Merry Christmas! (belated)

I hope everyone has had a great holiday and all of your Christmas wishes have come true!

My holiday is great, but flying by. My Mother-in-Law is visiting and we went to her brother's house for the big day. Very fun. Hubby's cousins got Guitar Hero 2, which is an awesome game.

We got back yesterday and hung out. Last night we played Monopoly. But not any Monopoly.... Star Wars Episode 1 Monopoly. The board comes with this plastic edge for the property cards and apartment buildings to fit into. I lost horribly due to the yellow and red properties that I did not own. I referred to it as 'the Guantlet' and made it through a couple of times with no hits, but then hit both on one turn.


We own at least 4 versions of Star Wars version games - 2 different Star Wars Monopolies, Star Wars Trivial Pursuit and Star Wars Battleship. The Trivial Pursuit is rarely played and Hubby is always the overwhelming winner.

I am in the mood to add to our board game collection. I love Apples to Apples and Cranium, but they are only fun with five or more people. So I'm thinking I might splurge on SceneIt, probably the TV version or the Friends version. I saw a Marvel Comics version, but no one would want to play that with me.

And for anyone interested, our NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY is still a go! Hope to see you there :)

Well, here we are again

I'm at home and hubby up and leaves me the week before Christmas to travel for his job. That's ok though, because it is not a regular thing, like him leaving all week for four months. And it is worth it because he likes his job and his job seems to like him. People have even been complimenting his work!

My job situation on the other hand is still looking sad. My tutoring job is ok. I get one or two students an hour (soon to be three students) and just follow the prearranged outline. But I have to say that I am really missing teaching. I want my own classroom and my own students and to work with great teachers. I checked and the one math teacher position that was open was filled. And the library position was also filled. As a side not, way too many of you commented about how I would be perfect in a library. Why did no one mention this when I was in college?

So, I am looking into substitute teaching. I called one district today and a lady took my name and said she was going to pull my file and 'call me back in a few minutes.' She seemed pretty excited that I had a teaching license. Well, two hours later I called to check and this lady left for the day. Hm......

A big thank you to Ikkin for inviting me along to see the Nutcracker. I have never seen it, except for brief glimpses on PBS. I absolutely LOVED it, the scenery, the costumes, the music, the dancing.... I would love to take dance classes again, but have been to lazy to look up adult beginners dance in the area. Although I did see a ballroom dancing studio! And it's good excercise!

Now I have to question my whole life

So here is another quiz. I really thought I would come out geek. I mean between the x-men, Buffy, WOT and now Heroes, I definitely have some geeknees.But I'm normal.... I have to say I'm a little disappointed. And there were questioned I felt were skewed a little. Like asking about attending ComicCon, they didn't have an option of "No, but I'd love to go". And asking about for graphic novels there was no "Library" option. I think the kicker was saying I had a lot of friends. That was a reflection on all of the Christmas cards that need signed.

On a side note, I went to this site looking for the Pirate/Ninja quiz. Maybe I'll post that one tomorrow. Let me know how your quizzes look! The accent one is short, today's quiz is a little longer.

Joe Normal 30 % Nerd, 43% Geek, 26% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal. This is not to say that you don't have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you--we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren't much of an outcast. I'd say there's a fair chance someone asked you to take this test. In any event, fairly normal. Congratulations! Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

No accents here, buddy

What American Accent Do You Have?



















I've always wondered about my accent since I grew up in small town mid-Ohio, lived in northern Ohio for about 8 years then moved to southern Ohio. I heard a segment on NPR once from some smart people at OSU studying accents and they said Ohio really varies from the northern to southern section.

There was a bunch of code next to my results, but I haven't figured out how to use it here, so I copied and pasted my results above. If anyone knows what I should do with this code, please leave me a comment.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
The West
The South
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

And in other news

Fashion News: Apparently this season, short nails with a dark red/purple color are in. And since nail polish is cheap and not an investment that will plummet to the depths of my closet (such as gauchos), I figured I would try it. And it looks good! I am in fashion! Of course, there is always the backlash. My backlash was last night while Hubby and I were putting up plastic on the windows and I had the darnedest time trying to get the backing off of the double sided tape. Stupid short nail fashions.....

