Reader Poll Monday

Hey everybody, Sherri here. Since people seem to like polls, I thought I'd post one (some of you may notice that it's the same one I have going on my blog today...shhhhhh).

1. Are you right or left-handed?

2. What's the weather like where you are?

3. What is the achievement of which you are most proud?

4. How do you like your eggs cooked?

5. Flip-flops: love 'em or hate 'em?

6. If forced to choose, would you rather date someone who has lots of strange tattoos, or someone who has lots of strange piercings?

7. Did you watch the Oscars last night? Anything worth commenting on?

8. Which is worse: a paper cut or a hangnail?

9. What size shoes do you wear?

10. How many fingers am I holding up?

I hate when I go to read a favorite blog and then realize I'M SUPPOSED TO BE POSTING THERE

Woops. Huh. I don't have any updates for you on Casey or her head or the move if that's what you're looking for. What I do have are some comments about the Oscars. Did you watch the Oscars? What'd you think? Didn't Kate Winslett look fabulous? Wasn't Laura Linney hideous?

I guess the jury is out on Chris Rock. I thought he was pretty funny. USA Today trashed him. They called him one of the "worst hosts ever." They said he didn't make enough jokes that pertained to MOVIES.

Personally, I thought the fact that the audio kept dropping out and the stagehands kept dropping really big pieces of equipment backstage was more of an immediate problem.

And I don't think they'll be giving out any more awards in the aisles again. What a stupid idea.

And the whole Red Carpet thing has gotten so out of hand. Not the media or the papparazzi or the noise or the fans or the obscene gradiosity of it all. No, no, I'm fine with all that. I mean those blasted professionals that E! and TV Guide hire to "work" the Red Carpet.

I'm pretty sure E! just picked Star Jones-Reynolds because they wanted to find the one person on the face of the Earth who could give Joan & Melissa a run for their annoying and inappropriate money. If I could just say one thing to SJR, it would be: IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU. Nobody cares that you're wearing the same jeweler as Hillary Swank, OK? Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup. We don't tune in to hear you blabber. All we really want is to SEE THE CELEBS. So move your fat ass out of the way.

And poor Kathy Griffin. Really, she has the worst job in the world. Because there has to be a #2 to throw it to, seeing as Star has no idea how to entertain the viewers when she's between celebs. So they put this poor girl up on scaffolding, miles away from the action, so she doesn't really have anything to report or say. They just stick her up there and say, "OK...be funny." So of course her jokes are lame! Who could work that gig?

I wonder if Star and Joan and Melissa actually get seats in the auditorium. Do you think they do? I bet they don't. Not that they didn't have plenty of empty ones to give away last night.

Trauma Ward

I got to go to the emergency room today! Obviously I'm okay, or I wouldn't be typing this. Still, though... We had a bunch of leftover firewood, and a friend of mine came to get it this morning. We were helping him load his truck, and Matt and I were in the woodshed getting armloads of wood. I was crouched down below him, and he put an extra piece of firewood on top of the stack he had in his arms. Well, it fell off. It found a nice, soft landing spot over my right temple.

I stood up and went into the house, because I didn't want to cry in front of my friend. (Big tough girl that I am.) I went into the bathroom and sat down with my gloved hand held to my head. Then I realized that my glove was wet, and looked at it. Yeah, it was a gusher. Matt came in and looked at me, and I said, "I h-huh-have to g-g-g-go to the huh-hospital." And away we went.

No stitches, no concussion. All I could say was, "Please don't shave my head." And for the record, I got a tetanus shot today. Now you can all remind me the next time I get injured that I don't need one.

Needless to say, Matt feels absolutely horrible. It didn't help that the emergency room folks kept asking how it happened, as if they thought I'd change my story and admit that he was whaling on me or something.

Anyway. This is probably my last post for a while. I need to be packing boxes and cleaning, not sitting here on the computer. But hey, how could I not blog about that?

Mmm!

Can you guys believe that today was the first time in my entire 30 years of life that I ever ate sushi? Oh boy, was it ever tasty. What have I been missing all this time?!

