In high school we were required to buy a TI-83 calculator which cost over $90. I used it for a few years and forgot about it.
Michael's going back to school and taking some accounting classes next semester. I dug out my trusty old TI-83 and gave it for him to use. For fun I decided to see how much they cost now and was SHOCKED to discover that they are still going for around $90!!! It's such a scam; the technology is over a decade old! That's like selling a DVD player for $600! How does Texas Instrument get away with it? Ridiculous!
I checked the Android market and you can get graphing calculator apps for free. I suppose not too many teachers will let you use your phone as a calculator though, who knows, maybe they do.
Used TI-83's are going for around $40 on Amazon. Well fine, I hope the price continues to be ridiculously high so that when Michael's done with it he can resell it. I hope it still works. The batteries are dead so I haven't had the chance to test it out.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Yes, I Care What the Neighbors Think
That is the crusty, rusty, crappy storm door that used to be on our back door leading to the deck. Few days after we bought the house Michael took down everything about the house that pissed him off, including lots of toilet etageres and both the storm doors. This one has been leaning against our house on the deck since September.
The house next door has been vacant since September. It's on the market for $35,000 more than what we paid for our house; I don't see it moving soon at that price. A few people have come by to check it out but no takers. Now that winter is coming I really want someone to move in next door. Having that house occupied might help our heating cost since we live in a town house. Oh, and I read on Consumerist about how it can be dangerous to live next to an unoccupied town house during winter since their pipes might freeze and burst!
!!!
Some one needs to buy that house!
Recently I was out on the deck, looking down at the yard and planning for the upcoming spring, when it dawned on me that having a busted rusty storm door perched upright against your house ain't exactly classy, not to mention a rusted dirty paint tray, a ladder, and about a million laminate shavings. We have a lot of neighbors around us and while none of their decks are exactly show worthy, no one has trash all over their deck except us. Oh my goodness, we're the ghetto neighbors! How embarrassing! Maybe no one's buying the house next door because they don't want to live next to us!
I had Michael clean up the deck a bit. Since neither of us were in the mood to haul out that door and arrange a special trash pick up I just had him throw it over the deck, where it shattered into pieces. It's cool, no one can see it except for us and we'll deal with it in the spring.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Happy Birthday Michael!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!!
His birthday was actually yesterday but with it being Black Friday we really weren't able to celebrate.
The picture quality on my new phone's not as crappy as I feared but the size is off. Must. Find. Camera. Battery. Charger.
But yeah... Happy Birthday Michael!!!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Solution to The Case of the Three Vans
Here's the answer to that insane Encyclopedia Brown mystery.
Solution to The Case of the Three Vans
After his rescue by the police, Mr. Dunn told what had happened.
The man who brought his TV set from the repair shop had bent to plug it in. As he did, Mr. Dunn saw his back pocket. It held a gun.
Alarmed, Mr. Dunn left a note in code in case there was trouble. The deliveryman, who turned out to be the kidnapper, read the note and asked what it meant.
Mr. Dunn told him it was just a reminder to himself to have his sister, a nurse, read up on his hiccoughing. He said Crabcake was her pet name for him.
Encyclopedia saw that the top four words gave the code away. Each word had three letters in alphabetical order.
The key word, Crabcake, was underlined. The letters were a-b-c.
Thus, ABC TV REPAIR!
The man who brought his TV set from the repair shop had bent to plug it in. As he did, Mr. Dunn saw his back pocket. It held a gun.
Alarmed, Mr. Dunn left a note in code in case there was trouble. The deliveryman, who turned out to be the kidnapper, read the note and asked what it meant.
Mr. Dunn told him it was just a reminder to himself to have his sister, a nurse, read up on his hiccoughing. He said Crabcake was her pet name for him.
Encyclopedia saw that the top four words gave the code away. Each word had three letters in alphabetical order.
The key word, Crabcake, was underlined. The letters were a-b-c.
Thus, ABC TV REPAIR!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Still Not Smart
Growing up I loved reading Encyclopedia Brown books. LOVED!!!
Even though I considered myself a pretty sharp little girl I always had a hard time solving most of cases. I didn't mind because I knew that, given time, I will eventually grow up and become as smart as a fictional 5th grade boy detective. I kid you not, I distinctly recall thinking, "I can't wait until I'm old so I can be smart and solve all these mysteries."
