Finally Friday Fun - Stephen King's N.

I am not sure exactly how I stumbled upon it, but I have found another site that I just HAVE to check daily; the nishere site. If you are a Stephen King fan at all, you really should check it out. It seems he has written a bunch of short stories that will be available in September, and in what can only be described as marketing geneous, he has released one of those stories in a short mini-series comic book video format. You really have to see it to believe it, but it is really well done and actually quite captivating.

For more information on this series, you can check out the Press Release here. The series began on July 28 and will continue to realease at the one per weekday rate until August 29. Be warned, if you like Stephen King, this will be quite addicting.

Finally Friday Fun - Vacation Planning

I have started saving for a vacation. I am planning to go sometime next spring I think and will be taking DH, DD, DS and a DB. Now that I have put my savings plan in place, we need to decide on a location and go about getting passports.

I originally thought that Paris, France was at the top of our list, but it changes for me from moment to moment. I read one article yesterday on the top 10 cities to visit and I think that after considering Paris, I have decided on some where in Italy in Tuscany. I think we are going to rent a house for a week, one with a pool close to a little village.

This of course will all cost a small fortune, but it is a once in a lifetime trip for my husband and kids that I want to take before they fly off and are on their own. I also wonder if this is a bit slow and too low key for DS and think he may want more of an adventure, in which case I will have to consider another option I heard about this morning.

There is a place in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where you can swim with dolphins, go whale watching, or even do a canopy tour. I think DH and DS would actually like this option much better, but I am gonna go for Italy first.

Of course, I will probably be out-voted and we will end up in Florida, again, but I will get to Europe. and Mexico . . .eventually.

Finally Friday fun - With the Flu?

I have the flu today, and it is really kicking my behind! I got it last night after I got home from work and it had me in my bed by 6:30 pm. I felt like a truck hit me! I did not have any stomache trouble, it just started with a scratchy throat and by 6:30 had progressed to full body aches and a pounding head and feeling like I needed an ice shower.

I quickly took some medicine and went to bed. One dose didn't do it, but after taking another dose this morning and a nap I am much better. I feel like I have a head cold now, but the debilitating body aches are gone. What medicine did I use? The one that always seems to cure me within 24 hours, Vicks NiQuel Cold and Flu. I have been using it for years and it has never let me down.

A friend of mine wanted me to try some of her Colloidal Silver, but I was a bit skeptical. Even more so after reading about Paul Karason, you know, the blue guy, on some news sites.



How about you? How do you fight colds and the flu?

Finally Friday Fun - Book Review

I picked up the book Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs, because of its affiliation with one of my favorite TV shows; Bones on Fox. I had read that the book is not much like the show, and I will have to agree. Other than the main character’s name and the fact that she is a forensic anthropologist, there aren’t too many similarities.

Having said that, I admit that I did like this book and I really liked the main character Temperance Brennan . I liked this original Tempe much better than her TV version. I find the made for TV Tempe a bit shallow, and pretty unbelievable. I found the Tempe in the book, however, to be all too real. As with many really well done protagonists, this one comes complete with a fatal flaw that she realistically struggles with throughout the book. Not only does she possess this flaw, but I find that she struggles with it much the way I think a real person would.

If I have a complaint about this book, it would have to be the setting. I have only been to Canada once in my life and it was not Quebec that I visited, so it was very hard for me to relate to the scene the author setup. Luckily, much of this book takes place in the lab and in an apartment, so I was able to place Tempe in a more familiar place in my mind.

Let me also note that this book is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. It is a murder mystery, and actually, this particular book has to do with a serial killer and many of the scenes are pretty gruesome. I didn’t find the gore to be gratuitous in any way, and the story would have been much less real without it.

I find that in my two favorite pastimes, TV and reading, that I am looking for escape. I am not interested in real crimes, or reality TV . . . I want fiction baby. This book probably won’t win any awards, but then, not many of my favorite reads have. If you are looking for a CSI like read for a long winters day, this just may be your book.

Finally Friday Fun - Snow Day!

I made it. I am alive and the car is in one piece.

Today in Chicago the weather is treacherous, and the snow is coming down too fast for the plows to keep the roads clear. On a normal day I have a 30 minute commute to work, however, today that commute took 90 minutes. Luckily, I came in early to work on some computers so when I was slipping and sliding all over the road I was all by myself. But, I was all by myself on the road so I was mighty thankful when I got to work without getting stuck anywhere.

I will be heading on out early this afternoon, in hopes that I can get home before the rest of the people get on the road. I am also headed home early to enjoy a snow day with the kids. If you are going to live in Chicago, you may as well enjoy the weather when it is as crazy as this. Know of any good sledding hills?

Quick Friday Update

Here are just a couple of pictures of our week. Mom and Dad are still my most devoted readers, so this if for them.

Sunday night at the choir concert DD got to do a bit of acting and some singing. Not too bad for her first go. All of them did really well and it was a very nice program.