If you're through the area, stop at Buffalo Gal Market & Deli in Donnelly for lunch or dinner. You flat-out can't beat the food you get for a very reasonable price. In addition to sushi, they make a chicken cordon bleu sandwich that I am trying to convince them to rename "Orgasm on a Bun."

Are They Made With Real Girl Scouts?

We made a brief stop at the local grocery store this afternoon and there were four little pixie-girls hanging around a card table. And what did they have this fine day? Girl Scout cookies, of course!

Damn, those things are expensive. Yes, I bought seven boxes. But it came to $25!!! So now, in addition to the 457 boxes we currently have to move, I've added seven little wee ones.

Cha-Ching!

Idaho Man Hits the Powerball Jackpot

BOISE, Idaho - A 22-year-old restaurant manager is the winner of Wednesday's $18.7 million Powerball jackpot.

Eric Kyle bought the $1 Powerball ticket on a whim at a Big Smoke store last Tuesday, and didn't realize he held the winner until he saw news reports on Thursday.

"I was instantly shaking," Kyle said during a news conference at Idaho Lottery headquarters Thursday afternoon. "It's something I dreamed about for a long time."

Well, good for him. The article goes on to say that if he takes the lump-sum, the State of Idaho will get something like $800,000 in taxes. Speaking as the spouse of a State employee, that'd be cool.

The Place is in Good Hands

I wanted to extend a "thanks in advance" to Sherri and Kalisah, who will be guest-posting for me during my move. (Sherri, I think you're still active as a member. Kalisah, let me know if you don't get the invitation I just sent.)

I think I'll only be without ether for a week. Hopefully less than that. I've put my husband in charge of figuring the internet connection stuff out for me, and I think we'll be getting DSL. Good thing the iPods are cheaper now, huh? *grin*

Anyway, I'll be around through Sunday, so you haven't got rid of me yet!

Getting Edjumacated

I did it: I went ahead and signed up for an online class to teach me Dreamweaver MX. I've been spinning my wheels on the web design stuff, and realized that I needed some help in figuring out what to do. (And I don't want to pester Mel too much. Even though design geniuses should try to help we numbskulls as much as possible.)

It will be starting in March, well after we're settled in Boise. There are two lessons per week, and you can log in and review the material, take the quiz, and complete the exercises any time that's convenient for you.

Groovy, eh?

Write Like an Egyptian

In case you were wondering how to write your name in ancient Egyptian.

Never know when that might come in handy.

Surrounded by Boxes

We got the good news today that the appraisal is scheduled and everything is on-track for our closing on Tuesday. Let's all shout a collective, "Hooray," shall we?

HOORAY!

The moving van will try to roll up our abysmal driveway on Monday, whereupon hordes of game wardens will fill it up with all our wonderful junk, then I run the vaccuum around one last time, and we go sign papers. We'll head to Boise, overnight in a hotel somewhere, and sign on the new house Wednesday. Our realtor thinks we can take occupancy of the new place on the day of closing, and we're hoping that works out. (Sometimes, in fact, usually it doesn't work out that way. Your $$ has to overnight in a financial institution for some reason.)

There are definitely some things about Cascade that I'm going to miss. I walked in to work today and there was a five-pound bag of Hot Tamales on my desk, a "parting gift" from that co-worker of mine who sulked for three solid weeks in November when I told him we were moving. Sweet, eh?

The women I exercise with are going to be much-missed. Where in Boise am I going to be able to pick up good gossip about people I know slightly? That's where I learned about the girl who had stomach pains and delivered a baby. (Update: She knew she was pregnant and just didn't want to tell her parents. It's so much gentler when your amniotic sac just explodes all over the kitchen floor, dontcha think?)

Sigh...I'm glad that there will be good times and good people to miss. I'm grateful for that, and I'm so looking forward to the next phase of my life.

Finally, can anyone guest-blog for a week or so until my computer/internet connection is reestablished?

HH, GWB

Matt and I went to see "The Aviator" tonight. I knew next to nothing about Howard Hughes prior to seeing it. Odd man...it's a shame that today's medication wasn't available in the 1940's.