I recently picked up a copy of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers from a thrift store. Honestly, I was kind of scared to read it. What if I still can't figure out the answers? What if I haven't gotten any smarter in all these years?!? I can't let the Younger Jin down! So, with much trepidation I started reading and...
Okay, seriously... What the hell was Donald J. Sobol thinking? There's no way little kids could solve these mysteries. Some are easy, sure, but some are just... insane. For example:
Even though I considered myself a pretty sharp little girl I always had a hard time solving most of cases. I didn't mind because I knew that, given time, I will eventually grow up and become as smart as a fictional 5th grade boy detective. I kid you not, I distinctly recall thinking, "I can't wait until I'm old so I can be smart and solve all these mysteries."
I recently picked up a copy of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers from a thrift store. Honestly, I was kind of scared to read it. What if I still can't figure out the answers? What if I haven't gotten any smarter in all these years?!? I can't let the Younger Jin down! So, with much trepidation I started reading and...
Okay, seriously... What the hell was Donald J. Sobol thinking? There's no way little kids could solve these mysteries. Some are easy, sure, but some are just... insane. For example:
The Case of the Three Vans
Chief Brown hung up the kitchen telephone.
"I've got to leave," he said. "It seems we have another case with a message in code. This time it's a kidnapping."
"Why don't you take Leroy along?" Mrs. Brown suggested. "He's so good at codes."
Encyclopedia stopped scraping the dinner plates. He held his breath until his father smiled.
"Let's go, Leroy," Chief Brown said.
Encyclopedia let out a whoop. Being with his father on a real police case was the thrill of thrills.
He whipped through the last two dishes and was seated in the patrol car before his father even got behind the wheel.
As they drove, Chief Brown told Encyclopedia what little he knew about the case.
"A man named Harry Dunn was kidnapped this morning," he said. "About an hour ago, the kidnappers telephoned his sister, Mrs. Allen. They demanded half a million dollars in ransom."
"What about the coded message, Dad?"
"We'll know more when we see it."
As they pulled up to Harry Dunn's big house, Officer Kent greeted them at the curb.
He said, "Harry Dunn's sister, Mrs. Allen, is in the living room. Also a neighbor, Mr. Tradd. He may have seen Harry Dunn being kidnapped."
Mrs. Allen was a pale, middle-aged woman. Her eyes were red from crying. Chief Brown questioned her first.
"I received a telephone call late this afternoon from a man with a deep voice," she said, sobbing. "He said my brother had been kidnapped and the ransom was half a million dollars. I'd be told where to leave the money later."
"You called the police right away?" asked Chief Brown.
"No, first I called Harry," Mrs. Allen said. "There was no answer. So I drove here and let myself in- I have a key. The house was empty. That's when I called the police."
Chief Brown turned to the neighbor, Mr. Tradd. "What can you tell us, sir?"
"About ten o'clock this morning, I borrowed some garden tools from Harry," Mr. Tradd said. "He didn't answer the doorbell when I returned the tools at noon. The garage door was open, so I left the tools on this workbench."
"Which house is yours?" Chief Brown inquired.
"The one right across the street," Mr. Tradd replied. "I was planting in the front yard. So I saw everyone who came to Harry's front door."
"The back door was locked from the inside," Mrs. Allen put it. "Whoever kidnapped Harry used the front door."
"Did you see anyone at the front door?" Chief Brown asked Mr. Tradd.
"While I was planting, three delivery vans drove up, about fifteen or twenty minutes apart. But each of them blocked my view of the front door," Mr. Tradd said.
"So Mr. Dunn could have been taken out the door and placed in one of the vans," Chief Brown said, "without your seeing him."
"That's possible," Mr. Tradd agreed.
Chief Brown took out his pocket notebook. "Can you describe the three vans?"
"Each van had its company's name painted on the side- Bill's Fish Market, ABC TV Repair, and Sun Drug Store."
"Was that the order in which they parked at Mr. Dunn's front door?" Chief Brown asked.
"I just don't remember," Mr. Tradd answered. "I really didn't think the vans were important. I didn't know about the kidnapping."
Officer Kent said, "I checked the companies. All the deliveries were scheduled."
He handed Chief Brown a small sheet of paper.
"This is the note I found on a pad by the telephone in the family room," he said.
Chief brown studied the note. He gave up and passed it to Encyclopedia.
"What do you make of it, Leroy?"
