It's Been A Long Week....

Soooooo, it's been a week since I've posted...one very long week.

It's been a week full of sickness, doctor's visits, church events, wintry weather, school delays, school closings, and (of course) loads upon loads of work. See? Tons of stuff!

Quick Recap [I may find the time to expand on a few things later...maybe]:

Gesundheit!!

- Thanks to my kiddo's recurring allergy problems [boo, genetics!], he was the unfortunate recipient of an ear infection last week. Luckily, I was able to get him an appointment with his doctor rather
quickly and he was back to himself in no time. As crappy as an ear infection is, we finally found a medication that will be useful when allergy season arrives [several medicines have been tried and failed...thankfully, this one doesn't have 'mood/personality' changes as a common side-effect!].

- My parent's church hosted a weekend for Junior High youth this past weekend. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, I'd agreed to a pretty significant role [the preacher asked me about it while we were standing in line to get soup and sandwiches after the service a few weeks ago...I was hungry, there were sandwiches....I shouldn't be held accountable for things I agree to when pondering sandwich selection!].

The weekend ended up being phenomenal! I honestly think that I may have gotten more out of the weekend than some of the Junior High kids did [though, I hope that they did get just as much from the weekend as I did...]. At this point in my life, I shouldn't find things like this surprising anymore, and yet...I still find myself in awe of God's capability to use unlikely situations to bring me back from my [mostly self-induced] melancholy haze.

I can already tell that this topic alone could manifest several posts, so I'm just going to roughly summarize: this kids were amazing, spending time with people that I'd forgotten were my friends was something I'd needed for quite some time, hearts were touched, tears were shed, some spiritual lives were awakened for the first time, other spiritual lives received the revival that they'd been sorely needing...songs were sung, skits were performed, and hilarious inflatable sumo suits were worn in the Fellowship Hall! It was a good weekend...

- Alabama got a hefty dose of winter weather over the past week...Hamilton got 12' of snow! Pretty sure that 12' in one day is a lot, even by Northern standards! As could be expected, there was a lot of overreacting to the snow and ice...just about every day this week, school was delayed or cancelled. After the "Snowpocalypse" of last year, I guess the overreaction can be justified. Things are supposed to be much warmer this weekend...highs in the mid- to upper-sixties! Welcome to Alabama, home of the craziest weather patterns ever!

Soooo, that was my week, in a nutshell. Throw in some 3DS Ocarina of Time and Big Hero 6 and that'll do it! Hopefully, I'll be back to posting regularly soon!

Behold! The terrifying wrath of the spurned Cuckoo!

No Gift Registries Needed!

Evidently, there is some confusion about what is considered 'proper etiquette' when it comes to housewarming parties...

- Who throws the party? The homeowner? Friends? Family? Some awkward combination of all three?

- What about gifts? Should the homeowner flat-out expect gifts? Should there be a registry? What sort of gifts should be given?

- What kind of party should it be? An 'in-and-out' sort of thing where guests can come and go an their leisure? An event with a definitive starting time? Should it be more formal or more casual?

Traditionally, a housewarming party is thrown within the first 3 months of moving into the new home. I'm thinking that there's probably a good amount of leeway on the exact timing, but I think it wouldn't be the best idea to host a housewarming party if you've already been in the home for more than 6 months...keep in mind that the housewarming party is supposed to be an event celebrating your new home. That being said, the timing should be somewhat after you have settled in and before your home becomes the hangout hub for your buddies...what would be the point in throwing a housewarming party if all of your friends and family are used to you living there? [Just my personal take on the event...]

As far as who should throw the party...

I think it would be best if the new homeowners throw their own party...but if there are some awesome family members or friends who would love to do it, I don't think that there's anything wrong with letting them organize the event. However,  I do think that it is a must that the party be organized with the correct intent! Housewarming parties should not be done with the implicit intention of getting gifts. [Same could be said for a wedding. A wedding does not need to happen if the only aim is to get presents!]

It is important that people remember that the purpose of a housewarming party is to welcome your friends and family to your new home...the purpose should not be to fill the new home with new stuff!!