We were trying to decide what the moral of the tale was, and we finally came up with, "Even if you're crazier'n a bedbug, you can achieve anything you want in this great nation, provided you have an unlimited supply of cash."

You know, you combine that philosophy with "Animal House," and I think you've got the life & times of George W. Bush.

Karma Chameleon

Fire up the Good Thoughts Generator, guys: our realtor called on Thursday and said that the buyer for our house in Cascade has evidently not scheduled his appraisal yet. That's a contingency of his loan, and the final thing he has to go through to be ready for closing a week from tomorrow. The realtor is supposed to call us as soon as she knows what the scoop is, and we've been on pins and needles all weekend.

Send me good thoughts and karmic blessings, willya? I'm about to lose my marbles.

Oh. Okay.

I just learned tonight that you can buy caskets on the CostCo website.

Good to know...

"Lasadh" is Gaelic for "Poach My Content"

I stole this from Sherri, who was getting mad comments from her reader polls. So in the spirit of unoriginality, I'll ask you all:

1. How often do you floss?

2. Women: briefs, bikinis or thongs?

Men: boxers, briefs, or boxer-briefs?

3. Do you wear glasses?

4. What did you have for breakfast?

5. How old were you when you lost your virginity?

6. Coke or Pepsi?

7. If someone handed you $100 right now and told you you had 5 minutes to spend it, what would you buy?

8. How many states have you lived in?

Social Insecurity

This is very interesting, particularly for those of us who are not very close to retirement. Check out the benefit amount you'd receive at retirement from the Social Security program as it stands today, then see what you'd get under the President's plan for privitization: Benefit calculator.

You Hear About it on the News...

...but you never think it'll happen in your own town. As I was at work today, I heard LifeFlight (the air ambulance from Boise) go over the office twice.

I heard this evening that one of the flights was taking a newborn down to a neo-natal care unit. It appears that a young woman in town was complaining of severe stomach cramps. Let me repeat that: severe stomach cramps.

The doctors examined her and it turns out she was in labor! She didn't even know she was pregnant. Yoicks.

Sounds like the baby is going to be okay, but since it had no prenatal care at all, the doctors up here wanted to play it safe.

Soul of Discretion

Well, I haven't made any great strides toward getting the new game warden married to my friend. Judging from all your responses, it sounds like the best thing to do is to encourage situations where they could get to know each other independently of outside pressure.

I think that'll happen. He works in the woods, she works in the woods. It's a small town. Since we're moving anyway, I think I'm going to have to let it all work itself out. But from what I've observed of him so far, I think they'd really hit it off.

I guess if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Right?

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

What do you guys think about setting people up for dates? Is it too risky, or are you just offering a couple of friends/acquaintances an opportunity for happiness?

The reason I ask is because the new game warden for this area (Matt's replacement) is sitting on our couch right now, and I keep thinking how he might be an excellent boyfriend for a young friend of mine. He's outdoorsy, has a stable job, and appears to have adequate personal hygiene. Who could ask for more, right?

However...do you think matchmakers run any risk of grief later if things don't work out? I honestly can't recall ever having been set up with anyone, so I don't have much frame of reference.

Is That a Wocket in Your Pocket?

I was looking online at job openings in the Boise area. I found an interesting position: a baggage screening specialist for the Department of Homeland Security.

It's a tiny bit tempting, actually. A lot of my experience would translate pretty well. On the other hand, I have a very saucy tongue on me, and there's a certain risk that I would inquire if someone had a wocket in his or her pocket.

Also, Homeland Security? Do you guys think that sounds like a reasonable fit for me? I think I'm pretty forthcoming about myself here on the blog, and I don't try to hide behind any artifice. You know I am something of a flaming liberal. So...should I think any more seriously about it?

Attention, All Doubters!

In the event that you doubted the veracity of my rubber-cleated golf shoes story, I present you with the proof:


That's me--to the right of the dog 

This is my sixth grade year, so it would be the second pair of those shoes. I'm grooving to those pink socks, aren't you? I'm not really sure what was up with the dog--I remember it wandered around our school a lot and got in the way when we played soccer.

Blonde Who Can't Focus, Dammit!