The boy detective read:
"I've got to leave," he said. "It seems we have another case with a message in code. This time it's a kidnapping."
"Why don't you take Leroy along?" Mrs. Brown suggested. "He's so good at codes."
Encyclopedia stopped scraping the dinner plates. He held his breath until his father smiled.
"Let's go, Leroy," Chief Brown said.
Encyclopedia let out a whoop. Being with his father on a real police case was the thrill of thrills.
He whipped through the last two dishes and was seated in the patrol car before his father even got behind the wheel.
As they drove, Chief Brown told Encyclopedia what little he knew about the case.
"A man named Harry Dunn was kidnapped this morning," he said. "About an hour ago, the kidnappers telephoned his sister, Mrs. Allen. They demanded half a million dollars in ransom."
"What about the coded message, Dad?"
"We'll know more when we see it."
As they pulled up to Harry Dunn's big house, Officer Kent greeted them at the curb.
He said, "Harry Dunn's sister, Mrs. Allen, is in the living room. Also a neighbor, Mr. Tradd. He may have seen Harry Dunn being kidnapped."
Mrs. Allen was a pale, middle-aged woman. Her eyes were red from crying. Chief Brown questioned her first.
"I received a telephone call late this afternoon from a man with a deep voice," she said, sobbing. "He said my brother had been kidnapped and the ransom was half a million dollars. I'd be told where to leave the money later."
"You called the police right away?" asked Chief Brown.
"No, first I called Harry," Mrs. Allen said. "There was no answer. So I drove here and let myself in- I have a key. The house was empty. That's when I called the police."
Chief Brown turned to the neighbor, Mr. Tradd. "What can you tell us, sir?"
"About ten o'clock this morning, I borrowed some garden tools from Harry," Mr. Tradd said. "He didn't answer the doorbell when I returned the tools at noon. The garage door was open, so I left the tools on this workbench."
"Which house is yours?" Chief Brown inquired.
"The one right across the street," Mr. Tradd replied. "I was planting in the front yard. So I saw everyone who came to Harry's front door."
"The back door was locked from the inside," Mrs. Allen put it. "Whoever kidnapped Harry used the front door."
"Did you see anyone at the front door?" Chief Brown asked Mr. Tradd.
"While I was planting, three delivery vans drove up, about fifteen or twenty minutes apart. But each of them blocked my view of the front door," Mr. Tradd said.
"So Mr. Dunn could have been taken out the door and placed in one of the vans," Chief Brown said, "without your seeing him."
"That's possible," Mr. Tradd agreed.
Chief Brown took out his pocket notebook. "Can you describe the three vans?"
"Each van had its company's name painted on the side- Bill's Fish Market, ABC TV Repair, and Sun Drug Store."
"Was that the order in which they parked at Mr. Dunn's front door?" Chief Brown asked.
"I just don't remember," Mr. Tradd answered. "I really didn't think the vans were important. I didn't know about the kidnapping."
Officer Kent said, "I checked the companies. All the deliveries were scheduled."
He handed Chief Brown a small sheet of paper.
"This is the note I found on a pad by the telephone in the family room," he said.
Chief brown studied the note. He gave up and passed it to Encyclopedia.
"What do you make of it, Leroy?"
The boy detective read:
Study Outbursts Defending Hiccoughing
Crabcake
Crabcake
Chief Brown showed the note to Mrs. Allen. "Is this your brother's handwriting?"
"Mrs. Allen put on her eyeglasses. "Yes... it looks like this."
"Did your brother like to write coded messages?" Chief Brown said.
"As a boy he did," Mrs. Allen answered. "He still enjoys word puzzles." She dried her eyes, "I kept telling him not to live in this big house all alone!"
Encyclopedia was thinking hard. He had closed his eyes. He opened them and asked his one question.
"Is Crabcake Mr. Dunn's nickname?"
"I never heard him called that," Mrs. Allen replied. She blew her nose.
"It's the newspaper's fault," she said bitterly. "It printed our pictures when Harry and I each inherited a million dollars last month. That gave somebody ideas!"
She began to weep again.
Chief Brown took Encyclopedia aside.
"Maybe the vans and the crazy note have nothing to do with the kidnapping, Leroy," he remarked.
"No, Dad," said Encyclopedia. "The word Crabcake tells which van took Mr. Dunn away. The top four words give the key to the code."