When it comes to the gifts...I've seen mixed thoughts on whether someone should register for gifts, but the overall thought is that creating a registry for a housewarming party is not the proper thing to do. If there are a few items that the new homeowners could really use, then it would be appropriate for those items to be mentioned if a guest asks first...Guests will likely bring small, appropriate gifts without any prompting [Wine, house plants, kitchen towels, etc...]. Never, under any circumstance, is it appropriate to list the gift preferences or registry on the invitation! [Seriously guys, that's just tacky...] So, do keep that in mind.

I think that new home owners would find it best to have a 'drop-in' mentality about their housewarming party. This would allow for guests to stop by and visit without them feeling obligated to stay throughout the whole event. I think you would get a much better guest turn-out this way.

There is a ton of information on etiquette and housewarming themes...check out Pinterest if you're looking for more, specific information.

Okay, that's all...that's all the 'domesticated woman' stuff that I care to type out for now...

Next post won't be as naggy, promise!

Some People Are Just Jerks...

What is this world coming to?

"Muahahaha!" - Mr. Sneaky Raccoon

I'm pretty sure that if you look back over the history of man, for as long as people have been living together in some sort of organized society, there have been people who knowingly take advantage of other people....which is ridiculous. How are people okay with taking advantage of others?!?

I just don't get it, I guess. I don't think I could sleep at night if I knew that I'd stolen from someone else...

Why bring this up?

I was watching the local news this morning and there was a story about a few people running some sort of scam operation a few towns over...people were soliciting magazine subscriptions and asking for monetary donations so that magazines could be donated to local hospitals. A lady called the local authorities reporting the suspicious behavior of the young man that was going door to door selling these magazine subscriptions. After a quick search, it was found that the company that is supposedly selling these magazine subscriptions has been in the scam game for quite some time. [Give 'Midwest Circulation, LLC' a quick search...]

A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by the same people [or at least people working for the same 'company']. I'd gone to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and the guy approached me while I was looking for some cough drops for my kiddo.

He talked really fast and was stingy with details about why exactly he needed my money. He ended up trying to talk me into signing up for a 12-month subscription to three different magazines, for a total of about $140! I tried to politely decline but he was rather persistent and he then tried to get me to sign up for just one of the subscriptions for a 'mere $45.' Thankfully, I held my ground and told him that I would not sign up for any subscriptions...but I didn't leave the forced conversation completely unscathed...I did end up giving him $20 when he said that any monetary donation would go directly to St. Jude's. Thank goodness I decided to give him cash rather than write him a check...but still...I'm rather peeved that my $20 didn't really go towards any sort of charity at all.

Certainly feels like it...

Here's my issue with all of this:

I was talking to my sister about it earlier today [I'd told her about the odd encounter with the magazine solicitor right after it happened], and she jokingly said, "Guess that you won't be being nice to random people anymore!" And you know what, she's actually pretty close to being right...


What if I actually did stop being nice to random people? Who's to say that I'm not one interaction with a heartless a-hole away from ending all charitable donations...not that I guess that would matter to whomever made the decision to take advantage of those who are kindhearted enough to help others...

Just saying...there are more jerks than nice people out there, is it really wise to treat the nice ones poorly?

Love Me Some Videos...

Hey, guys!

Happy Monday/President's Day! I hope you all are having a good holiday and hopefully don't have to work today...

Me?

I'm sitting here at my work desk...waiting on a conference call to start. Super fun, right?

In lieu of typing up a full post [I don't actually have the time right this moment], I'm posting a few awesome videos...

The first one is the Missy Elliot tribute video that Alyson Stoner posted last week. [She was one of the girls that danced in a few of Missy's music videos. She also did a ton of Disney Channel stuff] She was a great dancer back then, and she still is!

Next, I'm posting a video of Pentatonix performing Maroon 5's 'Payphone.' I love it! These madly talented performers won a Grammy for their 'Daft Punk Medley.' Genuinely happy for these guys!!

Here's the trailer for this week's episode of Arrow...

It looks like it's going to be fairly good one [though, I'll admit that I'm biased...I love the show]. I'm still not crazy about the Oliver/Felicity situation...here's to hoping that's resolved before the end of the season....Have I mentioned that I'm not a big fan of watching new episodes on a weekly basis? Netflix binge-watching really takes care of the whole 'what happens next' anxiety...just saying...

 

Okay, disclaimer for this one: I haven't actually watched this video before adding this to this post. But, I love this video game...soooo. Yep. Posting this video so I can watch it later!

