Shirt Folder

This is one of my new favorite things!

You lay the shirt down, fold up the bottom and then boom, boom, boom, flip shirt over and add it to the stack.  Now, if only they would make a sock folder…

Great Shoes, Great Price

When I was younger, well up to about the age of 28, my mom told me over and over that I needed to take care of my feet.  She has been telling me this ever since she stopped buying my shoes.  When I was in high school, then on into college and through most of my twenties, I bought shoes more for price and style than I did for comfort.

 

 

Now that I am a little bit older and more mature, or maybe just because I job where I stand for 6-12 hours at a time, I have become a real proponent to the idea of taking care of your feet.  I have been very particular about the shoes I buy.  I’ve had trouble finding shoes that were comfortable, stylish and didn’t cost a fortune.  That was until I found the Naturalizer store in the Houston Galleria.  I bought a pair of black high-heeled boots to wear for work in the winter months.  It’s March and I am still wearing them in the 80 degree Houston weather.  They are amazing!  I have vowed to never buy another pair of shoes that aren’t Neutralizer. 

 

 

I ordered the black pair of flats a couple of weeks ago.  They were on sale for $41.  I went online and found a coupon code for 20% off, which took the price down to $31.  After shipping the total cost of the shoes was $38.  (I never count change, drives Jason nuts.) 

When they arrived I ripped open the box, took off my house shoes, and then wore them until I went to bed that night (about 6 hours).  They were as comfortable as my house shoes.  Within 5 minutes of putting on my new shoes I was on the Internet ordering the camel color.  They arrived yesterday, and I have been wearing them ALL day.  I am so excited about these shoes!

~

Okay, it’s like the twilight zone.  Do you remember my post a couple of weeks ago about my new storage bins?  Do you remember that I tried to find them online so that I could post a link to them, and they were NOWHERE to be found?  Well, I just went to the Naturalizer website and the shoes are gone!!!  The style is Zelda.  I know you can order them on other sites, but you better do it fast because apparently there aren’t many left.  I can’t believe it’s happened twice now!  I’ll try to get this info to you faster from now on.

Movie Review: Message In A Bottle

(Thank you IMDB.com for the picture)

I give it, well, in the genre of made me cry and perfect for a night alone, a 10.  This movie hit every emotion.  However, I only liked it because I was by myself in a hotel room standing two feet in front of a 32” television screen crying. 

Because this movie is more than 10 years old I feel it is okay to say something I would never say with a movie less than 10 years old.  (The thing about movies that are more than 10 years old is that if you haven’t already seen it, you probably aren’t going to.)  So here it goes:

I like these kinds of movies because when things in a movie don’t turn out quite like you expect you don’t leave happy with your life, you leave appreciative of it. 

I would highly recommend this movie sometime when you are feeling a little melancholy, or when life’s got you down.  Ask your husband to have a guys’ night, or ask him to take the kids for pizza, and rent this movie and watch it BY YOURSELF.  If you are uncomfortable with yourself, well then this is good place to start getting comfortable.  Your husband will return and you’ll never be so glad to see him.  I PROMISE, because when you start to feel like he doesn’t say the right things or do the right things, then you can think about the messages in the bottles and remember that guys don’t always say what they feel or act on their emotions.  But, he does love you.  Maybe this movie will be the boost you need to love him first so that he can reciprocate. 

No promises, but I did think it was that good. 

Car Review: 2010 GMC Terrain

I’m working as a flight attendant today.  Since it’s my first day on this trip I flew into Houston this morning and got a rental car.  In fact, my plane left at 6:20 this morning.  I went to bed at 11:45 last night and got up at 4:00 this morning.  It’s now 7 PM.  I’ve been working since my plane landed and I just checked into the hotel.  So, if I start dosing off during this post please forgive me…I’m a little sleepy.  (On another note: Message In A Bottle is just starting on whatever channel this is, and I’m kind of excited about it.)

Back to the subject…

I love just about every part of my job.  I even love getting up at 4:00 AM on occasion.  One thing that is especially fun for me is arriving at the National Rental Car Emerald Aisle.  I get off the shuttle that has picked me up from the terminal and brought me to the rental car center.  I walk through the massive glass sliding doors, go down the escalators, walk though the next set of sliding glass doors and then up the half escalator to the Emerald Aisle.  The person at the top of the escalator greets me.  I greet him/her back, step forward and then stop.  In front of me are lines of cars, and I get to pick whichever one I want.  I carefully walk through the lines of cars and decide which one I want to drive this time. 

Today it was a silver 2010 GMC Terrain. 

On a scale of 1-10, I GIVE IT A 4.  (I had a 3 until I read that it boasts 32-mpg.)  I picked this car because it has an awesome looking inside, but as soon as I got in I was uncomfortable because I don’t like being close to the steering wheel (because I’m terrified of an airbag breaking my face), but I couldn’t back up because then my feet wouldn’t touch the pedals.  I’m 5’2”.  I was pushing the pedals with the tips of my toes and my arms were at a 90 degree angle.  There is something very wrong with that.  I like a car that is made so that when the tips of my toes are on the pedals the tips of my fingers are on the steering wheel.   