"Mrs. Allen put on her eyeglasses. "Yes... it looks like this."
"Did your brother like to write coded messages?" Chief Brown said.
"As a boy he did," Mrs. Allen answered. "He still enjoys word puzzles." She dried her eyes, "I kept telling him not to live in this big house all alone!"
Encyclopedia was thinking hard. He had closed his eyes. He opened them and asked his one question.
"Is Crabcake Mr. Dunn's nickname?"
"I never heard him called that," Mrs. Allen replied. She blew her nose.
"It's the newspaper's fault," she said bitterly. "It printed our pictures when Harry and I each inherited a million dollars last month. That gave somebody ideas!"
She began to weep again.
Chief Brown took Encyclopedia aside.
"Maybe the vans and the crazy note have nothing to do with the kidnapping, Leroy," he remarked.
"No, Dad," said Encyclopedia. "The word Crabcake tells which van took Mr. Dunn away. The top four words give the key to the code."
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
MAJESTIC
Not to be a copy cat but...
MAJESTIC + DOSE + BURNT for 108 points! Epic!!!
Michael and I have been playing a lot of Scrabble. Recently we went out and bought Super Scrabble which has 200 tiles and a bigger board. Our love of Scrabble runs deep, so deep that I'm thinking of getting this:
to celebrate our wedding. Cheesy? I don't know that I really like "KISS ME"... Hmmm...
MAJESTIC + DOSE + BURNT for 108 points! Epic!!!
Michael and I have been playing a lot of Scrabble. Recently we went out and bought Super Scrabble which has 200 tiles and a bigger board. Our love of Scrabble runs deep, so deep that I'm thinking of getting this:
to celebrate our wedding. Cheesy? I don't know that I really like "KISS ME"... Hmmm...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Today we baked cookies!!!
Excuse the poor picture quality. I lost my camera charger so I took the picture with a phone. It kind of has a cool vintage look to it, no? Yeah... That's what it is... Pretend this is one of those vintage blogs where the blogger purposefully makes all the pictures look old...
Back to the cookies!
They may look like... Well, not too sure what they look like. I'll save you the time of trying to guess; they are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Never having been a fan of pumpkin pastries I was a bit hesitant but they are super fantastic! It's more spice than pumpkin and it works well with the chocolate. Best part- they're more like little cakes than cookies which makes them perfect for breakfast.
Some notes on the recipe: If you like chocolate you might want to consider doubling the amount of chips. I liked the ratio of the chips to batter but it's more batter than chips. Oh, and the recipe says to use a teaspoon of batter but I didn't want to spend my entire evening on oven watch duty so I used a heaping tablespoon instead and it turned out well. Baking time did not need to be adjusted for the increased amount. Actually, I don't know if my oven is just super strong or what but 12 minutes was too much, 10-11 worked much better.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Stir in the walnuts if desired. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Excuse the poor picture quality. I lost my camera charger so I took the picture with a phone. It kind of has a cool vintage look to it, no? Yeah... That's what it is... Pretend this is one of those vintage blogs where the blogger purposefully makes all the pictures look old...
Back to the cookies!
They may look like... Well, not too sure what they look like. I'll save you the time of trying to guess; they are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Never having been a fan of pumpkin pastries I was a bit hesitant but they are super fantastic! It's more spice than pumpkin and it works well with the chocolate. Best part- they're more like little cakes than cookies which makes them perfect for breakfast.
Some notes on the recipe: If you like chocolate you might want to consider doubling the amount of chips. I liked the ratio of the chips to batter but it's more batter than chips. Oh, and the recipe says to use a teaspoon of batter but I didn't want to spend my entire evening on oven watch duty so I used a heaping tablespoon instead and it turned out well. Baking time did not need to be adjusted for the increased amount. Actually, I don't know if my oven is just super strong or what but 12 minutes was too much, 10-11 worked much better.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Stir in the walnuts if desired. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Leaving Never Never Land
I find out tomorrow if I got my dream job or not. Fingers crossed!
Regardless, I think all signs are pointing towards the fact that it's time I grow up a bit. I mean, I bought a house, I'm getting married, I'll (probably) have to start wearing grown up clothes again... Yeah, it's time. That's not to say I'll stop watching Disney Channel, reading teen novels, and geeking over Hello Kitty, one's never too old for HK. However, it's about time to start adopting some grown up habits. So, going forward, I will:
1) Wake up before 10am, even if I am off or closing.
