A Giveaway & Fun With Google

I just wanted to apologize to anyone who has posted a comment and for whatever reason, it didn't post.  This has happened a few times now.  I always approve all comments so I'm not sure why they don't show up.  The only time I wouldn't approve one would be if it were rude and/or offensive and so far, that hasn't happened yet.  Mostly I wanted to moderate the comments just so I didn't have to worry about the spammers.

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Mommy Lisa is hosting an incredible giveaway!  But don't feel like you need to enter or anything.  The more people that enter, the less likely I am to win. I'm only mentioning it so that I can be entered.  But seriously, check out all the amazing shizz she's giving away!  And then be happy for me 'cause *I* am going to win all that loot!!!  I've decided it's gonna happen and so it's going to!  So there's no need for you to bother with entering.

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I found this meme on Smoochiefrog's blog and copied it because it looked like it might be fun.  I hadn't seen it before and it's not like I had anything else going on so I did it. 

The rules are simple enough, you type your name into Google Search along with the given verb and check the results.

1.  "Sprinkles needs" a cupcake!
I'll go along with that!

2.  "Sprinkles looks like" crazy food.
Umm, okay?!

3.  "Sprinkles hates" no one but apparently Satan hates Sprinkles.
Which is just fine by me!

4.  "Sprinkles goes OR has gone" vegan and to court.
Not sure what I went to court for, didn't read the article.

5.  "Sprinkles loves" medicine.
Of all the things I love, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have put this one the list.  But I guess I do love it if it makes you feel better and helps you recover from whatever ails you.

6.  "Sprinkles (the cat) eats" bacon.
Alrighty then! 

7.  "Sprinkles has" a birthday party.
I haven't had a birthday party since my teens.  If I had one recently, I must've forgotten to invite myself.

8.  "Sprinkles works" on dieting.
Is Google implying I need to lose weight?  How rude!!!

9.  "Sprinkles lives" with her husband, four children and two dogs in their Chester Springs, PA home.
Who are these mystery husband and four children in PA that I've never met? 

10.  "Sprinkles died" in 1906 at the age of 93.
Captain Sprinkle, that is!  I hope he had a good life.

11.  "Sprinkles does" red velvet in vegan and gluten-free.
I do?

12.  "Sprinkles will" randomly select a winner in the Dallas Cowboys MVP Grand Prize contest.
How nice of me!  Good thing I Googled myself because I didn't know anything about this contest until now.  I guess they weren't going to let me know I needed to select the winner until just before it was time.

13.  "Sprinkles is" a tasty nerdcore treat.
Not sure what that means but good to know!

14.  "Sprinkles wears" red.
I read somewhere that you should wear red if you want to feel good about yourself so if I'm having a bad week, sometimes I'll wear it.

I added this one just because...

15.  "Sprinkles hears" that a group of rhinos is called a crash.
Hmm, ya learn something new every day!

I know you're all just DYING to play along so I've included the list for you. 

Type the following in Google Search:
1.  "[your name] needs"
2.  "[your name] looks like"
3.  "[your name] hates"
4.  "[your name] goes OR [name] has gone"
5.  "[your name] loves"
6.  "[your name] eats"
7.  "[your name] has"
8.  "[your name] works"
9.  "[your name] lives"
10.  "[your name] died"
11.  "[your name] does"
12.  "[your name] will"
13.  "[your name] is"
14.  "[your name] wears"
15.  "[your name] hears"

What are you waiting for?  Get out there and Google!!!

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

It's Friday which means it's once again time for Half Full Friday, my favorite day of the week, where I once again get to reminisce about all the things that made me happy in the past week. Eyegirl has returned from her wonderful wedding adventures but won't begin posting again until next week. However, if you want to join in the fun  (and I can tell that you really, really do!), please feel free to play along!

~I'm happy because...

I made a little extra gas money from my yard sale!

I got a card from Katie!

I got a postcard from Melly!

Chico's nails are finally all clipped! It was a struggle but we got it done.

I got to pet sit my mom's bird and fish again!  The fish isn't nearly as much fun but the bird is always entertaining.

We finally some got rain yesterday!  It's been a long time since we've really had much and last night, we got a real downpour.

My friend took me out to dinner to cheer me up!

Pretty much nothing has happened this week so get's right into this week's Blog of the Week.  I originally had another blog in mind for today but decided to use this one at the last minute instead.