The other major strike against this vehicle are the blind spots.  These were my views looking back.

And this mirror.  It’s a full mirror when you’re driving forward, but when you put the car in reverse a screen pops up to show you what’s behind you.  This is actually a really cool safety feature.  I will want to own a car that has this when I have kids someday.

 

Aside from the mirror, the things that make this vehicle cool are all esthetic, like this cubby with an outlet.  It has a non-slick surface and it’s about 8 inches deep.

 

These are some more pics of that esthetically pleasing inside…

   

The GMC website has some really cool pictures.  If you want you can see some more about it there.

If you’re in the market for a car take one for a test drive and let me know what YOU think.

4 x 4 = One More Reason To Be Narcissistic: Part 3

See Part 1 here.  See Part 2 here. 

03.  Favorite Movies / TV Shows

1.  You’ve Got Mail

(If the frame disappears, just click the arrow.) 

I watched this movie twice on Wednesday and once on Thursday while I was working on a sewing project even though I had watched it just a couple days before that.  This is how this movie has been for me since it came out on VHS so many years ago.  In college I didn’t have cable, so I watched this movie almost every day, often times twice per day.  Once DVD players came out I switched out the VSH.  I wore out my first DVD and had to get a second.  Then, I married a man who also loves this movie, so my collection grew to 4 copies.  However, this past Christmas, Jason got me the knew collector’s edition DVD.  So, the grand total number of copies that I own of You’ve Got Mail is 5.

2.  How I Met Your Mother

Okay, I searched HIGH AND LOW for an official CBS trailer for Episode One of Season One.  I then watched countless fan-made YouTube trailers, and this was the one I liked the best.  If you have never seen this show I highly recommend starting with season one and watching them all on DVD.  This is what we have done, thanks to my brother bringing home the first five seasons.

3.  Wipe Out

This is another fan made trailer that does a good job of capturing the show.  Jason and I DVR Wipe Out and then watch it every Sunday night.  It’s a great way to say “good-bye weekend,” hello week.”

4.  Good Eats

Finally, A GREAT CLIP!  This clip says everything that I can’t about Good Eats.  If you have read very many of my posts you will notice a pattern.  I consult Alton Brown before touching anything new in the kitchen.  He goes into the science of of what’s going on with food and figures out the ABSOLUTE best way to cook EVERYTHING.  I love this show!

Just A Cruisin’

Jason and I recently went on a cruise with some extended family.  It was my first cruise.  There were pros and cons that I will share with you so that you can make an informed decision on whether or not you would ever like to partake in this particular adventure yourself.  I’ll also let you know what I learned so that if you decide to go you will have some tips stored in your back pocket. 

Everyone asks, “Did you have a good time?”  I give a drawn out “well” with my head tilted to the right and a higher voice than normal, and then I answer, “Yes, for the most part, we had a good time.”  Will I ever do it again?  “Well (same high voice and head tilt), we’ll see.” 

I think it all starts with expectations.  Cruise liners do themselves a huge disservice by playing their commercials in December and January.  You see fun, you see swimsuits, you see sunglasses, you see shorts and tank tops and icy drinks.  It makes you think, “Hey, it’s freezing here.  Let’s go on a cruise to thaw out.”  Wrong.  Maybe there are places you can go to thaw out in January, but a Gulf Coast cruise is not one of them.  It was cold and windy.  We were stuck inside the entire time because it was too cold to go outside.  We missed out on all the views because it was too cold to sit by the doors or windows.  It was ridiculous.  

Another myth is that cruises are luxurious.  Not this one.  (We were on the Carnival Ecstasy ship.  It was a five day Gulf of Mexico cruise.)  The rooms were like campers.  The walls were thin and made of plastic.  The bathroom floor was rubber.  The shower curtain was that plastic that seems just a bit too small for the opening and you can’t pull it all the way closed because if you pull it forward then it’s open in the back and if you pull it back then it’s open in the front.  Annoying.  However, I will say the water gets really hot (yay) and the water pressure was amazing (double yay).  Another draw back was that the toilet only flushed sometimes.  It was like a port-a-potty.  You push the button the wall and it sucks it into the holding tank right under your feet.  You and the holding tank are only separated by a piece of blue rubber.  (Actually, I’m not sure if that is true or not, but it is a port-a-potty.) There are only two outlets in your room, one in the bathroom, attached to the light, and one in the main part of your room

It’s also quite dark on board.  The rooms and hallways had enough light, but walking around felt like when it’s daytime but all the lights are off in your house.  There were lots of windows, but it was cloudy for most of our trips and it didn’t seem like they had any lights in the big open parts of the ship.  They only relied on sunlight. 