2) Keep my car clean, even if 99% of the time I'm the only person inside.
3) ... Um... I think that's it...
Shouldn't be too hard, right?
Regardless, I think all signs are pointing towards the fact that it's time I grow up a bit. I mean, I bought a house, I'm getting married, I'll (probably) have to start wearing grown up clothes again... Yeah, it's time. That's not to say I'll stop watching Disney Channel, reading teen novels, and geeking over Hello Kitty, one's never too old for HK. However, it's about time to start adopting some grown up habits. So, going forward, I will:
1) Wake up before 10am, even if I am off or closing.
2) Keep my car clean, even if 99% of the time I'm the only person inside.
3) ... Um... I think that's it...
Shouldn't be too hard, right?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
I Guess It's Time to Grow Up
Okay...
So I don't want to jinx myself but I have an interview tomorrow for a job that I am very excited about and I think I have a pretty decent chance of getting this position. I mean, they wouldn't put me through a 3rd interview if they weren't pretty serious, right?
This job, if I get it, will mean I have to finally start dressing like an adult again. You know, no jeans, no tees, no default outfit consisting of tee/tank, bf cardigan, skinny jeans, and chucks. After 6+ years of working in a casual environment it's safe to say that I don't have many clothing that are dry clean only.
On one hand I'm looking forward to shopping for some new outfits but on the other hand, I'm not. Despite my age, I don't really have a grown up body and it's hard to find business clothes to fit my frame. Augh, flash backs to baggy dress pants that sags too low on the hips. Shudder.
So I don't want to jinx myself but I have an interview tomorrow for a job that I am very excited about and I think I have a pretty decent chance of getting this position. I mean, they wouldn't put me through a 3rd interview if they weren't pretty serious, right?
This job, if I get it, will mean I have to finally start dressing like an adult again. You know, no jeans, no tees, no default outfit consisting of tee/tank, bf cardigan, skinny jeans, and chucks. After 6+ years of working in a casual environment it's safe to say that I don't have many clothing that are dry clean only.
On one hand I'm looking forward to shopping for some new outfits but on the other hand, I'm not. Despite my age, I don't really have a grown up body and it's hard to find business clothes to fit my frame. Augh, flash backs to baggy dress pants that sags too low on the hips. Shudder.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Criminals Need to Start Thinking Long Term
So, did you hear the breaking news yesterday? You know, abut Jack Johnson's arrest? You didn't?
I first heard of the news, on WTOP, my new favorite radio station. When I first heard that Jack Johnson and his wife were arrested and that their home and office were raided by the Feds I had many questions. Jack Johnson has an office? Why? Why does WTOP care that he was arrested? Turns out that it wasn't this Jack Johnson that was arrested:
But this one:
He is the Prince George's County Executive and his wife was just elected to some government position as well. Not too clear on why they were arrested, something about jury tempering and pay to play... Don't really care. The most interesting thing out of this whole arrest thing is that Leslie, that would be his wife, called Jack to inform him that the Feds were coming and Jack told Leslie to flush the $100,000 check from some developer or something. Leslie was later caught with almost $80,000 dollars in cash stuffed into bra.
What would it take to flush a $100,000 check. If obtained illegally I'm guessing that once it's gone, it's gone. You can't very well go back and say, "Hey illegal business partner, I had to flush the last check you gave me to avoid an arrest, can you cut me a new one?" I guess it wouldn't take much. I would gladly rid of a $100,000 check to avoid an arrest. And, since it's illegal money, it's kind of like free money, money I shouldn't have had in the first place, not money that I spent years saving.
Oh, and being caught with ill gotten cash stuffed into your undies? Well, that's just sad and embarrassing.
I never understood people who steal big. I mean, I get the mindset of petty criminals, it's wrong and stupid but I get it. However, people who try to steal large amounts? The chances of getting caught are pretty big, along with the opportunity cost. I think it's safe to assume that both Jack and Leslie were making six figure each. I think it's also safe to assume that they will both lose their jobs and will have an incredibly difficult time finding another that pays anywhere near what they were making. Oh, and lets not forget the insane amount they will have to pay in legal fees along with any wage earning time lost if they go to prison. I don't know how much they allegedly embezzled or stole or accepted or whatever but it's probably no where near how much money they will lose out over their lifetime because of this.
Stupid. People are so stupid.