Alrighty...

Hope you enjoy the videos! Will post again soon...

Happy Madly in Love with Me Day!

Hooray...

So, it's Friday the 13th...

Today is also:
- Employee Legal Awareness Day
- Get A Different Name Day
- Madly in Love with Me Day
- National Tortellini Day
- Desperation Day
- Blame Someone Else Day
- World Radio Day
- International Condom Day


I hope you enjoy whichever is your celebration of choice!

*Note: I chose to title the post "Happy Madly in Love with Me Day," because I thought it sounded like a perfectly hilarious and sarcastic 'holiday.' I was leaning more towards a Sue Sylvester-esque sort of sentiment....and then, I read articles about the 'holiday' and learned that it's actually part of the ever-ridiculous 'female empowerment' movement.../sigh

Sooooo....let me throw my unsolicited view on the 'holiday' out there...I think it would be far more appropriate if the day were meant for all people. Male, female, or otherwise, I think all people should feel comfortable loving themselves...after all, if you can't love yourself, can you truly love someone else?

And just in case you don't know what Sue Sylvester shenanigan I'm referring to:

In the 8th episode of the 2nd season of Glee, Sue Sylvester plans to get married...to herself. Yep!

Car Troubles...

Well, I've got another 'car catastrophe' that I can add to my list of experiences...

Gotta love cars, right?

Yesterday afternoon, while driving to my apartment, my car overheated and did that lovely spewing smoke thing...

Luckily, I was able to pull off the main road and camp out in a parking lot until my dad was able to come and help me out...but yeah. Nothing like car troubles to brighten up your day! [Obscene amounts of sarcasm!]

Now, I'm pretty sure that my dad will never read this post [he doesn't internet nearly as much as I do], but he definitely deserves a 'my dad is an awesome dad' shout-out!

At this point, I'm still not exactly sure what's going on with the troublesome vehicle, but I'm hoping that the issue isn't going to be exorbitantly expensive to fix. My family has had quite the string of bad luck with cars...lots of repairs and lots of money for said repairs...but I'm hoping that things turn around soon...even bad luck runs out eventually, right?

/Facepalm....

As promised, here's my quasi-rant about the latest episode of Arrow...[I think it's safe to say that there will probably be spoilers, sooooooo....yeah, if you aren't quite caught up with the series, you may want to wait and read this post later]

It's Felicity!

As I've addressed in several posts, I'm a huge fan of CW's Arrow...and [as can be read here and here], Felicity Smoak is, by far, one of my favorite characters. Ever. And I think at this point I should reiterate the fact that I've watched a ton of shows and movies, and have read a lot of books and comics...so, for me to say that Felicity is among my favorite characters...that's pretty huge. [To me, anyway...]

One of the driving elements of the Arrow story line [over the second half of season 2 and season 3, so far] has been the teasing of a potential romance between Felicity and Oliver...I mean, come on...who doesn't want to see the brilliant, 'nerdy' girl end up with Starling City's prince charming? [Though his reputation is definitely tarnished, thanks to the happenings during seasons 1 and 2...I still think that Oliver is going to come out everything on top!]

And then, there was the first episode of season 3

*** Okay, not kidding about the spoilers...here they are!***

For as long as Felicity has been a relevant character on the show, it's been obvious that she has some sort of attraction to Oliver. [Not that anyone could blame her...he's quite the handsome/charming guy!] Especially in the 1st season, before Felicity learns about Oliver's secret past-time, she adorably fumbles through social interactions with the handsome hero...as a fellow sufferer or social awkwardness, I really felt like I could relate.

And yet, as the episodes went on, it became more and more clear that the attraction wasn't quite as one-sided as it seemed...especially during the last few episodes of season 2, it started to look like Oliver was the only one that was denying his seat on the 'Olicity' ship. [hahaha...see what I did there?] During season 2, Oliver seemed to be confused on how he wanted to handle the reappearance of the long-thought-to-be-dead Sara...at one point, he even suggests to Sara that they live together, but that notion is rather short-lived. Sara decides to return to the League of Assassins [to hopefully ensure the safety of her family], and this also takes Oliver out of her realm of possibility. It seems as though this decision was for the best, and as a Felicity fan, I was thrilled to see Sara go! [Sara..../sigh....I wound up liking her character more than her sister, Laurel...but I wasn't able to reconcile Sara's actions from the beginning of the series...in my mind, she would always be the younger sister who stole her sister's boyfriend. Always.]

