Sparkle

Sparkle, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Things I Love Thursday

1. Strawberry and Champagne - Day 246, 2. Happy New Year !!!, 3. Sushi | Culinária, 4. Moleskineh

It's new years eve!, Coffee, cookies, rum balls, shortbread cookies, lobster, three day weekend (x 2!), turkey dinners, family, friends, Fluffy Kitties, Silly Hound Dogs, The Boyfriend, sugary martini/margarita mixes, Sundays spent in bed sleeping and watching Gray's Anatomy season 2, This, health, abundance, planning, goals, practice, patience, fuchsia, unexpected cash bonuses - especially ones that fall on the pay week where I'm missing a lot of hours due to illness, related: finding out that I had 2 payed sick days available when I thought I only had one - meaning I'm only missing 1 day of pay for my three days of voiceless-ness, new sweaters, parties, watching snow storms from inside the warm dry (WARM!) house, extra long lunches, the scent of vanilla, coming home to a fridge full of home made sushi - care of my awesome boyfriend, my new keyboard - it's loud and I love that, bubbles, fuzzy socks, writing.

Frozen Corn

Frozen Corn, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Favorites from Flickr

1. Let's play in the snow!, 2. bunny, 3. Day 358: Oh the cold of winter, and its effects upon me., 4. curious, 5. MAMA, AIXÒ ÉS EL QUE MENJO QUAN ESTIC SOL...  ^_^, 6. 63200008, 7. Tagged..., 8. 63200004, 9. Bro and Sis, 10. Things are not always what they seem..., 11. Miss Cherry Von Bomb, 12. 2009.360, 13. so cozy.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1317

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1317, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

This is hilarious. You should check out all of the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, but this is my favorite one so far.

My New Favorite Website: Regresty

First, let me says, I love Esty. There are a ton of creative and beautiful things to be found. There are also some really horrible, terrible, hideous things. Regresty showcase the worst of esty. Some of it is seriously bad. Like these Custom Made Magical Spinners. $45 for a scratched cd, a photo and some beads. and "other objects" whatever that means. Seriously. Also, this christmas tree ornament/magnet may only cost $3, but if I made it myself at least I'd get to eat the Popsicles. And this Handmade OAK Sculpted baby angel ornament is terrifying. Also, I'd says it's less "baby" then it is "old man", but that's just me. And finally, Do You Need Help with Idealizing is...well it's indescribable. Click on the link and read the whole thing. It's long, but that's part of the beauty of it. Regresty is good for a laugh, and who doesn't need a laugh on a Monday afternoon? Or whenever. Just a warning: Some of the posts are Not Safe for Work, so you might want to wait untill you get home. or get ready to scroll fast before anyone sees.

Week in Review, Week Ahead

Yay, Sunday! I'm in a particularly good mood, because this is my third day off in a row (which is always good!), the first of which was CHRISTMAS. Christmas is awesome. I got presents, I gave presents, I ate lots of good food. Life is good. And now I have a four day week ahead, followed by another 3 day weekend! The first of which is New Years day!

I found tons of cool things on line this week. Check it out:

Cracked shares 6 Terrible Names People are Trying to Give This Decade and shares one suggestion of their own, which I'm totally for. 2000-2009: The Dorkade. Pretty catchy, don't you think?

“You guys don’t know anything about gardening!”  - hilarious.

These cookies are shaped like Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwiches. They are ultra adorable.

Proof That Anything Can be Deep Fried. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I love looking at photos that make me both grossed out and hungry. Like this link, and almost everything on This is Why You're Fat.

A Pictorial Guide to avoiding Camera Loss Cute and So funny. "We Have Such a good time together, My camera and I...One time we took a photo of me in the bath...Sorry, I don't know why I showed you that." lol!

Sometimes, Mom is (actually, maybe, a little bit) right. Funny stuff from Passive Aggressive Notes

20 Powerful Beliefs That Will Push You Toward Success Great list, especially if you're feeling a little less then successful as the year pulls to a close.

This is the last week of the year! I'm going to take some time to reflect on the year past and make some goals for the future.

What are you doing this week?

