Seeing Double....

This happened a few months ago....and I wrote out the entry....but I was not ready to share it...

There I was…..minding my own business…..when I turn and I see the doppelganger to end all doppelgangers….the big ray of sunshine…. just 20 years from now….complete with the same personality, beaming smile and unmistakable physical similarities...

Somehow he looked like he would give a bear hug if one was needed – for me - a complete stranger….

I felt the pang…and then it went from joy to anger and then back and forth a bit….

I am in a place where it did not floor me like it would have...

Interesting how you can run the full gamut of emotions in about 5 seconds....

We are not to the point of happy yet….a tentative friendship perhaps....

The original foundation was destroyed....It could take forever to rebuild...

If it even gets rebuilt….

Ka-ching!!

I think that I can safely say that I have conquered Rite Aid…..It has never been the best place for deals, but today I surprised even myself!


Gain Dish Detergent – on sale for $0.89 - $1.00 off manufacturer coupon

No Nonsense Pantyhose - on sale for $2.99 - $1.00 off RA coupon

Depends Underwear – on sale for $12.99 - $3.00 off manufacturer coupon and $2.00 off RA coupon

2 boxes of Playtex Tampons – on sale 2 for $8.00 - $1.00 off and $1.50 off manufacturer coupons and $2.00 off 2 RA coupon

$4 off your $20 purchase Rite Aid coupon

Total is $9.37

But wait, it gets better!

$1 Up Reward for the No Nonsense
$2 Up Reward for the 2 Playtex boxes

$4 RA rebate for the Depends

So, when all is said and done, the actual total is $2.37!!

$2.37.....HOLY CRAP!!

La, La, La...

I had quite the experience on Friday (and I still feel a bit hoity toity saying it) – I went to see an opera at the Met!!!

My friend won tickets to the final dress rehearsal for Boris Godunov and she invited me along. It was a long show (4 ½ hours with intermissions) and I am glad that I went with someone who is familiar with operas. Plus she gave me the synopsis to read while on the bus so I would have some clue as to what was going on.

No photos allowed in the opera house...I did not take this photo...nope...not me....
Did not take this one either....

Sitting outside, having a snack, looking up....

The door that lead to leg room!!

Couple of things:

The costumes were incredible….

No Phantom showed up, so no crashing chandelier either…

The woman that sang was neither fat nor wearing a bronze bustier and Viking hat…

The actor playing the priest looked like Eddie Izzard….

The lead is a smoker!! (we waited by the stage door to see the Latvian opera singer and watched the lead mingle with his friends)

The seats are made for some very short people – luckily we bumped into someone that we know and in exchange for some cookies, he asked us to join him in his seats. Box seats = different view and leg room!

Always bring snacks to the opera….

The end of intermission is announced by gongs and a woman with a xylophone.

The chandeliers are amazing…and I was thoroughly excited when they rose up to signal the start of the show…..

Opera groupies are an interesting bunch…..

Hakuna Matata...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Disney Villains...

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!

Boingy, boingy, boingy!!!

This is what happens when my email is backlogged...

I see THIS later rather than sooner.....

A new MAC collection that calls to me.....

I have been a fan of the Disney Villains (and Villainesses) for ages.....



Cruella






Evil Queen







But the collection that I adore most of all....

MALEFICENT









I love that they used the drawings of these characters to model the different looks that you can achieve with each collection...

Rinse and Repeat...

I realize that I left out an integral part of my birthday festivities....and every time I get it out of my head, someone mentions it.....Enjoy!!

Ding, Fries Are Done!





And of course Family Guy had to recreate it....

Definitely Celebrated!!

Greetings on cars

Yummy Sushi

Flowers and Balloons

Fire Pit

Sugar Shock

Smooshes

Ren Faire

Yeah…my birthday was definitely celebrated properly!!

Change of Box....

"Honey, welcome to my box." Samantha Jones


It’s a quote from one of the Sex & The City episodes….

I remember watching that episode and thinking that it was a ways off….

And now here I am, changing boxes when they ask my age….

It does not bug me...

The decade changes do not bug me…..

It’s the decade plus one that gets to me…

And I have a ways to go before the next one…

Weeee..Weeee...Weeee!!!

I am STILL laughing at this commercial....

I fight the urge to do this in the car when I am a passenger...

Hmm...if only I could get my hands on some pinwheels...

Pirate Speak!

Two If By Land, Three If By Reservoir....

Yar...Yar...Yar, Yar, Yar....and Yar…

We celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day a bit early and actually won first place in a costume contest!!! We are now “Pirates that own a Heineken branded guitar”....(note to self - learn to play)

I am very happy that I was in attendance this year...slightly differently than I had thought when I agreed to it last year but much better!! Plus it is a bonus when everyone gets into the spirirt of things - even if they are not dressed in costume. The radio station guys found themselves quite educated in pirate speak by the end of the night!

And on a personal note of achievement – my corset needed to be tightened – a lot more than expected….sweet!!


The next day we took to the sea….well, the reservoir….spent a very full day paddling around with a third pirate. Booty was obtained (not just garbage), much fun was had and cairns (nifty rock towers) were created. We even met up with our nautical friend….all "bro-mance" jokes aside, he is a cool dude and it is awesome to see other like minded people when paddling!