So. With Sara out of the way as a competing romantic interest, I thought that surely Oliver would pursue his increasingly obvious interest in Felicity. And in the first episode of season 3, when he asked Felicity out on an official date, I was ecstatic! She got all dressed up, Oliver put on a suit and tie, there were reservations to a very nice restaurant...it was an official date! [At this point in the series, Oliver had lost his family's company and was very, very poor...which, in my opinion, makes it even more touching that Oliver went through the trouble to treat Felicity to a nice dinner] The series of pictures on the left is a scene from said date...

Okay, so at this point, I realize that I've left out a key part of the Felicity/Oliver dynamic...up until the night that Oliver takes Felicity out for a date, Oliver refrained from pursuing his romantic interest because he had decided that he couldn't be with anyone that he truly loved. His rationale was that as long as he is Oliver Queen and the Arrow, he would be putting anyone that he cared about right into the cross hairs of whatever psycho-villain that bent on destroying Starling City/the Arrow/Oliver Queen. Now, I'm not absolutely positive, but I think Oliver even says this to Felicity at some point...

/sob

Back to the date: things seem to go well, there's the expected awkward banter...and then, there's an attack on the restaurant. Oliver scrambles to make sure that Felicity's safe [I can't remember the details...not sure if he pursues the assailants or not]...Oliver takes Felicity to their secret headquarters [Does that place even have a name? It should...] When Felicity comes to, she frantically looks for Oliver...I cried...those two are lying if they say that they don't love each other...

A good while later, Oliver begins to hint to Felicity that he was right in his initial thoughts that he would be putting her in danger if they continued to pursue a romantic relationship. Felicity tells Oliver that she doesn't necessarily think that it's so...and it all seems to culminate with Oliver telling Felicity that he loves her [even though they can't be together].




Now, I can't say that I completely blame Felicity for her response here...I think she was absolutely in the right for calling Oliver out for dangling the 'perpetual maybe' and not outright deciding to pursue a romantic relationship/retain a mostly-platonic working relationship. It would not be fair for Oliver to ask Felicity to stay in that fuzzy gray area between girlfriend and friend...soooo, I kind of have to respect Felicity for having the self-assuredness to demand that Oliver make a clear choice about what he wanted...

But yeah. this situation was rather frustrating...but it gets worse...

A new character comes into play [Ray Palmer. He's yet another millionaire genius. He bests Oliver in a corporate showdown to buy Queen Consolidated, and ends up becoming Felicity's new boss...] who clearly shows interest in Felicity...and though Felicity comes across as resistant to Ray's advances at first, within a few episodes she seems to be warming up to the guy.

To be fair, a good bit of this 'warming' happens while Oliver is out of the picture. [Oliver goes on a quest, of sorts, to clear up a 'blood debt' with the leader of the League of Assassins...he is presumed dead] About halfway through the latest episode, it appears that Felicity has finally found some peace with Oliver's death and started to move on...aaaaaand of course, this is the time when Oliver makes his grand re-appearance in Starling City. [The audience has known for almost an entire episode that Oliver is still alive...but, of course, he has no way of contacting anyone and letting them know...]

Noooooooo!!!!!

When Oliver and Felicity finally have a chance to talk, face-to-face, she kind of just let's Oliver have it...

I'm guessing that she was sort of venting the pain of having mourned Oliver for a month, and she was angry that it took so long for him to let anyone know that he was alive...but /sigh...come on!!!

I think she really should have cut the guy some slack!

I mean, he practically died. He went and faced down with a master assassin. He did this to save his sister's life!! Felicity has been one of the few characters that's been able to see Oliver's true-self...but I'm guessing that she's fed up with even that facet of Oliver...which, I don't get...

Sooooo....yeah.

This whole, very long post, all boils down to my dislike of this one scene [the one where she says she doesn't want to be a woman that Oliver loves].

It just doesn't make any sense!! [Okay...maybe it kind of does, but that doesn't mean that I like it!]

Thoughts? Comments?