Finch in the Snow

Finch in the Snow, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Things I Love Thursday

1. 353/365: I don't mind being snowed in with you ♥, 2. Untitled, 3. ♥ and friendship, 4. Dingo bel

It's Christmas eve!!!, Coffee, Christmas trees, Decorations, rice, Getting my voice back (YAY!!!!), Skullcrusher Mountain("Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?"), family, friends, holiday parties, giving love, three day weekends, kitties and puppies, chocolate, birds in the snow, food shaped like other food, pay day, trees, piles of pretty wrapped presents, cucumber slices, oranges, "I think I need more jumping in my life." <--this quote is cute and made my morning, cookies - especially at 8:30am! I don't know why, but they taste better early in the morning, Quick oats oatmeal, Oi! to the world, Christmas time (Oh Yeah) by Barenaked Ladies, photos of puppies in bowls of cupcake batter (Seriously), orange sweaters, fuzzy ultra soft fleece, rabbit pot pie, deer roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, a boyfriend who cooks me good food :), my fiber-optic Santa Christmas tree topper, Dogs with antlers & cats with Santa hats.

1. Um, cats actually happen to LOVE wearing hats, 2. ready and waiting..., 3. Warmest Holiday Wishes, 4. the cat in the hat

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all! :)

Review: Scotsburn Candy Cane Ice Cream

At first taste, I was underwhelmed. It's exactly what you'd expect from Candy Cane ice cream - that is, vanilla ice cream with red and green candy cane bits in it. But the candy cane pieces were...I don't know how to describe them really. Goopy? Yes, goopy on the outside, and hard in the middle. Otherwise, it was fine, but just kind of....meh. You know what I mean? It did grow on me more after the second bowl (on a different day, not two bowls one after the other). I think what is needed was some chocolate bits. That would have taken it past the meh stage, into pretty awesome.

Overall, I wouldn't buy it again. At least, not untill next year when I forget that it wasn't anything spectacular.

My New Favorite thing ever: Skullcrusher Mountain

Back at the beginning of December I stared this post at Mental_Floss in google reader for later, because I was at work and we can't watch videos. It's a song by Jonathan Coulton called Skullcrusher Mountain that they described as the "Sweetest Evil Genius Song Ever". I didn't get around to watching it untill this past weekend, which is too bad because it's the best song I've heard in a long time. It's a love song from an evil genius, and it's absolutely brilliant. The best part is definitely the half-pony half-monkey monster verse. Check it out:

I've had it stuck in my head pretty much constantly since the first time I heard it, which normally would annoy me, but I'm finding it puts me in a good mood.

PB and Apple Jelly

PB and Apple Jelly, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Welcome

Welcome, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Week in Review, Week Ahead

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. This week, it's a good thing I didn't have any big plans because On Tuesday I came down with a cold that kicked my ass. I know, I said that last time (did I? I don't know, I think i might have), but this one...Not only did it have this terrible sore throat and hacking cough, but it also made me loose my voice. I was off work three days (wed., thurs. and fri.). And then it was the weekend. I'm still recovering, but I'm mostly better. I wanted to get some exercise -nope. I wanted to sleep well - that didn't happen either. I did take lots of pictures. We have our christmas tree up and all our decoration about so I had lots of inspiration on the days that I didn't spend almost entirely in bed feeling miserable. One out of three...better then nothing.


Some cool things I found this week:

Leggo My Eggo! is a gruesome and incredible piece of pancake art. Yeah, you heard me: PANCAKE ART. How cool is that? There's also a gory Mouse trap and a full breakfast - bacon eggs and toast! - all out of pancakes. Awesome. via serious eats

Breaking News: Gingerbread town massacre

What'd your True Love give to you? (and can you name them all in 5 minutes?)

How to take a Great Photo for Your Social Media Avatar 

Oh Hai!! Uz eatin dis??  Raccoons sure are cute, too bad they're mean. Also, I wish they'd stop knocking down my bird feeders.

This week I'm focusing on getting better and then it's Christmas! I've got a couple of presents to wrap and that's all that I have to do before Christmas. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Video

It's friday! As I just posted on twitter, I got up this morning, showered, got dressed, did my hair and make up, and then called in sick to work because my voice, although better then yesterday, is still pretty much non-existent. I thought I'd go in and work for as long as I could, but after talking to the boyfriend for a few minutes I realized that I'd probably get there, take one call and then have to leave, and I'd barely make enough money to cover the gas there and home. So now I'm up and showered and no where to go. Which makes it a perfect time to go through all the things I stared in google reader when I was at work to save for home. It's mostly videos, since we can't watch videos at work (and even if we could, there are no speakers on our computers). One of the first ones I found was this one, and it is AWESOME. I found it from a link on Mental_Floss to this The High Definite post. Youtube user VadoskiN created this video by taking the best part of 50 movie trailers and combining them in to one incredible action packed monstrosity. Check it out.