Summer's Story

Summer suffers from  Dermatamyositis/RA/Lupus (Auto-Immune Disease) Multiple Connective Tissue Disease.  You may be asking yourselves what this is.  I've taken the definition directly from her blog.

Definiton of (DM) Dermatomyositis:  A chronic inflammatory disease of skin and muscle which is associated with patches of slightly raised reddish or scaly rash. The rash can be on the bridge of the nose, around the eyes, or on sun-exposed areas of the neck and chest. Classically, however, it is over the knuckles. When the characteristic inflammation of the muscle (myositis) occurs without skin disease, the condition is referred to as polymyositis.

Dermatomyositis is one of a group of acquired muscle diseases called inflammatory myopathies. The disease has a subacute (somewhat short and relatively severe) onset. It affects both children and adults. Females are more often affected than males. Dermatomyositis is characterized by a rash accompanying, or more often, preceding muscle weakness. The most common symptom is muscle weakness, usually affecting those muscles that are closest to the trunk of the body (proximal). Eventually, patients have difficulty rising from a sitting position, climbing stairs, lifting objects, or reaching overhead. In some cases, distal muscles (those not close to the trunk of the body) may be affected later in the course of the disease. Trouble with swallowing (dysphagia) may occur. Occasionally, the muscles ache and are tender to touch. Some patients develop hardened bumps of calcium deposits under the skin. Patients may also feel fatigue and discomfort and have weight loss or a low-grade fever.

If you want to read her story from the beginning, start here.  She talks about her tragic miscarriages, the birth of her beautiful daughter Kelcee, and the diagnosis of DM shortly after, in this post.

I love her amazing, positive attitude!  She refuses to let herself get down and depressed.  She knows she's just lucky to be alive (as we all are!) and absolutely will not let this disease to get the best of her.

Wordless Wednesday

*This is not my dog or my yard!

Eight Is Enough

Miss Katie was kind enough to tag me me and since I have nothing else to talk about (um yeah, 'cause I'm pretty sure you aren't really all that interested in hearing about my yard sale on Saturday), today seemed like a good day to play along.

The rules are simple enough:  Answer 8 questions, come up with 8 new questions and tag 8 people.

Here are my questions and answers:

1.  What is your favorite TV show?
Hmm...this is a hard one!  I watch a lot of tv but I don't really have a particular favorite anymore. 

2.  What is your hobby?
I used to read, make jewelry, write letters, shop, etc.  But now I just blog. 

3.  What is your favorite animal?
I love elephants!  And dogs and cats.

4.  What is your favorite vacation spot?
I really liked Seattle and Vancouver, BC when I visited there.  I also really liked Hollywood.  There was always something to do in Seattle and I loved how the stores in Hollywood all stayed open late. 

5.  What is your favorite name?
Jordan Taylor

6.  If you were stranded on an island, what 5 things would be on your MUST have list?
--First and foremost, my chi's
--Music and a way to listen to it
--Sunscreen
--Endless supply of food and drinks so I'm never hungry or thirsty
--Computer so I could keep in touch with friends and family

7.  Would you rather stay in or go out?
Depends on the mood.  I love to go out but I also enjoy staying home sometimes. 

8.  How many children do you want?
None!  I really don't have the patience for children and they annoy me quickly.  I do adore babies though!  I don't think I'd make a very good mom and I really have no prospects at the moment so I doubt I'll ever have any.

And these are your questions:

1.  Have you ever seen a ghost?  If you have, what's the story behind it?
2.  What is your most embarassing moment?
3.  What was your best job and why?
4.  What was your worst job and why?
5.  If you won the lottery, what would you do with the $?
6.  Have you met any celebrities?  If you have, what's the story behind it?
7.  What is your favorite childhood memory?
8.  What's your biggest regret?

Tag, you're it:
Zuzana   ~KS   Melissa   Tiffany   My Life In Purple   Kimberly   Meg   Mommy Lisa

Even if you weren't tagged, please feel free to play along.  I'd love to read your answers!

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

Eyegirl is on hiatus for the month of August but I've decided to continue with Half Full Friday in her absence.

~I'm happy because...

I got another McDonald's Wild Berry Fruit Smoothie yesterday!  Love 'em!

My boys got tons of goodies from Draco's Paw It Forward!