Anybody have any additional insight to the falling apart of 'Olicity'? Because I'm rather at a loss on this one [and I'm tired of typing out this post...]

Best Commercial Ever?

Okay, so this is not the Arrow post that I promised [that one's still coming!]

This is a commercial that I found on BuzzFeed over the weekend...if you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely watch it!

In my opinion, it's a bit mind-boggling how well-made this commercial is....at just shy of 3 1/2 minutes, this commercial can elicit more emotional response than most of today's movies....[head's up Hollywood...this should speak volumes to you!]

Soooooo, yeah. Give it a watch, it's worth the few minutes....

Sunday/Monday...

Hey hey....

Hope you guys are having a good Sunday...I made the fatal mistake of going grocery shopping today.

Thankfully, I was not drop-kicked by a rogue banana...but the grocery store was definitely packed. I'm guessing that Sunday afternoon must be a popular time to go grocery shopping...which, of course, means that I will no longer willfully go grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons. If waiting until Monday afternoon or even Thursday evening means that I won't have to dodge crowds of people and painfully long check-out lines, then sign me up! [This ends the grocery store quasi-rant...]

Remember a few posts back when I mentioned that I'd be starting a bible study on the book of Daniel? [click here to see said post] Well...here's a plot twist...

I'm now facilitating the bible study! Crazy, right?

/sigh I made the mistake of completing too many of the workbook's lessons [we were supposed to complete just one...I completed five]...thanks to my overzealous appearance, I was asked if I would facilitate. I assumed that entailed leading the discussion for the next week's lesson...and I assumed wrong. Apparently, I'd agreed to lead all of the lessons. All of them. [Because that's exactly what I need...a big ol' bowl of commitment with a heaping pile of anxiety on the side!]

Yep. That's me.

Luckily, I grew up with all of the ladies that are in the class with me [about half of them are family...not exaggerating], so the anxiety isn't nearly as crippling as it could be...but it's still a violation of my 'talk as little as possible' approach to life.

[Small statement of disclosure here: it's now Monday morning...I fell asleep before finishing this post....]

Has anybody listened/watched/read the news this morning?

The world has gone absolutely bonkers! And, as much as it pains me to say it, the United States is right at the front of the 'let's all go to hell in a hand-basket' parade!

We've got a presidential administration that is blatantly incompetent...the 'President' and his cronies have seemingly gone out of their way to prove this time and time again. We've got a 'Secretary of State' that thinks that bringing a washed-up folk singer to an impromptu Kumbaya session is an appropriate show of support in the wake of a tragedy...and so, so much more!

/ponders

Yeah, no. I'm not going to continue on that rant...it would take a good day or two of just typing, and I probably still wouldn't have finished.

And, odds are, if you keep up with the news at all, you are probably already aware of all the shenanigans and reading my rant really isn't necessary.

Internal angst aside...

I watched the latest episodes of Arrow, and I've got a little bit of fangirl ranting that I plan on addressing in my next post...check back soon!

I'm Still Here!

Hey guys!

It gets better...right? Right?!?

Seems that I've managed to take yet another unplanned hiatus from blogging...my apologies, and I hope that the last week has treated you well...

I survived yet another week's worth of an overwhelming workload.

I'll be the first to agree that it's better to be busy than bored...but being swamped for three weeks is ridiculous! As of now, I haven't been told that I need to work through the weekend...but I wouldn't be surprised if that changed. [Here's to hoping that it doesn't!]

Unfortunately, I don't have anything terribly exciting to post about at the moment.

/Squee!

When I haven't been glued to my work computer, I've been
catching up on the latest few episodes on Arrow and Supernatural...when I'm not watching either of those, I've found myself re-watching some episodes of Ouran...I don't usually go back and re-watch an anime once I've finished it, but I really like this one. I think that a big portion of it's appeal is that it's a funny anime rather than a dramatic or action-y one....most of the others that I've watched revolve around battles or missions of some sort...I like that there isn't some complicated story line to keep up with Ouran [well...aside from the gender-confusion around Haruhi, that is].

So, it seems that Ouran is going to be my go-to anime for a feel-good, relaxing evening...at least until I find another one that I like as much as I like Ouran...

/sigh

I've got some stuff to take care of [I've been procrastinating for far too long]...will post again soon!