Relax

Relax, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

I have no Words

So, I've got another cold, and this one has the added benefit of causing me to lose my voice. Which is terrible for anyone, but for someone whose job it is to talk on the phone it's really not good. Can't talk, can't work. Can't work, don't get payed. You see my predicament. So, I've been scouring the internet for tricks and tips to help speed my recovery. What I've found is that a lot of the tried and true remedies may actually be myths.

Almost every advice site suggests tea with lemon and honey.  But according to this ABCnews article, that's not really a good idea. Tea and lemon are both acidic, and that can cause acid reflux, which is not good for your vocal chords. They do however, say that herbal and caffeine free teas are alright, as warm drinks can be soothing.

Another thing that's suggested on several sites is some form of alcohol. The two most common I see are a Hot Toddy or a shot of whiskey. However, alcohol dehydrates you and that's the opposite of what you want to do. In fact, what you SHOULD be doing is drinking lots and lots of water. Keep your throat ultra hydrated. it's also suggested all over the place that you use a humidifier. I don't have a humidifier, though, so that's not really a help to me.

So what can I do, other then drink lots of water? The only other tried and true method to getting you voice back is to not talk and definitely don't whisper (old friends who took voice lessons used to tell me this all the time. It strains your vocal chords and can make things worse, not better). So I'm staying silent today.


image by addictedimage

Sunset, Moon Rise

Sunset, Moon Rise, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Week in Review, Week Ahead

Happy Sunday! This week, tired of being..well, tired all the time, I've been working on my sleep habits. I put my fleece sheets on the bed for winter. Man, I love those sheets. If you live in chilly climates, I would highly recommend that you get some. They're so soft and warm and fuzzy. I've also started a sleep journal. You know, what time I went to bed, how many times I woke up, how I felt in the morning...that sort of thing. I don't know if it's helped so far, but I'm hoping it will give me insight into my sleep patterns. I'd linked to these tips for better sleep, which I've been keeping in mind this week. I've been getting at least some exercise everyday. I've cut out caffeine after 5pm. I've stopped drinking water after 8pm...things like that. Has it helped? I don't know. Maybe. It hasn't hurt, that's for sure.

What cool things did I find on the internet this week? Well.....

10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy Sure, a lot of the tips here have been given time and time again. I find that a lot on Copyblogger. But it's written in such a way that it's still interesting and relevant. I don't know how they do that. My favorite part is the section on Brevity. "You probably aren’t reading this article exactly from top to bottom are you? In fact, you’re probably not even reading this sentence." lol

12 unrecognizable before and after views of cities is unbelievable. Instead of trying to describe it, I'll suggest just clicking on the link. via Nubbytwigglet.com

7 Horrifying Aircraft Landings (in which no one died)

If I've learned anything from the internet... - This made me giggle and it involves cats. Yay!

Speaking of cats, It's a Christmas lolcat! and he's wearing a sweater!

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy themed wedding programs? Best thing ever!

This week, I have no grand plans. I'm going to get some exercise, take lots of pictures and sleep well. Sounds simple enough!

Lip Relief

This morning, my lips were hurting. I don't know if it's just because it's winter or what, but it was not cool. I have in my possession two different things of lip stuff - Blistex Lip Infustion Cherry Splash & Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - that were both just making it worse. The Burt's Bees stuff has peppermint oil in it, so that makes sense, but I don't know what the problem with the Blistex stuff was. So anyway, I went on a search of my house for some other kind of lip balm. I must have some somewhere, but damned if I could find it. What I did find was this little can of Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. I flipped it over and read through the ingredients. It was mostly things like almond oil, wax, lemon peel oil, cocoa seed butter...things that did not seem like they would kill me if I put it on my lips (in fact, it sounds a whole lot healthier then a lot of the processed foods I regularly eat, but that's a whole other kettle of fish). Also, I was a little desperate. So I slathered it on my lips. INSTANT RELIEF. My lips felt better. Not only that, but I braved the icy winds (seriously, according to the weather network it feels like -16°C out there...I believe it!) and crowds (which were surprisingly not too bad) to go get some christmas shopping done. Two hours later on my way home my lips felts a little waxy but they still didn't hurt. I know I'd have had to reapply any lip balm I've ever tried before by then.