My mom gave me some of her yummy homemade fruit salad to take home!

I'm having a garage sale with some friends tomorrow!  Hopefully I'll make a little extra money.

A different friend invited me over for chicken tacos and to watch 'When In Rome' last night!

My bug bite seems to finally stopped itching every 2 minutes!  Now it only itches every 10, lol!

My chin zit is finally healing up!

I found this week's Blog of the Week awhile ago and have been enjoying it ever since.  I believe I read about it in the comment section of someone else's blog.  The name itself was enough to intrigue me so I just knew I had to take a look.

Shit My Kids Ruined

You don't have to be a parent to enjoy this website.  The subject matter is pretty self-explanatory and if you haven't checked it out yet, you're in for a real treat!  The site describes itself as, "The strongest visual birth control on the market today," and honestly, it's probably not too far off the mark.

It features pictures people have submitted of things their children have destroyed and most include a short explanation.  There's a spot on the site to submit your own photos too if you decide to.  It's meant to be all in fun and they specifically state in the sidebar that people who are mean, judgmental or there to offer a parenting critique are not welcome. 

The website originator is Julie Haas Brophy.  She created it after her son spilled a quart of black paint on the dining room rug. 

I've included a few of my favorite pictures for your viewing pleasure.

You might also enjoy the equally funny Shit My Pets Ruined.

Wordy Wednesday - Paw It Forward Edition

Shiver and Chico were the lucky recipients of Draco's Paw It Forward!  My boys and I were very excited to open the package and check out all their goodies.

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the pictures.  My camera was very cheap which equals very poor quality pictures.  I'm still learning how to use it and not being able to use the viewfinder doesn't exactly help.  If I get very close, the pictures are blurry; if I get too far away, then you can't see the item(s) very well.

Chico sniffing the envelope

Shiver's got to check it out too

Note from Draco

Shiver checking out the loot

Chico had quit playing with his toys because Shiver always stole them but he claimed this one as his own from the moment he saw it!

My boys both loved the chicken but weren't sure what to make of that purple thing

Yummy treats!

The boys and I would like to thank Draco and his mama for their generosity.  They got waaaaay more stuff than I had anticipated and they've enjoyed carrying the toys all over the house for the last few days.  I had picked them up yesterday to vaccuum and it didn't take long for them to pull everything out again.

I fully intend to continue the Paw It Forward tradition but I need to get a job first.  Once I have one, I'll be picking someone else to send goodies to.  My thought at this point is to pick one person and have maybe the first person who comments be another one but we'll see.

Did You Know I'm Versatile? Well, I Am!

George The Lad was kind enough to give me an award!  Woo hoo!  I feel all kinds of special and stuff now.

I love butterflies and even have one tattooed on my back so I was excited to get this one.

The rules are:

1)  Thank the person who gave you the award

2)  Share 7 things about yourself

3)  Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discoved and you think are fantastic

4)  Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award

So here goes!
 
1) Thank you so much, George!  I love it!
 
2)  This one was kind of hard.  I feel like you pretty well know everything about me although you probably really don't. 
*I have very sensitive teeth.
*I believe in ghosts and have seen two of them.
*The older I get, the clumsier I become.  (Is that a word?)
*I love, love, love gum!
*I'm sooooooo not a morning person!
*I'm allergic to bee stings.
*One of my favorite things to do is to wash the bedsheets and make the bed, take a long hot bath, put on a freshly laundered nightgown and climb into bed with my two dirty dogs.
 
I also did 7 things for my boys because I know a large portion of my followers have dog blogs.
--Shiver seems to be under the mistaken impression that my sole purpose in life is to pay attention to & play with him 24/7.
--Chico no longers plays with any of his toys because as soon as he does, Shiver comes along and steals them away because he's also under the impression that he's the King of ALL Toys.
--As soon as I sit down, Shiver immediately tries to get in my lap.
--Chico's nails are all black with the exception of 1.5 white ones.
--One of Shiver's most favorite activities is to "help" me make the bed after washing the sheets.
--Chico is three and I'm his third (and final) owner. 
--Chico's very sweet and laid back.  Shiver is hyper and scares easily.
 
3)  This was hard too!  It seems like all the people I wanted to give it to had just received it from someone else!  Since it's only for recently disovered blogs, that limited things a little bit.
Deborah     Doris     Draco     Guilty of Gossip     Luna     Mona     Shane Rocket     Dani     Sammy     Jenn     Petey     ♥♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥♥     Zona     Maggie     Lucy
 
4)  I'll do this one after this posts.
 
