All Request Saturday!

All right, my dearies, the music player is in need of a few new songs. Send me your requests. I'd love to get my ears on some new tunes, and get to know you all a bit better, through your selections. Channel your inner D.J.

Cars, Used-Up "Punk Bands", and Oklahoma Style Controversy! Oh, My!

So I've finally found a used car that's worth paying on for the next 5 years of my life, and I'm driving an hour out of my way to see it, this afternoon. I truly hope this is the one I wind up with, because the search is entirely too exhausting. First you have to take the mileage into account, both what the odometer reads and what you'll be getting out of a trip to the gas station. Then you have to overlook certain things like sun damage, nicks and dings, and a laundry list of other things, because you are buying a used car, after all. Then you have to decide if you can live with that color, because boy are you stuck with it. I'll tell you what, if I get the car, I'll post some pics.

In the meantime, here are a few little gems for you to enjoy:

This article, from Best Week Ever, made me laugh so hard, I nearly peed. I've often said that I appreciated the American Idiot t-shirts from Green Day's last tour, because it made it easier for me to immediately know who to avoid in a room full of people. Oh, the irony!

The Flaming Lips made local news here in Oklahoma, when "Do You Realize??" was named as the official State Rock Song. The song was voted on by 21,000 Oklahoman's (myself included), and was shrouded in quite a bit of controversy. Bassist Michael Ivins, apparently wore a t-shirt with a hammer and sickle on it to the state capital and a handful of real "stick in the mud" politicians caused a big stink over it, and tried to overturn the vote. Thank God Governor Brad Henry stepped in and put an end to the nonsense. You can read the article here, but I encourage you to watch the video and listen to the lyrics, as well. I can accept the fact that these guys aren't for everyone, they are wild and weird, which is a huge part of why I like them so much, but seriously...If these old coots had bothered to listen to what the song was about, I doubt they'd have wasted their precious alloted time being offended by someone's clothing.

Speaking of precious allotted time, I've got to get myself in the shower so I can meet a friend for lunch. Enjoy your long weekend, everyone! Get out and enjoy it:)

Happy February, Kiddos!

So, I had a concussion on Thursday. Before you fret, I'm fine now. It's actually a funny story....

I was on my way into the Ladies Room at work and headed into the stall, when the door came off the hinge and knocked me on the forehead. I remember saying "ouch", and looking in the mirror and seeing a huge indention, then at some point sitting in my bosses office saying "I'm pretty dizzy, and I kinda want to take a nap." Then we were in the car on our way to the urgent care center.

I ended up staying home until today recovering, so I guess it was at least somewhat serious. I was joking with a co-worker today, saying that it made me forget math, but those of you that know me know that I don't just keep that calculator in my purse for looks!

My advice to you, look before you pee, and I don't just mean the seat.

Ice Storm!

My city is covered in at least an inch of ice, then about a half inch of sleet, and about another inch of snow. There are at least 600 people without power, and all the local schools are closed. The Governor has issued a state of emergency, as well. Guess who still has to get to work, somehow? That's right, Dear Readers. Me. Wish me luck. I just broke my ice scraper, so getting in safely will be quite the ordeal. Oh, to be a kid again, and be able to go back to bed and watch cartoons all day.

*this image is taken from the ice storm we had last year, so if this gives you any idea what we've already been through, then maybe you can send us happy thoughts as we dig our cars out from underneath all this.

Well, Kiddies...

...it's been a while since I've updated, and I know that's practically a sin in the blogging world, but things have just been so insanely crazy with my life that there's been no time. First of all, I started a new job, which at this point is old. It's not the most perfect job, but it's paying my bills. I'm still looking for a car, which is tiresome, but when you're looking for used, you either have to be extremely picky, or settle for less than what you really want. I've been looking into getting back into school, which I think will land me closer to all my life's dreams and goals, and I've also been playing catch up with some of my favorite musicians and television series.

First, I want to let all you ladies know that Salt Butter is back at select Origins stores! I love this stuff. It smells like those awesome butter mints, and makes your skin so soft. I'd had a cold about 3 weeks ago, and it offered my overworked sinuses much relief. It's also great for the winter itchies, which seem to be plaguing me something terrible in this cold weather.