Now, I'm not saying that you should run out and buy this for all your hurting lip needs. It's not formulated for (and probably not tested for) that, so I can't tell you if it's actually safe or not. I'm just saying, if you're desperate for relief and willing to take a chance...this will do the trick.


What's your go to product/trick for hurting lips?

Bacon Cheeseburger

Bacon Cheeseburger, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Holiday Excitement!

I just found out that I'm not working on either Christmas Day or New Years Day! I'd expected to have to work at least one of them, if not both, so this was an awesome surprise. What a way to start my Friday! Not only that, I'm off at 4:30pm on both of the Eves, so I shouldn't miss out on any Holiday fun! I'm so excited, that I decided to celebrate by creating a round up of awesome Christmas-y Holiday-ish photos! Fun!

1. holiday helper, 2. Merry Christmas!, 3. Star of wonder, star of light !, 4. Xmas 2009, 5. Merry Christmas to all my Flickr Friends, 6. Sweet Heart, 7. Snowflakes and sprinkles bring sweet dreams of Christmas, 8. Untitled, 9. Christmas baubles, 10. Untitled, 11. Day 127/365 - Lonely Tree Bench Monday, 12. Teddy and Honey, 13. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 'tiz the Season! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ What have we here? ~ Christmas Kitty, Good Cheer!  Happy Holidays, Everyone ! ! !

Here's a Christmas Photo that I took in 2007:

image link

Look how happy Santa is!

Last year I must not have been in a very Christmasy mood (probably because last year I was scheduled to work BOTH Christmas AND New Years...) because this was the only Christmas-type photo I from last year I could find on flickr:

image link

I can't wait to get the tree up and decorated so I can start taking photos for Christmas 2009!

Are you in a Christmas/Holiday Mood yet? Got any good photos to share?

Things I Love Thursday

1. A Neo-Rockwellian Christmas, 2. Pink Frosting & Sprinkles., 3. Freshly Fallen, 4. Noël au jardin...!!!

Coffee, fleece sheets, beer, sleep, english muffins, corn, mushrooms, salad, fuchsia, scarves, freshly fallen undisturbed snow (even though I HATE the snow, it sure is pretty when it's fresh), being able to stay INSIDE while it snows outside - not going to work, or the store or anywhere at all, pay week!, Getting my presents for my brother and sister-in-law all mailed off (December 10th! The earliest I've ever gotten it done. I am very proud of myself....next year I'm shooting for a single digit day), Having the rest of my christmas presents to buy mostly figured out (now I just have to buy them...and wrap them...) Jasmine & Memo & Parker, Big Golden Retrievers named Casey, Mom and Dad, The Boyfriend, cardigans, exercise, long sleeves, that we're getting our tree this weekend!, looking at christmas lights(holy crap, could I mention christmas any MORE times today? lol), books and reading, one photo project winding down and another about to start, planning, Green Tea, Dreaming about buying a new pair of awesome boots, dark green, Mental_Floss, Oi! to the world by The Vandals (& also the No Doubt version), getting an extra 15 minutes on my lunch break - even if I'm only going to use it to sit around and surf the internet, purple, cards covered in sparkles and stars and silvery swirls, basmati rice, sprinkles.

Favorites from Flickr

1. su•shi•ba, 2. _MG_4088, 3. Untitled, 4. Sam-ta Runs, 5. _MG_8988_3, 6. Kitten, 7. "I smells a peanut!" Bagel, 8. Day 127/365 - Lonely Tree Bench Monday, 9. P A R A S O L, 10. Star Light Star Bright, 11. Christmas is a time when you get homesick, even when you're home, 12. breakfast, 13. Gallows  - Warped tour Uniondale

My New Favorite Website: Ugliest Tattoos: A Gallery of Regrets

I've seen a lot of awesome tattoos out there, especially on the internet. I don't have any myself yet, but I really enjoy looking at tattoo pictures. I think I like looking at terrible tattoos the most though. Something about the absolute cringe inducing horror appeals to me. I'm not sure what that says about me, but whatever. Ugliest Tattoos: A Gallery of Regrets is full of really terrible tattoos and poor choices. (Warning! Some of the entries are NSFW. All of the following links should be OK, but...yeah. Just a warning.) Things like the Velveeta tattoo and this Party Time Hippo riding a hot dog. And the almost always ill advised face tattoo. And this very clever tattoo. And Whatever the hell this is supposed to be. I think my favorite, though, is this one. It is absolutely awful and awesome all at once. I'd actually seen it months ago on another site, and I laughed for like 15 minutes. And then I had a craving for canned pizza. Mmmmm.