At one point, after dodging acorns (while paddling along the shore), we channeled the acorn chuckers…..you can smack an acorn with a paddle….it makes an awful noise though!

Speedy Mix...

For some reason, this mix makes me speed...vroom....

Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Tomoyasu Hotel
Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
Welcome To the Jungle – Guns & Roses
Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard
Tainted Love – Marilyn Manson
Bitch – Goo Goo Dolls
Material Girl – Madonna
You Give Love A Bad Name – Bon Jovi
Kick Out the Jams – Rage Against The Machine
Monkey – George Michael
Magnificent Seven – The Clash
When I Grow Up – Garbage
Impression That I Get – Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Someday I Suppose - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
State of Love & Trust – Pearl Jam
How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
Push It – Garbage
If I Had A Million Dollars – Barenaked Ladies
I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper

Heh...

see more dog and puppy pictures

Blooms....

I had some nerves going on today...

Then the interview went smoothly.....

And I got some Harvest Spice coffee....

And to top it all off - this came to my house...

Cue a big smile that makes my dimples into craters....

Dodging Acorns....

Yesterday, we took a hike (literally - yeah, that joke does not get old for me at all)...

We stood with our thoughts looking at the NYC skyline for a bit before making friends with the hawk watching guys (incredible camera gear!). And after that, we set out for a few hours of acorn dodging! (there was also an incident where I was attacked by a tree.....I guarantee you the tree has another version of that story.....)

Fun with VFF's and some dirt/gravel...

The levitating grasshopper!! (on the ground right now but he did levitate!)

Gnarly tree....do not remember if it was an acorn chucker or not.....

D-D-D-Deals!!

So as not to bore you all with another pic of stuff, I simply would like to thank the following stores….

Target

$0.39 box of 375 count Q-tips (manufacturer & Target coupon)
$1.99 Purex 3 in 1 – 20 loads of laundry for ten cents each? Yeah, I’ll take that!

Rite Aid

For $0.42, I took home:
2 20 oz. Pepsi Max’s
1 snack size bag of Doritos
2 packs of Orbit gum

The Pepsi’s had BOGO coups from both RA and the manufacturer (combined equaled to 2 free sodas), the Doritos coupon was for a free bag when you bought 2 Pepsis and the gum was a BOGO coupon as well. (The person at the register keyed in the full price vs the sale price. Total should have really been about $1)

Shoprite

I saved $28.50 between sales and coupons – OOP was $11.66 for 4 packs of Weaver chicken products (nuggets, tenders, etc.) at $1.99 each, cottage cheese at $0.77, 2 boxes of Quaker Instant Oatmeal at $1.50 each and Milk at $0.99. Only thing I paid full price for was the chopped spinach ($0.99) which I need for dinner tonight.

North Shore or Bust!

A fun way to spend Labor Dkay Weekend - I can finally say that I have conquered Splitrock’s North Shore! (there is even video footage of this event!)

After a slightly bumpy start (involving waves), the rest of the paddle trip was a lot of fun. Lots of nature to check out, islands to see, minimal trash to pick up and I got to experience the other side of the reservoir. Very peaceful!!

There may have been some knocking over of this very carefully constructed cairn….total accident though!


And there were doggies!!! They did not care that we were there – all the wanted to do was swim and catch tree branches – no wussy sticks for these dogs!!

The paddle back was long but I put my head down and actually enjoyed the waves….those with binoculars just kept chuckling – I did not need any device to see the whitecaps that were waiting for me in the last two miles!!

Sunday's night company made me a bit of a whirlwind of enthusiasm. Huge thanks to TGP for helping ALOT with the food and clean up!! A good group of people, pumpkin beers and a fire pit made for a great night!!

Dancing At The Movies...

This just makes me smile....

Dreams....

I had a very vivid dream last night – it’s still bugging me so I have to share….

Car carnage at every turn...

A big UPS truck backing into my driveway and crumpling up my car.

A Jeep Wrangler tries to climb a tree (that used to be in our front yard) and gets about halfway and comes crashing down.

Everywhere I looked there were cars being destroyed.

And I just stood on the front lawn yelling that it all had to stop.

Moral of the story? No more spicy food after 8 pm!

Adventure!

I have taken to recapping my weekends in a lump statements...

This past one included - Fire Pit, Kayak, E & C, more Fire Pit and BBQ!!

But I feel compelled to elaborate!

Fire Pit - snuggly, controlled fire with "sprinkles" that made it change color!! (purple, teal, 3 shades of blue, green - just SO cool)

Kayak - got to help with more garbage clean up but also realize how far I have come with paddling - I can paddle backwards comfortably!

E & C - had not seen them in a while and we got to chat about life...

More Fire Pit - self explanatory, right?

BBQ - fun times even though we did not indulge our hostess and play Beer Pong....

And then there was the Grand Finale to the weekend.....taking the One Who Must Not Be Blogged About home.....she yanked my car out of gear on the highway twice (from automatic to fake stick), breathed a sigh of relief at being in her own home and adapted SO quickly to the caretakers....we all breathed our own sigh of relief!