Secondly, and I know I'm late in jumping on the bandwagon, but I've been watching the heck out of some Bones. Target had some really awesome sales on DVDs around the holidays and I just went stock-up nuts on tv. It's smart, it's quirky, it's hilarious, it's got the gross out factor. It's everything I love about television. Plus, David Boreanaz? You have to love that!

Third, I've been wearing a groove in the new Kaiser Chief's album, Off With Their Heads, and it's making me so happy, that I just can't help but dance a little when it's on. If you're a fan and you don't have this album, yet, allow me to chastise you a little. There's truly no excuse. Other notables are Oasis, Dig Out Your Soul, and The Cure, 4:13 Dream. The latter was meant to be a double album, and despite not being totally on board with the album as a whole, there are enough tracks that make it worth owning.

Where Have I Been?

I know, I know. It's been a while...

Sorry for the major time gap in entries, I've just been really busy working. I'm looking at newer cars, as it appears that my current one is beyond repair. Am I happy about having to start making a car payment? No. Am I looking forward to driving something nicer, newer, and with better gas mileage around? Heck yeah! I've got several different models in mind, and I'm narrowing my search as we speak.

I'm also about to have to spring for a new cell phone here in the next few weeks, so I'm trying not to wonder what other pricey item of mine will have to be replaced in the near future. You can bet I've been treating my iPod with kid gloves. Keep Murphy's Law off of my computer!

Other than this, I've been getting caught up on my TV shows, reading, and fitting in as many walks during the week as I can. You can see that I've kept pretty busy since my last post. What have all of you been doing? Catch me up.

I've Been Thinking A Lot Lately...

...about my dreams and visions for the future. It's not something I just tell any Random Joe, so feel privileged that I'm sharing some of them with you, my Dear Readers. I've been feeling pretty down about the state of my finances and personal life, and have been really anxious to "get the show on the road", but I realized something important, powerful. I hold the key to making these things happen. I'm not at all saying that God doesn't play a role, I'm merely saying that the things we want and need are in many ways, up to us.

I was settling down for the evening, after finishing a workout last week, and managed to catch a repeat of the day's Oprah. I'm not what you would call a fanatic of the show, I just find bits and pieces useful from time to time. The topic of the show was vision boards. For those of you that don't know what a vision board is, it's a physical manifestation of the things you feel you want, on a gut level, to be happy and get all there is out of life. They are usually collages put together with magazine clippings, quotes, and photos that you assign meaning to. You can also make a list. These are placed in a prominent place in your home to remind you to hold onto the visions you have for yourself and your life. For some people it's places they want to travel to, representations of what they want in a mate, career or personal goals, or that ever popular "perfect body" they want to have. For me, it's all of those things. I've just started cutting out clippings and hope to get this going soon.

Those of you that know me in more than just a blogging sense, know that it's my dream to start a charity that helps find funding for families dealing with cancer. This can be to pay for treatment, to cover living expenses while being treated, or even to put a child through college. I lost my father to this disease when I was just a baby, and his compassion and giving heart inspires me daily to make this a reality. I've been so down lately, when I've looked at my own finances, that I haven't looked around at all the opportunities to start small and give the way that my dad did while he was here.

A while ago, I started collecting soda tabs from aluminum cans because I'd read that the Ronald McDonald House recycles them for cash and helps to pay for children to receive dialysis treatments. This concept has been tugging at my heartstrings for a while now, and while on the phone with a friend I learned that a mutual acquaintance with a restaurant is doing the same thing. They set up glass jars on their tables and ask that anyone consuming a beverage out of a can place their tabs in the jars. This opened my eyes. I know owners of local eateries, coffeehouses, and bars, office workers, and school employees that would likely love to support such a cause. The cans were going to be thrown away, or recycled, anyhow. Who wouldn't want to do some good with their garbage?

It's a small thing that I can do now, to prove that I can someday be trusted with something much larger. I intend to contact the owners of these establishments and see if we can work out a deal where I pick up their donations once a month, and turn them into the Ronald McDonald House in their names. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out, and encourage you to start a similar program in your town. Do what you can with what you have!