Music News: My amazingly talented husband does the best cover of "SexyBack". I'm telling you, he has a knack. And he's only heard about a ten second clip of the song. And the dancing, oooooooh the dancing.

Literary News: I have been reading the Confessions of a Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, so far the first two. I like them, they are funny and zany. I did however spend most of the first book exclaiming to Hubby about how moronic it was to just keep lying and spending money. I think it was mostly jealousy because I don't know half of the designers that are mentioned and I am somehow missing out because I don't understand the joy that a Denny and George scarf can bring me. The third book is apparently about her wedding, so I'm sure more mayhem will ensue.

Holiday News: I swear, the Christmas tree is going up tonight! And I'll do more shopping this week. But NOT this weekend, because just trying to drive by the mall is nuts.

Cooking News: Last night I made chili. This is the only food I have ever made without a recipe. I am usually absolutely paranoid about measuring and times and all that jazz. But that marvelous man I call mine taught me how to make chili and how to improvise. I throw stuff in, I shake the seasonings until I'm content, I look at how soupy it is rather than the time on the clock! And! It's edible! The Jiffy Corn Muffins I measure and timed to a tee though.

Unexcitement

The last two times I have been to the gym, there have been women in the locker room on their cell phones. This used to never bother me (except the time at UT where someone was swearing obscenities at the top of her lungs and there were kids in the locker room). However at this gym there is a sign saying 'Cell Phones Prohibited in the Area.' And today the lady turned down the tv so she could continue her conversation. The tv is right above this sign.

So it's not really a problem, I'm just spoiled and it's a small locker room. I'm used to some casual conversation, but not one-sided, loud conversation. Then the lady followed me out of the locker room up to the cardio equipment still talking away. Fortunately she went to the bicycles, otherwise I would have had to have strong words for her. And I would have tossed her phone off the second floor landing. Really, I would have.

That is about as exciting as my life gets.

Game night tonight! My marvelous husband has arranged for people to come over and even hinted that I can pick the game! He actually phrased it as "we'll let Hugs pick which game she wants to win tonight." ......so true.....

Hugs, Illustrated

So here is what I spent the noon hour doing today.


This was actually much more difficult than it looks. Especially without my fabulously tall spouse. I had put some of this garland up over the weekend, but it was half-hearted and slumped by the next morning. So today I went out armed with a hammer and nails. Then I had to lay four garlands out because they were all different lengths and find the two long ones. And due to the lack of spousal height, I had to bring out a chair and then had to wear my Birkenstocks so I could kick them off every time I stepped on the chair. I'm sure the neighbors were entertained. It looks really pretty with the lights on it though!

And because Dandy asked, here are picutres of our new bedroom set.



Huge! And still very Orange! But I do like all of the space in my dresser.

And for those of you who read my manly husband's blog, here is the Flying Monkey meeting Min and Ainsley.




Min totally freaked out and tried to kill Flying Monkey. Ainsley, being more used to these hijinks, simply glared and then curled up and went to sleep with her new friend.

As for the last ScreenCap, Hubby's officemate figured it out by following the clues. The show is Misfits of Science, on tv when I was in 2nd grade. I don't remember much of it except that this is where my super hero obsession began. I think it was Courtney Cox's character (who I didn't realize was in it until I got the picture) was telekinetic and my mom explained how it was moving things with your mind. I sat at the dining room table for at least 25 minutes staring at a pen willing it to move. I gave up on have tk power pretty quick, but I'm still confident that something else will develop. I'm well past the age of getting Slayer powers, but I did have a serious case of precognition the other day. I'll let you know if it develops into anything.