I first heard of the news, on WTOP, my new favorite radio station. When I first heard that Jack Johnson and his wife were arrested and that their home and office were raided by the Feds I had many questions. Jack Johnson has an office? Why? Why does WTOP care that he was arrested? Turns out that it wasn't this Jack Johnson that was arrested:
But this one:
He is the Prince George's County Executive and his wife was just elected to some government position as well. Not too clear on why they were arrested, something about jury tempering and pay to play... Don't really care. The most interesting thing out of this whole arrest thing is that Leslie, that would be his wife, called Jack to inform him that the Feds were coming and Jack told Leslie to flush the $100,000 check from some developer or something. Leslie was later caught with almost $80,000 dollars in cash stuffed into bra.
What would it take to flush a $100,000 check. If obtained illegally I'm guessing that once it's gone, it's gone. You can't very well go back and say, "Hey illegal business partner, I had to flush the last check you gave me to avoid an arrest, can you cut me a new one?" I guess it wouldn't take much. I would gladly rid of a $100,000 check to avoid an arrest. And, since it's illegal money, it's kind of like free money, money I shouldn't have had in the first place, not money that I spent years saving.
Oh, and being caught with ill gotten cash stuffed into your undies? Well, that's just sad and embarrassing.
I never understood people who steal big. I mean, I get the mindset of petty criminals, it's wrong and stupid but I get it. However, people who try to steal large amounts? The chances of getting caught are pretty big, along with the opportunity cost. I think it's safe to assume that both Jack and Leslie were making six figure each. I think it's also safe to assume that they will both lose their jobs and will have an incredibly difficult time finding another that pays anywhere near what they were making. Oh, and lets not forget the insane amount they will have to pay in legal fees along with any wage earning time lost if they go to prison. I don't know how much they allegedly embezzled or stole or accepted or whatever but it's probably no where near how much money they will lose out over their lifetime because of this.
Stupid. People are so stupid.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I'll Gladly Pay You Today for a... Wait, I'll Gladly Pay You Tomorrow?
I used to think that fall was my favorite season but it's starting to get just a tad too cold for comfort. Of course, it doesn't help that most of my cold weather clothing are still boxed up. I should get on that soon I suppose.
With this colder weather we should be eating butternut squash and pumpkin pies and good, gooey, warm mac and cheese or something. But, as much as we love mac and cheese, we had a hankering for some summer food and decided to make our own hamburger!
This guy on TV once broke down the prices and proved that it's just as cheap, if not cheaper to make your own burgers versus going to McDonald's or Wendy's. Might be a slight exaggeration unless you find a good sale but burgers are actually really cheap to make, especially if you keep it pure and stick to just ground beef, nothing else, no weird onion seasoning or anything. It's great for two people households because you don't have to worry about left overs. Whatever ingredients are left can be used to make a million other things. If it weren't for the fact that burger buns always comes in a pack of like eight, we would eat them more often.
Michael tried to get all fancy with his patty and put in some blue cheese. It did not work out. I kept mine pure.
It was very delicious!
With this colder weather we should be eating butternut squash and pumpkin pies and good, gooey, warm mac and cheese or something. But, as much as we love mac and cheese, we had a hankering for some summer food and decided to make our own hamburger!
This guy on TV once broke down the prices and proved that it's just as cheap, if not cheaper to make your own burgers versus going to McDonald's or Wendy's. Might be a slight exaggeration unless you find a good sale but burgers are actually really cheap to make, especially if you keep it pure and stick to just ground beef, nothing else, no weird onion seasoning or anything. It's great for two people households because you don't have to worry about left overs. Whatever ingredients are left can be used to make a million other things. If it weren't for the fact that burger buns always comes in a pack of like eight, we would eat them more often.
Michael tried to get all fancy with his patty and put in some blue cheese. It did not work out. I kept mine pure.
It was very delicious!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Before and After Pt. 4: Basement
Both of us agreed that a red basement isn't a bad thing but our red basement is a horrible, horrible thing.
The previous owner did a pretty bad job painting the place. To make matters worse, they did an even worse job patching up some of the walls.
I did not want to stare at that every time I went downstairs and there are patches like that all over the basement. Annoying.