God, I have been so scattered lately. I've got about a half-dozen major projects going on right now, and I feel like I've been completely ineffective at all of them.

I have been:

Packing
Working on job applications (2)
Trying to keep the house up
Working full time
Exercising regularly
Trying to figure out how to put a website together
Working on loan and escrow paperwork
And, you know, trying to get pregnant.

Jeez. Anyone out there want to do pro bono personal assistant work? (For everything but that last one.)

Make it Stop...

Owwwwwww. I have such a whalloping headache right now. It came on so suddenly. Plus, my left ovary has felt like someone was pinching it in a vise pretty much all day. That's how I know I'm ovulating. Being a woman is SO GREAT!

/grump

Proof Positive

I had further reason tonight to be thankful that we're moving out of Cascade. The buzzards are definitely circling overhead as far as the whole county is concerned.

I was at a meeting that was attended by a member of one of the area Chambers of Commerce. Now, I've never been a business owner. I guess I lack the hunger that comes from being directly responsible for your own fiscal survival. But as an Idaho native, there are some things that I cherish about this state and feel fully equipped to speak of as an expert.

One of those things is that you can go for miles and miles without seeing billboards, strip malls and other glittery attempts to get you to stop and drop your cash on souvenier schlock. However, there are those who really want to sell more t-shirts, lattes, hotel rooms, etc. And gee whiz, there's all this great, untapped advertising space out there in the woods!

For heaven's sake, can't we just leave well enough alone? It's funny how that makes me grateful to move to Boise, isn't it? But there's something so dreadful in thinking of sitting on my front porch here in Cascade over the next ten years, watching as everything I love gets ruined. I think it is better to live someplace that is already ruined. It hurts less.

Closure is Good

All area girls with mohawks can sleep a little easier tonight:

Woman Wanted in Scalping Attack Turns Herself In

Marianne Dahle, the 26-year-old Caldwell woman accused of scalping a 16-year-old Nampa girl in January, turned herself in to the Ada County Jail about 9:30 today.

Story Time

I'm tired, cold and crabby tonight. Because I don't want to piss and moan about all that, I figure I'll tell you a story from my childhood. Most of these stories have lingering trauma associated with them, though in a very mild form. I'm looking forward to traumatizing my own children one of these days.

I was born and raised in the town of Garden Valley, which is about 40 miles north east of Boise. It took about an hour to get to the big city, and because my dad was a real estate developer, he often had to go to town for escrow closings and such.

Dad's meetings usually happened during the week, while my little brother and I were at school. Because no one wanted to waste the gasoline of another 80 mile round trip on a weekend, Dad often picked up basic groceries and other necessities while he was out.

One day, it was decided I needed new school shoes. That morning, my dad had me stand on a brown paper sack, and he traced the outline of my feet on the paper. That night, he came home in a very excited mood because he had scored me two years' worth of shoes on sale at KMart. (I didn't care--I was ten years old.) However, he handed me the sack and I found...drumroll...two pairs of MacGregor rubber-cleated golfing shoes in my current size, plus a second pair in the next size up. My fifth grade class photo shows me sitting in the front row with my golf cleats on conspicuous display.

I like to tell my husband that this is the reason I must buy nice, new shoes as often as possible.

Hrm.

I hope to high hell (forgive me, Mel) that Mel's site is just going through a little down-phase. I just loaded Sherri's new button over on the blog roll column, and everything seems to be a little woopsy when I preview the edits.

Someone please tell me that everything looks normal. And while you're at it, go check out Mel's work on Sherri's blog. Awesome, as usual!

Reason Number One Why I Don't Go to Hot Springs

Police: Idaho Teen is Tied Up and Scalped

BOISE (AP) — A 16-year-old girl was allegedly tied up and scalped with a 4-inch knife in what police say may have been an act of revenge by another woman.
The girl, who had a punk-style mohawk haircut before the attack, is recovering at home. Doctors could not reattach her scalp, which was found near a hot spring.

