S.O.S. - Raft Ahoy!

I moved out of "dorm" living in May. I technically lived in an on-campus apartment, with a bathroom and kitchen and all those fancy amenities, but in many respects it was still a dorm. For instance, I still got to sleep on a "fancy" twin extra long mattress which was graciously provided to me by residence life.

Somehow, a few times, I managed to get a couple of semi-comfortable mattresses. Generally, however, they sucked. Nevertheless, I survived sleeping on their sucktasticness.

Then, in May, I moved out of college dorms to a real apartment. The only problem that accompanied this was that I no longer had college supplied furniture. I pieced together random bits and pieces of things, but, a bed is expensive. So, I invested in an gigantic air mattress.

This was a temporary fix. I figured eventually I would get a real bed. At first it wasn't the worst situation. Fairly comfortable and I only had to pump it full of air every now and then. And it was easy to move. I just deflated the thing and stuck it in a box. Ta Da!

However, I am now beyond sick of sleeping on a life raft. I'm waving the white flag. I've put up the S.O.S. I finally got my taxes filed and as soon as I have that refund money in my little paws, I will be buying myself a new bed. I look forward to not having to put my sheets back on every day because they have fallen off. I won't fall into the middle in a dent.

The only downfall is that if my apartment ever becomes a river, I will need a different life raft.

Commercials-My Strange Sense of Humor

Tonight as I was watching American Idol, I saw one of those commercials that made me think, "Hmm...that's odd. Kinda funny." That got me to thinking about commercials I really find hilarious. Typically they're really dumb commercials. The ones that are SO dumb that you can't help but finding them hilarious. Therefore, I dedicate tonight's blog to those commercials that I find memorable in some way or another. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I'll start with the commercial that both confused and amused me tonight. Miracle Whip. Which side are you on?

The next two commercials are a staple when it comes to my friend Lindsey and I. The first one combines a great cartoon and some tasty fast food. Spongebob and Burger King. What a winning combination.

Ahh...the memories of watching TV and quoting Spongebob No Pants. Lindsey and I also shared a ridiculous love of this lovely gem. Anyone want a Starburst? Berries and cream for you?

Creepy isn't he? I'm sure there are many other memorable commercials. However, my brain is currently shutting down. If you can think of any other gems I'll try to add them to the list.

Mysterious Avocados

I have recently starting going to a new grocery store. The tiny town I live in has the charming grocery store, Bill's Food Mart, but I have only gone there once. After that shopping experience I have refused to go back unless I really need to pick up a last minute item in a pinch. It's a small and over-priced local grocery store, and I won't spend more money on off-brand items than I would for name brand at another store. 

I used to go to Pick N' Save in the town I work in. However, that's another small town and includes all the perks of small town price gouging. So, I've started going to Woodman's in Madison. The first time I went to that store, I felt like I was taking my life in my own hands. Never, I repeat, NEVER, go to Woodman's on a Sunday afternoon. You're lucky if you can even move your cart around. There are people everywhere. Honestly, you'd have thought that there was going to be some sort of nuclear apocalypse the way people were pushing and shoving. Heaven forbid you try to push a cart somewhere! 

Knowing what I learned about shopping on a Sunday, I went there today, a Saturday, at dinnertime. I thought this would be a safer bet, and even though it was busy, I didn't wait in line to check out, and I was able to push my cart freely in the aisles. I went about my business and then I went home. I hauled my bags up to my second story apartment and then began putting things in the refrigerator and cabinets as I cooked a frozen pizza. I want to make fajitas this week so I had some peppers in my bag and I bought an avocado for them too. Everything tastes better with avocado. 

As I'm pulling various bags of produce out I pull out a bag with four avocados in it. I stare at it confused. Four? I bought one avocado. Either the one I bought just multiplied or someone stuck a bunch of avocados in my cart. Sure enough, I found the single avocado that I picked out, and continued to stare at the four fruits I had unknowingly paid for. I've become the victim of a shopping avocado dropping. Now I guess I need to make some guacamole or something equally as delicious because I've got five ripe avocados. Anyone want to bring over some chips and have a fiesta? 

S.A.D. -The Other Half of Valentines Day

I don't recall ever liking Valentine's Day. I probably did when I was in elementary school, when it meant we were going to have a party and I got to eat a bunch of sugar. I liked sugar, in fact, I still do. Then I got cupcakes and didn't have to learn multiplication tables. That made Valentine's Day fun. 