And so here is today's screencap. Much easier, I know someone will get this pretty quick.


note to self: to make illustrated blogs easier, load pictures then type

I need to brush up on my languages

Apparently my 'celebrity' status has rocketed into 'internationally known'. Last night at 1:30 am I received some international phone number. At least I'm assuming the long string of numbers and odd time means it is international.I didn't answer it, just shoved my phone into a drawer because I knew what would happen. Sure enough, two more calls quickly followed. When I checked this morning there were two messages. The first is a guy waiting and saying "hello" a couple of times. The second is a long message in what sounds like an Arabic language.

This happened last week also. However, the number was different and I answered it. It was actually the same thing. The first time the guy just said "hello" three or four times after a pause and seemed not to hear me. The second time the guys was saying something in what sounded like Chinese or Japanese. Of course when I'm woken from a sound sleep all foreign languages sound vaguely alike, so it could have also been something Arabic.

The new bedroom set is great, except for the fact that it is trying to maim Husband and me. The foot board just sticks out and up further than we are used to. So you go to walk around the end of the bed and ram your thigh right into it. My adoring Husband has done this once, I have done it twice. I think the second time is worse because I hit the exact same spot where there is a nice purple bruise swelling up.

In other news, it truly bothered me last week seeing people putting up Christmas decorations while wearing shorts. This is Ohio and I don't care if it is 65 degrees, it is just wrong to put up decorations in shorts!

I will deeply regret that next week, and likely even tomorrow when the temperature drops.

On the upside, there is snow predicted! I doubt that it will stick or accumulate, but I just love snow. I do not like the cold though. And I know most of you are probably thinking mean thoughts because you hate the snow and all that entails. Well, tough. When the snow comes you will find me jumping around the apartment like a giddy school girl that just got a pony.

Ok, this is what I would consider a more difficult screen shot just because it was on when I was a kid and no one else I know has ever mentioned it. However there are a couple of pretty good clues in the picture itself.

Current Events

Here is a numbered list of current events and thoughts:

1) Since no one has commented, I guess I am the most famous. I would like to add I also belong to the church where George Clooney went to grade school. I know, I'm just the ultimate in cool.

2) The picture was from Red Sonya. Husband got it right, so I know I married well.

3) I make awesome apple pies. Honestly, the best pies of all of the Thanksgiving pies I tried. Some might disagree, but that is because they were afraid of the dried cranberries I put in. And honestly, you couldn't taste them! Babies.

4) I make awesome Ham-Asparagus Strata. I don't even know what Strata is, but I rock at making it.

5) I make horrible gumbo. Husband even threw the leftovers out. And anyone who knows him can imagine how bad that must taste to make him through it away.

6) I am employed! Its part-time after school tutoring, so it won't interrupt quality Dr. Phil time.

7) I am hoping to get a sewing machine for Christmas. And when I do, I am going to make skirts like The Pink Shoe does. I don't know her, but I aspire to her domestic-diva-ness.

8) Husband and I are getting a new bedroom set tomorrow. We already bought the mattress set, which he told you about in his blog. This means random shopping for sheets and a new comforter. Of course this is also due to the sneaking suspicion that I am allergic to down. What tipped me off to this? Why, waking up every morning sneezing and using 10 tissues! Of course it could also be the lack of dusting and sweeping...

9) No screen shot today just because I just realized the time and have to get ready for work!

My new claim to Fame

I realized yesterday that I am three degrees from Tom Cruise. When I worked at St. Ursula in Toledo the art teacher was Nancy. And Nancy is Katie Holmes' sister. And Katie married Tom. So there you go, I am almost a celebrity. Don't ask me why I didn't realize this a year ago. It was mentioned in the news about Katie's sister being her maid of honor and something clicked into place.

Anyone out there have better 'degrees' ? I'm sure you do and you are just dying to share!