I have a number of reasons why I don't stick my bottom in the many hot springs to be found around this part of Idaho. First and foremost is that funky shit goes down at hot springs. A guy was murdered at a hot spring about 10 miles west of the above-mentioned place a couple of years ago. Additionally, some people go to hot springs to get busy. Ya know. And why in the name of all that is holy would I want to put my nether regions anywhere near a place where someone just got all sticky? Another notable reason is that lots of people around here who hit the hot springs choose to do it naked. And believe you me, they're never people you want to see naked. It's usually an extremely hirsute redneck couple who brought several bottles of malt liquor and a pack of Trojans along with them.

So. In case you were thinking of asking me to go to a hot springs or something...

Dear Lord, Please Make Someone Give Me a Job...

I was in Boise today and did sort of a pre-interview with the former boss of a friend of mine. If I were to get this job, I'd have a decent, 40-hour workweek, make exactly the same money I'm making now, and I'd be working about 2 miles from our new house. It would be so nice. And I've received some roundabout feedback that I made a really good impression and that he thinks he'd like to hire me. Unfortunately, it's not something that can be done noncompetitively, so now I have to stress out about the whole application process. It's all done online, and a freaking computer rates your answers and decides if you are (a) qualified for the basic duties, and/or (b) among the highest-qualified applicants. I could heave, because the whole thing is a total crapshoot. Anyway, it's nice to be wanted, right?

In the meantime, I've scared up about five weeks of full-time work, so it looks like I'm going to be rejoining the ranks of the employed. My total lay-off? Three weeks. That's almost like no vacation at all...

Temper, Temper!

I've mentioned before that my father has an anger management problem. Unfortunately, it seems to be something of a family thing, though greatly moderated in my siblings and I. The thing is, I've got a really long fuse, but it's attached to an enormous powder-keg.

I can usually feel when I'm about to lose my marbles, and that's something that I have been trying varying coping methods on for about three years now. When I internalize stress, I mess up my body. My shoulders tighten, which throws off my back and neck, and wreaks havoc on my hip problems. For a while, I was on pain killers for the hip. After a few days, I realized that not only was the pain gone, but so were the feelings of homicidal anger. (I exaggerate a touch there, but it's hard to describe the feeling of standing on the brink of my own temper--it's sort of like standing on the edge of a live volcano and looking into the crater at the roiling magma.) Turns out the pills were also a mild anti-depressant. Sadly, I didn't get to stay on those very long due to our desire to have a baby. Gotta keep the old system clean.

So I turned to yoga. That works great, as long as I can discipline myself to do it. But it's only a proactive method--I can't just drop into downward dog when I'm about to flip my wig. I'm trying really hard not to comfort eat. And I don't want to lose my temper at my husband or the dogs.

I'm telling all this because today, as I was sitting at the computer staring foggedly at PhotoShop and trying to figure out what comes next, I got a call from my hair stylist down in Boise. I have (had) an appointment to get my hair cut off tomorrow. Turns out her baby has the croup, and she can't take the baby to day care until she's better. For many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it's still a 170-mile round trip for me to go to Boise, I can't exactly reschedule for any other day. Because I have no idea when we're going to town next, and because her schedule is very busy, I decided that the only thing to do was try to set a new appointment for after we move to Boise. The new haircut date is March 16. I've been waiting five weeks already.

Still with me? After I got off the phone, I hid in the bathroom with tears rolling down my face. Why? Because it was the one thing that I was looking forward to this week. It was the one thing that I was doing for myself. The rest of next week is taken up with work (yeah, they called me back in again), real estate stuff, and all the other normal living things. So one good thing was looking awfully...well, good.

To bring this all back around, I decided to take a walk by myself, up behind our house. I stomped two miles through the snow in 35 minutes, and by the time I walked back in the house, I no longer felt like I was staring into the crater full of lava. I have resolved now to exercise every time I feel like I'm about to lose it. And here's the good part: I'm calling my new coping mechanism Hissy-Fitness.

I Hate Feeling Like a Drooling Idiot

I swear, I'm feeling so stymied by all this web page design stuff. I've got books on (X)HTML, CSS, PhotoShop Elements 3.0. I've got online tutorials for Dreamweaver MX. I've got patient and cooperative friends who are trying to help.

What don't I have? A clue. I think I've entered into Too Much Information-ville, Population: Me. The thing is, I don't understand how any of this all fits together.

