 8:00am on Black Friday with a pleasant attitude got me some bonus points with their Service Manager, Tom D. I knew I always liked him better than Gary C., who normally has my account. I'd like to send a HOLLA out to all the Tom's in the world. You go Tom's!

My Thanksgiving Story

I got to the parents around 10:30 and dove right in to the mashed potato preparation. Little did I know that I would have to peel ping-pong potatoes. Thanks Mom!

I'm feel lucky that I still have all of my digits... I did have several close calls. The size of the potatoes didn't affect the taste or presentation of the mashed potatoes. I was tempted to sculpt them into a turkey, but was running short on time.

As always, the meal with my family was quite entertaining. Afterwards, Grandpa took us outside to show us how he plays tennis golf with Lizzie. Aunt Cheryl got the hang of it, but I managed to launch the tennis ball into the back of the neighbors yard, and we couldn't find it... oops.

We went back inside to warm up and to avoid studying, Laura went downstairs to get the Legos. Talk about entertainment! Laura made a castle, Tom hooked her up with an outhouse with a "throne", and Cheryl saved all of the lost souls from the great Lego abyss. Her nursing skills were put to the test, assembling legs, arms, hands, and heads to the now fortunate Lego people. Her best creation was the double right-armed, toupee wearing, bikini lady, riding on a bike.
Once again, another unforgettable Thanksgiving! I wouldn't want it any other way.
Quality!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday has finally arrived... YEAH! My true Thanksgiving with a family gathering. I made the pie this morning and already washed the Cool Whip container. Why? Well, if I bring that with me to the parents, then I'll probably get sent home with leftovers. You can't beat that.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the friends and family. I would love to hear about any interesting/funny moments. I'm sure I'll have a few to share.

I've got a good one for Mythbusters!

Single woman, living alone with two cats, wakes up one morning and instead of immediately feeding the cats, she begins to read the newspaper. Relaxing on the couch with feet kicked up the coffee table, she begins to flip through the paper when a cat lays down behind her head on the couch. Trying to gets it's owners attention in hopes of being fed, the cat repeatedly hits her in the head with its tail.

As she finishes looking through the ads, the cat begins to swing it's tail with more vigor and at a faster rate. By this time, the owner is so enthralled with an article about the music group Sugarland she is scheduled to see within two weeks, she has blocked out all distractions. She soon becomes disoriented from all the blows to the head and tries to stand up, but falls backwards into the couch.

She has now been sucked into the couch without any hope of freeing herself. She knows her brother will arrive mid-day to go to a Bradley game, so she decides to nap until he gets there. When her brother opens the door, he only sees food scattered all over the kitchen and two cats sleeping on the couch!

The cats ransacked the kitchen and then searched out the warmest spot in the house for a cat nap. The added weight from the cats caused the owner to get completely sink into the couch and under the cushions.

3rd out of 8

So I placed 3rd out of the 8 people participating in the chili cook-off at work. I'm thinking of it as a victory because it's the first pot of chili I've made by myself. Let the search for the perfect made from-scratch chili begin!

I finished off the day in St. Charles, Missouri, bringing my "green" ribbon chili with me. (is green 3rd place?) Anyway, I think if we would have had some Missourians as judges for the cook-off, then I would have won hands down. They seem to like the down home, not too chunky, not too fiery chili in this neck of the woods.

I WILL bring it with fury next year, so watch out!

Pumking Bowling

Hi Everyone,
I thought you would get a kick out of this video. Unfortunately it was taken with my simple Kodak camera, so there is no sound. If you've ever heard me laugh, then just imagine me cracking myself up like you've never heard before.
Enjoy,
Jane

Seriously, the LAZIEST Cat Fight Ever!

The cats are usually more active when they start throwing punches, but what can one expect on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

I'm curious to see who voted for Velma. She is quite the little dickens and enjoys starting at least 80% of all skirmishes. In the meantime, I'll work on coming up with a new poll.

Have a good one!
Jane

Thanksgivings just around the corner.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this year... not that I don't other years... it's just different being out on my own. I've been assigned to bring a pumpkin dessert, so that means I get to make something in my kitchen! Let the recipe searching begin. (If you've got a good one, let me know)

When I was talking to my mom the other day, I found out she was not planning on having mashed potatoes with the Thanksgiving meal. I was flabbergasted! "But Janey, we're going to have dressing and dinner rolls," she said. In order to get mashed potatoes added to the menu, I am now the official potato peeler and masher this year.

Thinking back to the rolls... I wonder how many other families out there pass rolls by tossing them across the table to one another?

I'm On Strike!

I'm currently on strike from going to Trefzgers Bakery for my multi-grain oat bread. As some people know, I've had some encounters with a worker that always seems to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Since I don't need the attitude at 7:00 in the morning, I decided to make my own bread. I'd like to send out a "Holla" to my Grandpa for giving me the bread machine.

Anyway, I had success with my first loaf of bread and the poll at work seemed to give it a thumbs up too. I'm proud to show you my newly bought cooking ingredients and the "prize-winning" loaf of bread. I wish I could have shared the smell of fresh baked bread with you.

Thank Goodness for Shop-Vacs

So, I've been in my house for over 5 months now and I had yet to look under my bed. I've vacuumed all surfaces I can get to, and swept in the hard places. Little did I know that the shoes under my bed were acting as a "windbreaker" and collected all the tumbleweed furballs rolling across the hardwood floor. As a kid, I always worried about Winkies under my bed, I didn't know I had to worry about furballs too. With the addition of the shoe rack, I will insure underneath the bed will be furball free.

Time Zones

It's nice how that nyquil knocks you out at night and allows you to get a good night of sleep, but this morning I woke up in another time zone. I actually thought I slept in, but my clocks say it's just a little past 7:00. Thank you daylight savings time... now I'll be able to get all of my chores done today. I can't use sleeping too late as an excuse. And of course, there is no Bears game to distract me either.

Starting Again

After a little discussion with Laura, she suggested I put my blog on this website. Apparently this site has the option to allow people to leave comments without have to register. I would like people to be able to participate if they so choose.

Here I go!!!