Not much new going on here. I almost have a job at an after school tutoring place. At least they said they needed teachers and the interviews went really well. But they are really slow about getting back to me. The library never called and the website still says the position is still open, so I am bummed about that. And the school with a math position still open has never called. It is incredibly depressing that a job that I am perfectly qualified for never calls. I did however talk to one of my coworkers from the charter school who is now a sub and he is doing well. So I will probably call them next week about substitute teaching.

In other news, Ikkin and I dominate at Cranium. We played boys vs. girls (so it was 3 vs. 2) and apparently despite not seeing much of each other for many years, we share a psychic connection. It was eerie how fast I guessed 'paparazzi' when she was charading it. Drawing 'vitamin' took longer though.

And because I love to see who is as geeky as I am, here is today's movie snapshot. Start guessing!

Toilet paper everywhere

So my grand adventures today include cleaning up toilet paper. Min thinks it is a chew toy. When we had Cottonelle she would unroll it. So I would come home and find a trail of toilet paper leading into the bathroom and a huge pile of it on the ground. Now we have Scott's and apparently it doesn't unroll. So instead she chews it off. And she does this while I am here and perfectly willing to play. I'll get up and walk and see a stray corner of paper. And I walk into the bathroom and there are chunks of it on the ground. Oh, most of it is still on the roll, but as you try to unroll it, there are big holes where Min chewed out the chunks.

And this has happened three times today.

I also attempted my first apple pie last night. The directions were for a 9" pie pan so I made the crust too small for a 9.5" pan. Yes, the half of an inch makes a difference. And yes, I was too lazy to reroll it. I did ok peeling the apples. I made a crumb topping instead of crust. I didn't cook it long enough, so the apples aren't totally done and it has a lot of liquid in the bottom. BUT! It still tastes darn good! So next week, nobody will die of pie poisoning at Thanksgiving.

Today's screen shot is of a movie. It shouldn't be too hard :) Who can name it?

I know it includes apples...

So for my birthday I received a Barnes and Noble gift card (thanks Barb!) and spent it on a new cookbook. It's a basic one with recipes for meatloaf and lasagna. I have lots of cookbooks but none of them have regular recipes. So anyway, I've decided to branch out and try to make a pie. From scratch. So I bought everything Saturday, including ice cream, and told my adoring husband of my grand scheme.

Well. We get invited to two Thanksgiving dinners (though one will be a lunch). And my fabulous husband volunteers me to make apple pies for both. What?? Wait! Huh?? Yes, that is right. I have never made one, but now am making two for other people to consume and enjoy. And thanks to that husband, they know to watch out for a frozen pie so I can't pass it off as my own.

I only hope that it does not turn out like the spice cake I made last year. Oh, the cake was good. But the icing, ohhhhh the icing. I cooked it too long, spread it on the cake and it turned solid. Honestly, it was like hard candy. My mom couldn't cut it and finally PICKED up the cake and turned it UPSIDE DOWN to cut pieces.

Pies aren't known for being turned upside down. I'll let you know how it goes.

And for you, faithful viewers, I have a fun new game. Ok, I think it will be fun but you will just think I'm being odd. A special No-Prize to the first person to name this show!

This I Believe

My adoring husband sent me this link earlier in the week. This I Believe

This column has had a profound effect on my life lately. In the beginning of October I was miserable at my job and was actually praying and asking for a sign. Lo and behold while I was listening to NPR there was a gentleman on This I Believe saying he wished his grand-daughter failure instead of luck. I realized I did not want to quit my job because I would be a failure and that is not something to be afraid of, it is something to learn from.

Now I am looking for a new job and everyone I know asks why I don't go and substitute teach. Its in my field and a good way to get my name into a school system. I did do substitute teaching when I first graduated. And I don't want to do it now. I guess I'm a cranky old math teacher stuck in my ways. I'm thinking of doing it in the spring.