That being said, now that I'm older I don't recall really enjoying Valentine's Day. My college roommate never liked it either, though she was usually in a relationship when it rolled around. I, however, with the exception of a short lived relationship last year, have always been single this time of year. Valentine's Day has a way of making you painfully aware of your singleness. Tiffany was always amused at my nickname for today-Singles Awareness Day. 


I'm convinced that on no day more than today, I've been made painfully aware of being single. It's as though the entire greeting card industry gangs up on bunches of single people as if to mock and say, "Nah nah nah nah, no one loves you." 


That being said, all the lovely-dovey people out there ooing and ahhing about how much you love your significant other, to you I say, "Lucky you." However, for the sake of all of us singles in the world, please, shut up and oogle over each other in private. We just don't care to hear it. 

The Longest Shortest Month

It's February in Wisconsin. It's only the second month in the year, but it's about the 5th month of winter. It's been cold, below zero in fact, and it's been dark. It seems to be there comes a point during February every year where I just run out of patience with winter. I've come to the conclusion that I've reached that point. 


My dad and I hit the trails this past weekend on the snowmobiles. It was a really nice ride. The trails were well snow covered in most places, and we drove over very little dirt. We knew if we wanted to get another ride in this year, yesterday was our last chance. As we were coming back to where we trailered the sleds, it started to snow. I'm not talking about a few flakes here, either. This was huge cotton candy like snowflakes. As we were driving along, I caught myself thinking, "Isn't this pretty? It's like we're in a snow globe!" And then I realized that winter isn't over, and I'm ready to be done with it. 


February is technically the shortest month of the year. It's only got twenty-eight days. I'm quite certain that it feels like the longest month though. It's supposed to be warm this week with temperatures in the forties. I need to make sure to remind myself not to get too attached though, we've probably still got another snow storm to look forward to. 


Boo.  

That Damn Tape

I recently started toying with the idea of listening to a "book on tape" while I was running at the gym. I was getting tired of the same music that I listen to every time I was on the machines. However, for years I've had a painful hatred of audio books. I blame my 10th grade ALA teacher who made us listen to A Separate Peace, Animal Farm, and Julius Caesar on tape. They were always read by boring old men who had very little inflection in their voice are read too slow. Meanwhile, I'd be staring at the page knowing that if I were reading the book on my own I'd be about thirty pages ahead of that damn tape. 

Because of my disgust toward audio recorded literature, I decided that my idea to listen to a book instead of some heart-pumping tunes in the gym was probably not worthwhile. Then I saw a commercial for a free subscription to Audible, a part of Amazon.com. This caught my attention. I signed up and was able to get a twenty-six dollar audio book for free. Apparently having someone read the book to you is as expensive as actually purchasing the text copy. Who knew. 

The book I got is called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Maybe it's because I don't have the book physically in front of me now, but I am loving listening to this book. It's long too which means I'm definitely getting my free book's worth. I'm primarily listening to it while I run, but also have listened to it on long car rides. It's great! I've found a great new way to multi-task. In addition this book is fabulous. So whether you read it in hardcover or listen to it on your iPod, I highly recommend it! 

Does It Really Get Any Better Than a Snow Day?

The snow day. When I was in school it was a magical experience. I would wake up extra early and sit in front of the T.V. to watch the school closings slowly creep by on the bottom of the screen. One by one they would tick away until I saw "Green...Lake." Seriously, I'm pretty sure kids in Green Lake never had to go to school while in Green Bay we would fight the blizzard-like conditions and drifting snow to drag ourselves to school. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have time off from time to time, but Green Lake was always flashing on that screen. Perhaps I was just bitter about the situation. Perhaps I still am.

When I got to college, snow days still had that same magical appeal. It meant not going to class, sleeping in extra long, and hunkering down in the dorms with everyone else for a day of ridiculousness. I mean really, what can a couple hundred college kids crammed in one building do for a day but cause trouble? I recall my first snow day as a freshman waiting two hours for Chinese food to make its way to us and the poor delivery man who nearly wiped out in the door way in his black moon boots straight out of the 80s.

One thing I don't think that kids in school realize is that the teachers want there to be a snow day as much as they do. Tonight I got the "phone call" from the Superintendent. The really happy one that says, "School is closed for Wednesday." I couldn't have been happier. Not only do I get a free day off of work tomorrow, I know before 5 a.m.. So, I don't have to wake up early and then try to fall back asleep. No alarm clock for me tomorrow. So tonight, I can relax on the couch without worrying about doing any real productive work and tomorrow I can take it easy as well. Sounds pretty fabulous to me. Happy Snow Day!