So there you have it!

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

Eyegirl is on hiatus for the month of August but I've decided to continue with Half Full Friday in her absence because I like having a written record of all the positives in my life.  It really helps to look back on them when I'm down.

~I'm happy because...

I colored my hair!

I got an award from George!  I'll be posting it on Monday.

My chi's are the lucky recipients of Draco's Paw It Forward!

My volunteer job is fun!

I had fun with friends this past weekend!

I got to wish upon a shooting star last night!

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and advice to my post on Monday.  I really do appreciate it.  I kind of felt bad afterwards though.  I just needed to vent, I really wasn't looking for sympathy although it probably seemed like I was. 

I still haven't heard anything back about financial aid for the 4 year university.  I've decided that's really the direction I want to go rather than the 2 year school.  Once I hear whether or not I've been accepted, I'm going to start applying for scholarships for additional financial aid.  Right now, they're just waiting on my high school transcripts and once they receive them, they'll let me know if I 've been accepted or not.  I've requested my transcripts already, just waiting for them to be sent and received.

This week's Blog of the Week is a fun one!  It's a relatively new website, just a week or two old.  The author has chosen to remain anonymous.  It's similar to Awkward Family Photos and People of Walmart so if you enjoyed those websites, you'll enjoy this one too!

Bad Yearbook Photos

The main difference between this site and AFP and POW is that many of the pictures are submitted by the readers themselves and several of them include personal anecdotes to go along with it.  The website describes itself as "Everything awkward about adolescence memorialized on the internet for the world to see."  If you're brave enough to send your picture in, there's a place on the site to submit it.

Some of the pictures really aren't that bad.  Then there's others that you can't help but laugh at or wonder what the heck they must've been thinking.  Sadly, there's too many pictures featuring my beloved 80's styles.

I've added a few of my favorites here for your viewing pleasure.

Source:  BYP

Wordless Wednesday

Just A Little Overwhelming!

I just wish I knew that everything was going to work out one way or another. 

I'd been considering going to a 2 year school to brush up on my office skills.  I've been in the banking industry since 2000 but most of it has been behind the scenes, with the exception of about 4 months as a Teller.  The majority of my banking career hasn't actually been in a bank branch and I've worried that applying for any kind of office job, the hiring manager might not realize that.  By having the schooling, I figured I'd be more likely to be considered for certain positions than I am now.

My thought process was that since I can't find a job right now anyways, I was hoping to live off grants for the time being and just focus solely on school for awhile.  Well, that didn't work out so well...  I only got $1200 in grants for 2 years.  I really thought I'd qualify for more.

So then I decided to go to a 4 year university near here.  A friend of mine goes to school there and makes enough in grant $ to not have to work.  Unfortunately, I'd called a week too late to be able to get into the upcoming semester.  They'd possibly make an exception for me if I could prove I'd been in the hospital or out of the country or had some other kind of extenuating circumstances.  I'm pretty sure they wouldn't make one just because I called a week too late for information. 

I've already registered and am just waiting to hear back about financial aid now.  The new semester doesn't start until January though and my unemployment runs out at the beginning of October.  I don't know how I'm going to be able to support myself between October and January so I'm freaking out a little.  Ok, a lot!  And then there's always the possibility that I still might not get enough in grants to live on.  My biggest fear right now is losing my house. 

I have so many questions and so little answers.  No wonder I can't sleep at night!

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

Eyegirl's blog is on hiatus for the month of August while she's busy getting married to The One but I'm continuing with Half Full Friday just because I'm very negative by nature and forcing myself to come up with things that have made me happy during the week helps me realize that maybe my life isn't always as bad as I think it is.

I'm happy I went to the classic car show this past Sunday!

I'm happy someone I had just barely met was nice enough to buy me an ice cream sandwich at the car show!

I'm happy I got a hair cut yesterday! 

I'm happy I've gotten to petsit my mom's bird and fish all week!  The fish isn't so exciting but the bird is always fun.

I'm happy I had a phone interview this week!

I'm happy I ran into an old friend yesterday!

I'm happy I found a new volunteer opportunity!