Do you have a favorite tattoo photo (Awful or Awesome)? Share it in the comments!  

Week in Review, Week Ahead

Another week gone. Where did the time go? This week, I was supposed to finish cleaning my closet, bake something and do all three sets of push ups. I did one set of push ups, and then I slept weird and hurt my back. I know - excuses excuses. The other two things...no excuses there. I just didn't do them.

Some cool things I found this week:

The No-Budget Diners' Guide: How to Survive on Dirt, Bugs, Bark and Leather  Mmm, dirt. Sounds appetizing. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, though. An interesting read, for sure.

Here's A list of Common Misconceptions

In case you were wondering, This is a Pond. Also, remember to look under your vehicles for penguins!

Over the past week, I've been feeling really run down and tired. It doesn't seem to matter if I go to bed early, on time or later then usual, I wake up feeling tired and sore and run down. Not fun. So this week I'm working on getting better sleep. The first thing I did was clean all my bedding and put my warm, cuddly fleece sheets on. If that isn't conducive to good sleep, then I don't know what is. Also, WebMD gives these 10 tips for butter sleep:

1. Cut caffeine
2. Avoid alcohol as a sleep aid
3. Relax before bedtime
4. Exercise at the right time for you
5. Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and comfortable
6. Eat right, sleep tight
7. Restrict nicotine
8. Avoid napping
9. Keep pets off the bed
10. Avoid watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed

So, although I may not follow their advice to the letter, I will keep it in mind. By the end of this week, I hope to be well rested and ready to face my goals, rather then putting every thing off and procrastinating because I'm feeling tired and cranky.

How was your week? What will you be working on in the week ahead?

photo by me

Supper

Supper, originally uploaded by deedoucette.

Colorful Inspiration: Black and White and Grey All Over

Usually, when I'm looking for inspiration I head straight for the bright colors. Stunning greens, brilliant blues, fuchsia, bronze, chartreuse, teal...you get the picture. Sometimes, though, it's the absence of color that really gets those creative juices flowing.

  1. in da hood, 2. Tommy, 3. There is a God Somewhere, 4. grey is the new black, 5. after the snowfall, 6. La mala educación, 7. "oh, did you want to use your chair???", 8. Dandelion Clock (version), 9. this is Roy... Roy the killbot, 10. a thin fog ..., 11. Nephew Dante's First Birthday, 12. Down To The River To Pray, 13. Shades of grey

Don't get me wrong, I love color, but it can be distracting. Take it away, and you're left with patterns you never would have noticed otherwise. You can let your imagination run wild, add your own colors. What if that part was red? What if this part was purple?  The only limits are the ones you place there yourself.

Things I Love Thursday

1. Hello Jello!, 2. putting lot socks, 3. Ice Cream Cake, 4. Paper Lanterns

Coffee, smiling, donair panzerottis, cuddles, Chinese food,  The Sims 3 World Adventures (obsessed!!), exercise, Falling back in love with TV shows I'd all but forgotten about (Re-watching Crossing Jordan - Love!), fluffiness, stacks of rings, sparks, christmas lights, ideas, tinsel-y garland, bright green, ice cream cake, salad w/ bacon Caesar dressing, watching the birds, family, friends, jello shots, heavy warm sweaters, hoodies, argyle, sleep, curling up in bed, factoids, history.

Favorites from Flickr

1. лужа......., 2. but today, 3. OMG !, 4. утро.....№2, 5. So N.E.E.T, 6. .4122, 7. busy, 8. My purple all star for the first time at the park, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. away we go, 12. Orange (365/340), 13. SPT 11-19-09

A Second Haiku for the First of December

It would seem that I

spoke much too soon this morning

The snow has started


  





image by Bah Humbug

A December First Haiku

Happy December! 
Drizzle, Rain, Gloomy Weather
At least it's not Snow!









image by maistora