To that end, I'm really thinking about taking a class. Or two. I just found out in today's newspaper that the university in Boise offers this stuff online, which is something I should probably already have thought of.

*sob* Any words of wisdom and/or encouragement from others out there who have fought this battle?

Any PhotoShop Elements Experts Out There?

Advise Me? 

Here's what I'm trying to do: notice how the 's' in the last word is really not even remotely 's' looking? I'd like to copy the 's' in the second word and paste it over to the last. Anyone know how to do that?

I've got the question in to Mel and Dee, but I'm welcoming advice from anyone who knows what to do. Thanks!

Further Proof that People are Ridiculous

Teens Sued for Cookie Delivery to Neighbor

A pair of Colorado teens surprised a neighbor by baking cookies — no charge.

It cost them $900.

Taylor Ostergaard, 18, and Lindsey Zellitti, 19, decided to stay home from a dance in July in order to surprise their neighbors with an anonymous delivery of homemade cookies.

But one of their neighbors, Wanita Renea Young, 49, became so terrified she suffered an anxiety attack and called the police. Young sued the girls and this week was awarded $900 to recoup her medical bills.

The two teens recounted the incident on "Good Morning America," and said that though they were disappointed by the judge's decision, they weren't angry and would continue to do good deeds.

After finishing farm chores for the evening, Ostergaard asked her father if she and Zellitti could bake cookies and deliver them to a few neighbors in rural Durango.

The girls knocked on the doors only of homes with lights on, left the cookies on the porch and ran away, wanting to keep their good deed anonymous. The packages included heart-shaped cards that read: "Have a great night. From the T and L Club."

At around 10:30 p.m., they knocked on Young's door. Young, whose home had reportedly been burglarized before, became frightened and called the police. The police determined no crime had been committed. But the next day, Young was admitted to the hospital suffering from an anxiety attack.

Despite receiving a note of apology from the girls and an offer to pay her medical bills, Young ended up suing them. On Thursday, a Durango judge ordered the girls to pay about $900 for Young's medical bills. She was awarded nothing for pain and suffering.

"I know there wasn't any intent to cause harm, but I think that they made some poor choices," Young has said. "I think there should have been some accountability."

Now, I've only had one anxiety attack in my entire life, so I will admit up front that I cannot make any personal connection to what Ms. Young felt. However, why couldn't she just have left it when the police discovered that there was merely a box of cookies on her doorstep? Did she really have to pursue it judicially? The article goes on to say that Americans are donating money to the girls to pay the $900. I'd love to see someone donate money to up Ms. Young's medication.

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

In the event you have nothing better to do, or if, like me, you have something better to do and are choosing not to do it, why not go play 20 Questions with a computer?

I probably spent a full 20 minutes fiddling around with it. Very cool.

Via Chris.

Ah, a Meme!

Louisiana Casey just tagged me, so now it's my turn to provide you even more fascinating details about myself. As though the other day's quiz wasn't enough. This time we're going to talk about the music that did/does move me. Here we go:

1. Song that sounds like happy feels
"Pretty Good Day," by Luce. It's definitely upbeat without being obnoxious. It describes the kind of day that I might want to write a song about. If I did such things.

2. Earliest Memory
I'd have to make two choices here, because I really don't know which hit my consciousness first. One, "Rhinestone Cowboy," by Glenn Campbell. This was one of my most favoritest albums ever, and it disappeared from my room forever one day. I think my evil mother got sick of me playing it overandoverandoverandover, and she threw it out. Two, the aforementioned mother was a HUGE fan of Barbra Streisand, and "Evergreen," stands out as being an early music memory.

3. Last CD You Bought
"Scissor Sisters" by...Scissor Sisters. I love love lovetty love this CD. It is so great for workouts. And driving your husband crazy with a disco beat.

4. Reminds You of School
I had two little girlfriends in grade school, and we used to sing "Delta Dawn" by Tanya Tucker as we played on the tire swing in the playground during recess. I knew all the words before I ever even heard Tanya Tucker sing it.