The phone interview went well up until I was asked what qualities a teller should have.  My mind went completely blank and alls I could think of was attention to detail.  Seriously, that's all!  I got a little annoyed that the interviewer lady kept asking me, "What else, what else?" and I had nothing else to say.  Of course, as soon as we hung up, I thought, "Helpful, friendly, accurate, assertive but not pushy, knowledgable," but the interview was over by then.  I really thought about calling back but decided my time was up and I'd done all I could.  If I hear back from them, great!  And if not, well...I won't be surprised. 

This has been an interesting week with friends!  Years ago I worked with a girl and she moved to Germany with her husband.  (He's in the military.)  Since then, we've kept in touch on and off through the years.  She's living in Guam now and I hadn't heard from her in awhile so I was checking her facebook page.  I found out through a posting that her daughter was hit by a drunk driver and her best friend was killed and the friend's husband is in ICU.  He just came out of a coma this week and is making remarkable progress.  Her daughter had 18 staples in her head, a fractured skull, over 100 stitches in her right arm, a shattered ankle, fractured ribs and numerous bruises all over her body.  After seeing pictures of the car, it's a miracle any of them survived!

Yesterday, I started volunteering.  I'm bored sitting at home all day every day and this will get me out and about.  I had hoped that maybe I might make some job contacts when I initially thought about volunteering but this particular job isn't gonna do it.  But it might look good on a job application!  The company that I used to go to for the job assistance (that really didn't provide any assistance at all) hands out free food once a week to the poor and the homeless.  I've never had to use this particular service but I'm aware I'm only weeks away from needing it.  I'll be helping to set up, hand out food and tear down/clean up every week.  So far, it's actually quite fun!  I was surprised at how grateful and polite people were.  And friendly too!  This will be a once a week activity and I'm actually really looking forward to going again next week.

Which brings me back to another friend!  I was shocked to see my very best friend from high school there!  I think she was just as shocked to see me too.  We'd lost touch so I didn't realize her life hadn't turned out so well.  We didn't get to talk for long because it would've held up the line.  I think she was a little embarassed to have me see her there picking up food.  I didn't tell her that I might be in line right behind her very soon.  It was so good to see her again.  The last time we talked, she seemed so different from the girl I knew.  And yesterday, I found that girl again; I just wish I found her in different circumstances.

Fiesty Three made a pretty cool badge yesterday.  I keep meaning to add it and Molly's and Shelby's badges to my sidebar but so far I just haven't seem to have gotten around to it.  I have no excuse other than pure laziness.

We have had so much sad news in the DWB community lately.  We are furry sad about Bear Bear and Dr. Dre.  We are also furry worried about our furiend Phantom.  We asked Moms, if she could help us do something about it.  She suggested that we start a DWB prayer chain for all of our furiends.  So, please join us in the Paws of Prayer circle by posting to your bloggies!

Which brings me to this week's Blog of the Week!  I've mentioned Skeletor before.  I've followed him from the beginning and have truly fallen in love with this sweet dog!  If you've kept up with his story, you know he isn't doing so well right now.  In an effort to bring more awareness to his situation, Wesley has created a new webpage dedicated solely to Skelly.

Skeletor, a rescued pitbull diagnosed with hearworms

It's a work in progress right now but in the future, he hopes it will be another way to help spread the word about him and his condition.

Just a short one this week because I've blathered on way too long already. 

Wordless Wednesday

And That's A Fact!

My weekend can best be described as positively dull!  I spent it hanging out with the chi's.  Oh, and at a classic car show on Sunday.  Which basically means I pretty much have nothing to talk about today.  So what's a girl to do?  Lucky for you, I have a back-up plan! 

Did you know:

A rat can last longer without water than a camel.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.  Yum!

The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springstein's 'Born in the USA.'

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

Dachshunds were originally bred in 1600 to hunt dachs, which is German for badgers.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

The almond is a member of the peach family.

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

A shrimp's heart is in its head.

Elephants are the only land mammals that can't jump.

A snail can sleep for three months.

Americans eat on average 18 acres worth of pizza every day.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twerp.

There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing their hands in jelly.

All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Source:  Absolutely Useless Trivia

Don't you just feel all smart and stuff now?  You're welcome!!!  I used to post trivia fairly frequently when I very first started blogging and didn't have any readers yet.  Unfortunately, I deleted a bunch of old posts which I regret now.