So back to the article sent to me. It was hubby's gentle nudge that there is work that is not beneath me and that I would be totally happy with. Soooooo, I will not be selling Mary Kay because I am not a sales person. Instead I applied at the library. I don't care if its part time and doesn't pay a ton. I would absolutely love to work at the library. I would get to organize and help people (with out selling!) and work with nice people. We'll see if they call me, with my luck they'll think I'm overqualified.

Today's Shocking Coincidence!

Today's SHOCKING COINCIDENCE is....

yesterday we voted, today gas prices went up.

That concludes today's SHOCKING COINCIDENCE.

Painting by numbers

So here is a less pink and fuzzy picture for you, faithful viewers. I loved Thundercats as a kid. Each day either I or one of my siblings got to pick a show to watch. My sister wanted to watch Scooby Doo, but I always tried to talk her into watching Thundercats. It didn't usually work.

So I had a fabulous weekend. My friend Sarah visited on Saturday. We went to Panera Bread for lunch where I scarfed down broccoli cheddar soup. I'm telling you, I would have loved vegetables as a child if only my parents had this soup.

Then we went to Marcy's Clayground to paint pottery. I had so many ideas that within five minutes I had SIX different things sitting on the table to paint. Sarah honestly spent an hour and a half trying to figure out what she wanted to do. One of the most creative people I know was stumped. But we eventually sat painting in front of the fireplace and enjoying hot chocolate. I only finished two of my pieces. I was going to get a picture, but since they are Christmas gifts I shouldn't ruin the surprise. Maybe after the holidays I will post pictures. Because I did a kick butt job! Of course Sarah's tile was better, darn her!

That night Sarah, Chicks514 and I went to Tiffin to see Dandy Mandy in Suessical the Musical. She kicked butt and was definitely the best part of the cast!

Well, I have a mess of papers covering the living room floor, so I should take care of the before my beloved spouse comes home and has kittens. Because I can't handle more cats.

To sell or not to sell

Well, this housewife thing is going well but I feel like I need to contribute more. My days are great as they consist of going to the gym, cleaning up the toilet paper Min unrolled, seeing what Dr. Phil has to say and doing some cleaning and cooking. I am now organizing my school books and supplies. It's been a mess because I kept digging through them to get something I needed for school, but I couldn't bring it all to school because of the construction and lack of shelves, cabinents, etc. Stupid job. Have I mentioned how happy I am that I quit? So anyway, mess. Chicks has held up like a champ and not bugged me about it, but I know its secretly annoying the daylights out of him.

So to get out of the house I went to get a facial from Mary Kay people. Then I went again. And of course I bought facial cleansers. And then they want me to join in the fun. And I almost did. It sounds like a good deal and I wouldn't be out to make a ton of money. But I'm not a salesperson and I don't wear make-up often. SOoooooo, comments on your thoughts are appreciated.

If anyone is reading the comments from my first post, I am so glad I got my own blog so I can post as many My Little Pony pictures as I want. But Chicks, aka my loving husband, would rather I put in pictures of Care Bears. So this is for you handsome!

PSA: Don't forget to vote next Tuesday. And be sure to check out the issues before you vote so you know what you are voting for!

For those who just need to know: how did Hugs become my nickname? From Bart Simpson! It started as 'Amanda Hug n Kiss' (from one of the scenes where Bart calls Moe's Tavern). Then it slowly was shortened to just 'Hugs'. You should see some people's expressions when they hear me called that for the first time.

Welcome to my life!

So here is the beginning of my new blog. I'll slowly learn all the tricks and get it looking nifty for your viewing pleasure.

Finding a name for my new blog was rough. I have too many nicknames. Ranging from present back to high school are:
Life with Hugs
Life with Mrs. Chicks
Life with Princess Toadstool
Life with Balesie
Life with Dink
Life with Robin
Life with Amanda Banana
Life with Cheese
Life with Sasquatch

Anyway, in theory this will be easier to update than our old webpage. For many different reasons we had trouble adding and changing it. So this will make it easier to update everyone on little ole me. And sometimes Chris. And probably lots on Ainsley and Min.

By the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!