Sucked in...

I'm currently having some laptop problems, so until my keyboard is fixed posting is difficult.  In the meantime, know that I've been doing a LOT of reading and have knocked out most of the Sookie Stackhouse books. And one of these weeks I will take/get some curling pics.

Favorite Websites of Late...

Oh yes, I’m a Facebook addict as much as the next person. I hit up my news pages on a daily basis, and http://www.pandora.com/ has basically become a staple in my life. But here’s list of five other sites in the past couple months that I’ve started frequenting on a regular basis.


http://www.sporcle.com/ Trivia and Quizzes all in the same place. This site is hours of mindless or maybe I should say somewhat mentally challenging fun. For the trivia geek like me, it’s fantastic. And there’s quizzes on every topic – I avoid certain areas, I will not be naming the periodic table of elements any time ever. But I can name all 50 states, all the presidents and entirely too much pop culture.

http://www.1000awesomethings.com/  This is such a great feel good site. Yes, it’s indeed cheesy. I don’t care. Sometimes when you’re having a total crap day, cheese like this helps.

And when that doesn’t work...there’s always, http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/ . My favorite of the week is an entry from October 26th. Sarcasm and passive aggresssive honesty at its finest.

http://www.iowagirleats.com/ – I’ve also recently discovered this site and realized that I’ve become really lazy and complacent with my cooking. It’s not that difficult or time consuming to do some cooking. Plus I think it’s pretty cool that she’s located in Central Iowa, so I should if I choose to make something that she’s making, I should be able to find it here in Omaha. I’ve decided to look past the fact that she roots for the wrong team.

I’m a big fan of couponing. And love sites that do the work ahead of time so that I know where the best deals are ala http://www.slickdeals.net/ . Last year at Christmas, I got my brother-in-law Aerosmith Guitar Hero with a Guitar for over 50% because of this site. Considering I doubt he uses it much, it was probably a good deal. Since then I’ve also discovered http://www.hotcouponworld.com/ , which I like because they will have info about my local grocery store. It’s because of sites like these that I sometimes leave places like Walgreens or Target and only pay $1 for $20 worth of stuff. I love saving money, who doesn't?

Reusable bags

So, since I live in an apartment, I can't do a whole lot of recycling which annoys the daylights out of me. I heard that the average American uses between 250 and 300 plastic bags a year. That statistic about makes me want to throw up. Sometime last year, I started using recyclable bags and made it my goal this year to end up with less than 20 plastic sacks from the store. I admit that I periodically use them as trash sacks in my bathroom, but I have such a stockpile already that I really don't need more. AND as a bonus Hy-Vee gives me five cents per bag. I've gotten into the habit of just keeping a few in the car.  For months, I'd almost always ended up being checked out at Target by this little old lady who said, "We love green

people. I wish we gave a discount."

And then, the first week of October, I was at Target picking up a few items and the guy checking me out said, "And now, you get five cents off because of your bag!" Wahoo! While I appreciate the positive reinforcement and the extra savings, part of me wonders, would people be more apt to switch to reusable bags, if they were going to be charged for plastic sacks? I think Ikea charges for plastic bags, and i doubt it's hurting their business.

Mad Men

I love this show! If you aren't watching it, you're missing out - it's on AMC on Sundays. It's set in the early 60s and the clothes that they wear are awesome. I love the dresses. On top of that the stuff that you witness happening is hilarious. I'm not talking about plotlines and such, I mean things that nowadays would be socially unacceptable.  The show centers around an ad agency. Ah, big account coming in for their presentation and they're doing a Hawaiian theme? Then they serve mai tais and hog roast (okay maybe not a hog roast) but definitely the alcohol and sandwiches that would relate. Everyone has alcohol in their offices, and so what if it's only nine a.m., they just might need a drink.  Of course the women drink when they're pregnant and smoke. Heck, everyone smokes. A LOT. And drinking and driving? No. Big. Deal. Oh and I just remembered my favorite thing from a few episodes back - grandpa letting the granddaughter drive. Which sounds innocent enough - if she wasn't eight!!! With her brother in the backseat and she was driving them to school. The wife, Betty, of the main character, Don, had a baby recently and of course he waited in a room. All the phrases that they used is so entertaining. LOVE. THIS. SHOW. There's a reason it's won best drama two years in a row.