The house next door is for sale and every time we walked by we would stare into their basement (they keep the blinds open) and grow envious of their clean, neutral colored basement. "See, our basement can be pretty like that too!" Since the basement is Michael's man cave I told him he can paint it whatever color tickles his fancy. For awhile he was scaring me with this constant talks of "salmon" and "peach" and, on occasions, "purple". In the end he settled on a color that I like to call white mocha hazelnut latte.
So, here's the entrance to our basement before:
And here's the entrance to our basement now:
Much more inviting, no?
Here's the staircase to the basement before:
The blue, by the way, is painter's tape. As patriotic as Young McCain (what we nicknamed the previous guy since he looked like a younger McCain) was, he did not paint blue stripes on the wall.
Here's the staircase now:
With all the red and blue gone, the house finally feels like our house!
Oh, and while neither of us are expert painters I would like to enter this photographic evidence as proof:
Not all stupid painting mistakes are our fault, most were inherited. How am I supposed to get paint off of wood? If I sand it won't I have to re-paint/stain the whole thing? Argh! "Curse you Young McCain!!!" is a phrase that's often repeated in our house.
The previous owner did a pretty bad job painting the place. To make matters worse, they did an even worse job patching up some of the walls.
I did not want to stare at that every time I went downstairs and there are patches like that all over the basement. Annoying.
The house next door is for sale and every time we walked by we would stare into their basement (they keep the blinds open) and grow envious of their clean, neutral colored basement. "See, our basement can be pretty like that too!" Since the basement is Michael's man cave I told him he can paint it whatever color tickles his fancy. For awhile he was scaring me with this constant talks of "salmon" and "peach" and, on occasions, "purple". In the end he settled on a color that I like to call white mocha hazelnut latte.
So, here's the entrance to our basement before:
And here's the entrance to our basement now:
Much more inviting, no?
Here's the staircase to the basement before:
The blue, by the way, is painter's tape. As patriotic as Young McCain (what we nicknamed the previous guy since he looked like a younger McCain) was, he did not paint blue stripes on the wall.
Here's the staircase now:
With all the red and blue gone, the house finally feels like our house!
Oh, and while neither of us are expert painters I would like to enter this photographic evidence as proof:
Not all stupid painting mistakes are our fault, most were inherited. How am I supposed to get paint off of wood? If I sand it won't I have to re-paint/stain the whole thing? Argh! "Curse you Young McCain!!!" is a phrase that's often repeated in our house.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
It's Getting There
I was killing time at KMart when I came across these:
Oooh! I've always wanted a sunburst clock! I've always wanted a cat clock with a tail that wags! Hmmm, which one should I get? They were $20 each, which isn't much but too much to buy both. I knew for sure that I wanted a sunburst clock to put in the living room. But, but... It's a cat clock with a tail that wags! I'm pretty much obligated to pick it up! But, where would I put this cat clock?
I called Michael for his opinion and he agreed that I should buy both, so I did. $40 for 2 clocks isn't bad, right? I don't know... Feels like a lot but I just couldn't make that choice.
The cat clock is homeless at the moment but the sunburst clock is hanging in our "living" room. I say "living" because it currently looks like this:
Clearly there isn't a whole lot of living going on in this space.
The room's looking kind of stupid at the moment, I know. The sunburst clock is too small to be up there by itself, the pillows, while cute, are too small for the couch, and the curtains are hung too low.
Well, the desk is going to go into the office and, it its place, running parallel to the love seat, we plan on putting another love seat (as soon as we buy one). Put a nice snuggly rug between the two with a coffee table on top and hey! It's a nice place to chill and talk. Michael wants to put a full sized sofa in there because he's too tall to scrunch into a love seat and take a nap. I told him that's what the basement couch is for and besides, it's plenty big for me to take a nap.
I had planned on finding a large art piece to hang on the wall behind the love seat but, the other day, at a thrift store, I found this for just $10!!!
I'm thinking of either painting it white and hanging it behind the couch or painting it black and hanging it in my (soon to be) gray/yellow bedroom. Thankfully, the frame is just painted plastic so no sanding will be required.
Oooh! I've always wanted a sunburst clock! I've always wanted a cat clock with a tail that wags! Hmmm, which one should I get? They were $20 each, which isn't much but too much to buy both. I knew for sure that I wanted a sunburst clock to put in the living room. But, but... It's a cat clock with a tail that wags! I'm pretty much obligated to pick it up! But, where would I put this cat clock?
I called Michael for his opinion and he agreed that I should buy both, so I did. $40 for 2 clocks isn't bad, right? I don't know... Feels like a lot but I just couldn't make that choice.