In high school, the first thing that comes to mind is "More Than Words," by Extreme, which was the song I dedicated to my first real boyfriend. *gag*

5. Total Music Files on Your PC
None. We have dial-up, and I'm not about to drive myself nuts trying to download anything with that crap.

6. Song for Listening to Repeatedly When Depressed
Well, it always has to do with a man, doesn't it? So I'd go with "You Oughta Know," by Alanis Morisette.

7. Song That Sounds British But Isn't
Uh...uh... I can't come up with anything here.

8. Song You Love, Band You Hate
I think "Evergreen," by Barbra Streisand deserves another mention, don't you?

9. A Favorite Song From the Past That Took Ages to Track Down
Easy. "One Night in Bangkok," by Murray Head. It's tough to find because (a) I'd never even heard of Murray Head and neither had anyone else in Idaho, and (b) because it is most commonly found on the soundtrack to "Chess," an 80's Broadway musical. It's probably my favorite song to dance to EVER.

10. Bought the Album for One Good Song
Well, there's about a hundred and fifty of these in my house. Most recently, "Good News for People Who Love Bad News," by Modest Mouse. I wasn't real thrilled with the CD, other than the song, "Float On."

11. Worst Song to Get Stuck in Your Head
This is going to suck, because now it's going to be stuck in my head. *drumroll* "Puff the Magic Dragon." There, are you happy?

12. Best Song to Dump a Beer on Someone's Head To, Then Storm Out of the Bar
How can I remember the name of the song? I was probably drunk at the time anyway...

13. Who Should do This Next
Sherri
Badger
Erica

For Those Who are Following the Saga:

Our offer on the house in Boise was accepted today. Now I just pray to heaven that the closing on our house up here goes smoothly. If so, we should be moving in around March 8. Woot!

Please, Please Tell Me Now

I figured I'd provide the answer key to the quiz I posted below. Why? Because some of you need it!!! Heh.

1. How many siblings do I have? I have five. Three brothers and two sisters.
2. What's my favorite color? Orange.
3. When I was in high school, I used to compete in: scholastic competitions (but thanks to all those who voted beauty pageants!)
4. I grew up in: Garden Valley
5. I am allergic to: cats
6. I lost my virginity at the age of: 21 (I was a late bloomer)
7. What was my first job? I was a pizza waitress at my parents' restaraunt.
8. How many piercings do I have? None. I'm satisfied with the number of holes naturally occuring on my body.
9. Where was my first job out of high school? At an insulation company. I was a secretary, and was badly harassed by my supervisor.
10. If I have a son, I will name him: Liam. I hope no one answered Bocephus. That would just be wrong in so many ways.

Time Just Draaaaags Alonnnnng...

We're still waiting to hear back on our counter-counter offer for the house purchase in Boise. Our realtor delivered it this morning and the seller's realtor indicated that he thought it would be no problem. But for whatever reason, our realtor thinks we won't know for sure until tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, Matt and I realized that we hadn't received any results from Saturday's inspection on this house. We looked at the contract, and the brokerage was supposed to get that to us by close of business yesterday. We didn't know what to do, and our phone calls weren't getting returned. We finally (with my dad's real estate expertise) drafted a letter to the brokerage pointing out the applicable sections of the contract where it said if we didn't get the results in the time specified, the buyers were implicitly signing off that everything was okay. The broker didn't seem to like our little note. Fancy that! It appears that someone dropped the ball, and even though our buyer was just signing off that everything was okay, we still should have been given some signed paperwork to that effect.

I'm not going to advertise it here on the blog, but in the event anyone is looking to buy or sell real estate in the Cascade area, I'll let you know who not to use.

Is That Your Final Answer?

There's no phone a friend option here.

Take my Quiz and then check out the scoreboard!

Thanks to my friend Allison for pointing this out.

Can Someone Tell Me...

...how to block certain searches from finding this page? I'm getting really sick of looking at hits for "Scott Wolfe/Kelly Limp wedding" after I posted one stupid article about it. (You losers out there seriously need lives. It happened forever ago.) I looked at the StatCounter help page, but didn't see anything.

I'd appreciate knowing how to eliminate some of these goofy stats. Thanks!