After a long week, DS had a swim meet last night and he also did quite well. He did 1 medley, the 20 lap free style (forget what that is called) he did the 200 meter breast stroke and another relay at the end. He was tired, but kept going, much like the Energizer Bunny. He loves it when I say that.

Finally Friday Fun - On Saturday

Friday came and went and I didn't update the blog. I was too busy.

I am knitting! Anyone who knows me knows that this is not something that I would normally do, but I am actually enjoying it.

I included on my bucket list a couple of days ago that I wanted to learn to sew, and I do. But in order for me to learn to sew, I am going to have to run into the local JoAnn Fabric Store and take some actual lessons or someone (most likely me) could really get seriously injured. It looks like February will be my month to learn to sew, as that is when the night classes are. However, if I get too into this knitting thing, I may just be too busy to making matching hats, mittens and scarves to sew until a bit later in the year.

This all started when I was shopping for stocking stuffers over at the Escape Adulthood site and saw this cute scarf kit and thought my DD may like it. She was less than impressed, and not wanting the kit to go to waste, I thought I may as well dig in. Worse thing that can happen is I get a funny looking new scarf.

I think this kit is a good one, but I did need to visit two other very helpful sites to get some videos of just what I needed to do with my hands and needles to make the scarf. First, I was able to do a Long Tail Cast-On by watching the featured video at KnittingHelp.com, and then I was able to continue with the knit stitch by watching this video over at VideoJug. What fun.

Finally Friday Fun - A Great Wine Site

I can't even remember why I ended up on this site, I think I was looking for a gift for a friend. But this site is really a lot of fun. It is an educational wine site by a guy that may live next door to you.


Wine Library TV is hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk who is a typical Jersey guy. If you don't know any Jersey guys, he is loud, opinionated, but somehow endearing. He is the Director of Operations at a wine store in New Jersey, which seems to be a family owned business. He has gotten som nice press recently, and been on Conon O'Brien and the Ellen Degeneres Show.



The best part about his site is that it is a video cast, instead of being a bunch of writing I have to try and make time for. He does a daily show, and I have only seen a few, but they are pretty good, and I have found that the information is worthwhile.



If you are looking for a gift and need some wine advice, or you just wish you knew more, check out this great site. I recommend starting with the link on the right under "things to check out" called "New to wine?" Enjoy!

Finally Friday Fun: YouTube Style

This has been a really long week. Lots of ups and downs with the kids, snow here in Chitown and we are in the midst of Christmas craziness. So, it is no great surprise to me that I somehow ended up over on YouTube watching videos this morning.

I started watching a StarWars Helpdesk parody, mostly because I am very familiar with what is known as "Helpdesk Hell." I watched a few of these StarWars shorts, but ended up stuck on this Muppets video that I remember all too well from when I was younger. This is just plain fun, now if I just had one of those cocktails from yesterday's posting . . .

Enjoy!

Finally Friday Fun

Friday fun for the next few weeks is most likely going to be shopping, and shopping tips. So on this last Friday before Thanksgiving, I am working on THAT shopping list.

Here is my menu for Thursday and some links for the recipes that I will be using.

Thanksgiving Menu:

Brined and Roasted Turkey from Emeril over at the Food Network

Gravy

Rolls

Mashed Potatoes

Brandied Sweet Potatoes from a search done on Family Oven

Pretzle Salad (am changing all references to Strawberry here to Cranberry)

Corn

Green Bean Casserole

And for Dessert:

Pumpkin Bars (will cut then top with a mini candy pumpkin for decoration)

Pumpkin Pie

How about you?

Finally Friday Fun

Another new feature and theme day: Finally Friday Fun. I am imagining a list of links and fun for Fridays. For now, I am thinking I will theme it each week with topics that I like, and will go from there.

Today as I commuted in to work, I was listening to Afterglow by Sarah McLachlan and thinking of things that make me happy, and I thought of riding my motorcycle. I am hoping that it will warm up just enough here in Chicago today for me to get a few moments in after work on my bike, if not today, then hopefully sometime this weekend. In honor of my happy thoughts this morning, I figured I would list here some fun motorcycle links, especially those dedicated to women bikers.


Illinois Free Rider Course - This is the absolute best thing I ever did by myself or for myself! Do this if you are even thinking about biking just a little bit! It is worth it. My class was over half women.

Women who Ride - A good starter site with tips and information.

Zappos.com - I got my first pair of Harley boots here for a great price, shipping was free and I had the boots the next day. . .Zappos is amazing. Here are the boots I want next (hint, hint).

Harley-Davidson - And of course, this is my next bike, for now anyway (hint, hint). You also have to like the fact that they have an entire section on their site just for women riders.



I am still looking for warm clothing so I can ride a bit longer in the fall and earlier in the spring, so if you have any sites to share please let me know.