The cat clock is homeless at the moment but the sunburst clock is hanging in our "living" room. I say "living" because it currently looks like this:
Clearly there isn't a whole lot of living going on in this space.
The room's looking kind of stupid at the moment, I know. The sunburst clock is too small to be up there by itself, the pillows, while cute, are too small for the couch, and the curtains are hung too low.
Well, the desk is going to go into the office and, it its place, running parallel to the love seat, we plan on putting another love seat (as soon as we buy one). Put a nice snuggly rug between the two with a coffee table on top and hey! It's a nice place to chill and talk. Michael wants to put a full sized sofa in there because he's too tall to scrunch into a love seat and take a nap. I told him that's what the basement couch is for and besides, it's plenty big for me to take a nap.
I had planned on finding a large art piece to hang on the wall behind the love seat but, the other day, at a thrift store, I found this for just $10!!!
I'm thinking of either painting it white and hanging it behind the couch or painting it black and hanging it in my (soon to be) gray/yellow bedroom. Thankfully, the frame is just painted plastic so no sanding will be required.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Before and AFter Pt. 3: The Foyer
Well, the work on the house has been very slow but we're still making progress. For example, this is what our foyer used to look like:
Don't you just want to punch someone in the face? I do. Grrr...
This is what our foyer looks like now:
Awww... Don't you want to just bake someone cupcakes? I do! Hugs!!!
We decided to get all super creative and paint the foyer a shade darker than the living room. I was hoping for a sophisticated and slightly dramatic effect but you can't tell the difference unless someone points it out to you. Oh well.
I want to find a cute little rug to put in front of the door and I might want to replace the light fixture. I'm not a fan of those nipple looking fixtures and a few feet away, there's another light fixture (over kill if you ask me) that's missing the dome. If I have to replace one, might as well replace the other, right?
Don't you just want to punch someone in the face? I do. Grrr...
This is what our foyer looks like now:
Awww... Don't you want to just bake someone cupcakes? I do! Hugs!!!
We decided to get all super creative and paint the foyer a shade darker than the living room. I was hoping for a sophisticated and slightly dramatic effect but you can't tell the difference unless someone points it out to you. Oh well.
I want to find a cute little rug to put in front of the door and I might want to replace the light fixture. I'm not a fan of those nipple looking fixtures and a few feet away, there's another light fixture (over kill if you ask me) that's missing the dome. If I have to replace one, might as well replace the other, right?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Monster Cookie
If you happen to be in Leesburg, you have to check out Mom's Apple Pie.
It's a tiny, tiny little store right where Rt. 7 forks into Down Town. Eric tells me it's owned by the family of the girlfriend of the member of Thursday... Or was it Taking Back Sunday... One of those day of the week bands... Thursday. I'm pretty sure it's Thursday. Their pies are pretty decent but the star of the place is...
... The Monster Cookie!
Yes, and the cookie is quite monstrous.
It's the size of, oh I don't know, at least three, maybe four Mrs. Field's cookie.
Now, I know I have a lot of pet peeves but one of the biggest is oatmeal raisin cookies.
I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and nothing sucks more than taking a bite of what you think is chocolate oatmeal only to get a mouthful of raisins. Grrrr. The monster cookie is nothing but sweet toasty oatmeal, smooth chocolate chips and crunchy walnuts.
Oh, the best part... Are you ready for it? This cookie is only $1.99!!! I love Leesburg!
It's a tiny, tiny little store right where Rt. 7 forks into Down Town. Eric tells me it's owned by the family of the girlfriend of the member of Thursday... Or was it Taking Back Sunday... One of those day of the week bands... Thursday. I'm pretty sure it's Thursday. Their pies are pretty decent but the star of the place is...
... The Monster Cookie!
Yes, and the cookie is quite monstrous.
It's the size of, oh I don't know, at least three, maybe four Mrs. Field's cookie.
Now, I know I have a lot of pet peeves but one of the biggest is oatmeal raisin cookies.
I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and nothing sucks more than taking a bite of what you think is chocolate oatmeal only to get a mouthful of raisins. Grrrr. The monster cookie is nothing but sweet toasty oatmeal, smooth chocolate chips and crunchy walnuts.
Oh, the best part... Are you ready for it? This cookie is only $1.99!!! I love Leesburg!
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