I did enjoy dinner.  We had a group of eight, and every night we would meet at dinner and talk about our day.  We had assigned tables and the same wait staff every night.  So, by the end of the trip they knew us and we knew them.  The formal night was fun.  Jason and I went all out.  

Each night there was about 10 minutes of entertainment during dinner.  Fun music would play and everyone twirled their napkins above their heads to start the fun.

 

We had the early dinner.  If I ever cruise again I will either choose the late dinner or the anytime dinner.  The reason for this is because our days were built around having to be ready for dinner by 6:00 PM.  Since you dress nice for dinner that meant we had to be in our room by 4:15 PM, or so, in order for there to be time for me to shower, dry my hair and do the whole deal.  Also, I think we would have been able to eat more food if we’d had a later dinner.  We generally ate lunch around noon.  We weren’t ever hungry for a snack by 4:00, when we had to head for the room, but we were starving by 6:00.  If we had had the later dinner, we could have snacked between 4:00 and 5:00, and then been hungry again by dinner. 

Another thing about the early dinner is that it’s too early to get a fun night started.  Waiting 3 hours for the evening to start really makes you want to go to bed by 10:00 PM.  I think if we had had the later dinner we would have stayed out later and enjoyed more of the night scene.  As it was we would go to the casino, or play games with family from about 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM, and it would feel really late so we would all just head to our rooms and go to bed.  I’m sure this is about about as big of a preference thing as anything on the ship.

Another disappointment:  People go on cruises because they are cheap.  This is a myth.  I guess you can try to make it as cheap as possible, but the only thing I know for sure about Carnival Cruise line is that they want your money.  $50 gratuity (per person) is already added to your bill.  It costs $10 per bingo card to play BINGO.  The main form of entertainment on the ship is to give your money to the casino, the bar or the shops.  Oh, and don’t forget the excursions.  It’s like a money hole.  Oh, and they ask you tip your concierge at the end of the trip.  So, in the end, you feel like you still need to tip.  The total cost of the trip for both of us was $1,907.  The cost of the cruise  was $857.00 up front.  Our bill was $650.00 (including the $100.00 up front for gratuity, Jason’s $110.00 poker tournaments, our excursion to Chichen Itza was $142.00 for both of us, $20 for me to play BINGO, $10 for two lottery tickets, $70 for two sets of walkie-talkies, $13 because I forgot shampoo and conditioner,  about $100 for drinks, which I can count on both hands for both us total, and about $100 for other small random things.  We spent $400 in cash at the casino, on the excursions and buying stuff on the main land, gas and food for the drive there and the drive home.  So, we could have made it cheaper, but for what we did pay, we would have preferred an all-inclusive in Mexico. 

One thing that was fun is that every night they had backgrounds set up all over the boat.  There are tons of photo ops.  The only drawback is that the pictures are about $10 per photo to buy. 

The worst part of the ENTIRE trip is that I lost my camera.  It was a Christmas present from Jason.  It had all the pictures on it from the entire cruise, as I was dubbed “official photographer” for our group.  So, my first piece of advice is lug your laptop and save your pictures to your computer every night before you go to bed.

Other advice:

1.  You are allowed one bottle of wine per person.  Even if they guy carrying your luggage says it’s okay to check the wine, don’t.  It’s not okay.

2.  Take walkie-talkies with you if you are in a group, but bring lots of batteries.  They are hard to keep charged.

3.  Take a power strip to plug into your one outlet.

4.  If you go in the winter don’t pack more than one set of summer clothes.  You won’t need them.  In fact, take warm clothes.

5.  Don’t over pack.  It’s not worth it.  Take one outfit for each day and something to wear to dinner.  You can probably get away with two pairs of slacks and a shirt for each day.  When you check the weather before you go realize that it will be quite a bit cooler on the water and it will be windy. 

6.  Bring hats.  When the wind is bad, so is your hair.

7.  Take as many non-alcoholic beverages as you think you will drink.  They said the limit was 15 per person, but no one checks.  You can take cups of ice from the buffet dining room to your room, or you can bring your water or soda to the dining places. 

If I think of more tips I’ll update the post, but this is all I can think of for now. 

Over all I did have a great time with my family.  I enjoyed the boat, and it was nice to be away from society for a while.  It was remote, and it felt remote.  I liked that.  I think my problem with the cruise is that I expected it to be warm and it was cold.  I expected it to be a cheap vacation and it wasn’t.  I thought it would be luxurious, and it wasn’t.  So, the only problem I had were my expectations verses the reality I met. 

If I cruise again I will go when the weather is so hot that it will be hard not jump overboard into the cool water.  I’ll spend more money up front and hopefully have a more luxurious boat.  If I cruise again I will know better what to expect. 

I don’t regret going.  It was a great time with my family.  Here is a peak at some of fun we had, thanks to my mom’s camera.