Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

We're almost there - the moment many of us have been waiting for - the release of the 7th (and last) Harry Potter book. Everyone has their predictions of who will live and who will die and we'll know very soon.

I saw a very interesting article today about the security measures Scholastic has been taking to ensure that no one gets an advanced copy and that we all get to experience that magical moment when we begin reading the book with no spoilers in mind. Completely innocent as the article states.

Harry Potter and the Sinister Spoilers

So I saw a half a watermelon on the side of the highway today - the left side by the center median. How strange is that?

White Castle Withdrawl?

Florissant White Castle to pull up its drawbridge for a while

Apparently the locals might experience 'withdrawal problems,' city councilman says - if they tear down the old restaurant and build a new one in it's place....

Seriously...

First Anniversary

Today is our first wedding anniversary! We didn't do anything especially exciting today, but we also didn't do any household chores or any of that kind of stuff. We started out attending Sunday mass at St. Ann in Normendy where we got married a year ago today. They had their parish bbq this afternoon so we stuck around long enough to see Fr. Bill rollerbladeing with the kids and had some delicious food courtesy of the men's club. Then we headed down to forest park and had our photo taken at the same bridge where our wedding pictures were taken. After that we headed home, played some Wii games and relaxed. I can't believe it's been a year since our wedding!

Dish Network is going down...

For the second time in a week our DVR from Dish Network did not record the television show that it was set to record. The first time was America's Next Top Model last Wednesday night. Minor inconvenience since Top Model is repeated Sunday nights. Tonight the piece of junk didn't record Gilmore Girls....the LAST Gilmore Girls episode ever. Dish Network will be hearing from me soon...

Where do you fit in technologically?

Do you cringe when your cell phone rings? Do you suffer from withdrawal when you can't check your Blackberry? Do you rush to post your vacation video to your Web site? The questions below allow you to place yourself in one of the categories in the Pew Internet Project's Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users.

http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/index.asp

My Results : Omnivore
Omnivores make up 8% of the American public.

Basic Description
Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace.

Defining Characteristics
You might see them watching video on an iPod. They might talk about their video games or their participation in virtual worlds the way their parents talked about their favorite TV episode a generation ago. Much of this chatter will take place via instant messages, texting on a cell phone, or on personal blogs. Omnivores are particularly active in dealing with video content. Most have video or digital cameras, and most have tried watching TV on a non-television device, such as a laptop or a cell phone.

Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends.

Who They Are
They are young, ethnically diverse, and mostly male (70%). The median age is 28; just more than half of them are under age 30, versus one in five in the general population. Over half are white (64%) and 11% are black (compared to 12% in the general population). English-speaking Hispanics make up 18% of this group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many (42% versus the 13% average) of Omnivores are students.

An ambiguous mascot to yet another ambiguous mascot...

Rivermen washed away, Chancellor approves Tritons

I thought I'd be excited when UMSL finally changed their mascot from the Rivermen....but they changed it to something equally ambiguous...the Tritons. What's a Triton was my first thought when I saw the headline....

UMSL Graphic Design Thesis Presentations

The UMSL Graphic Design seniors presented their thesis projects a couple weeks ago, and I thought I'd share them with my readers. Many of the projects were quite good and should win these students some great design jobs after they graduate. The projects below are just the students who had an online portion to their project, there were 16 total projects presented.

Seams: Measuring the Means of Design
"My mission for my thesis project was to take these subjects and use my knowledge and apply my skills to create something simple that can stand out and make a difference. Attempting to help make the public aware of graphic design was my goal. Also for students that are entering into the design field to have a better understanding of how to communicate their passion and create seamless design."


STL Arnor Spot
Creating an identity and promotional material for the St. Louis Arnor Organization.


Can graphic design be fine art?
Can fine art be made on the computer?
Creating a campaign to get graphic design students to study fine art as part of their college course work.


Boneyard Culture
Dominoes are played all around the world, but don't have as much popularity in the United States as they do elsewhere. This website was designed to help people understand dominoes and generate excitement for it.


Impact
Exploring design's roll in society.

Just when I thought stltoday.com couldn't get any more annoying...

If you live in St. Louis and want to find out what is going on in the news, many people turn to stltoday.com to have the story. Recently though, they have added some extremely annoying rich media banner ads, and I'm tired of it. I was annoyed by the hummer ad (that covers your content and then snaps back up on top where it belongs after playing for several long seconds). Today when I visit, I get the hummer ad, hit refresh to get a different ad because I'm not going to sit there and wait for it to disappear, and what do I get but a Ray Vinson Mortgage ad that has "Ray's" voice when I accidentally drag my mouse over the ad - not click like most banner ads that feature sound. The ironic thing is that I designed banner ads at the last company that I worked for, but honestly, I don't feel that any of ours were used in such an obtrusive and obnoxious way as these on stltoday.com. And by the way, I make it a habit not to frequent businesses with annoying advertising, be it billboards, television/radio commercials or web.

Well I've had enough of this crap blocking me from what I really want to see. From now on, if I visit stltoday.com and one of these obnoxious ads come up, guess what, I'm leaving the page. I'll go visit myfoxstl.com if I really want the local news. For national news, I'll stick to cnn.com where I've never seen such obtrusive banner ads.

Archbishop quits hospital board over Sheryl Crow

Archbishop quits hospital board over Sheryl Crow

I generally don't agree with the St. Louis Arch bishop, but I actually do on this issue. It's a catholic hospital, and should uphold catholic values.

Muse Fashion Show (at Stephen's College)

Kudos to the girls at Stephens for putting on the awesome fashion show last weekend. There were many neat designs displayed, including my sisters which are pictured above.

how to get to paris

• Go to Google.com


• Click on Maps.


• Click on get Directions.


• From St. Louis, Missouri


• To Paris, France.


• And read line # 23.

Sully Doodle, 2000-2007

Please Pray for Fr. Vince

I know that no one who reads my blog has any clue who Fr. Vince, but please pray for him anyway. He is a very close friend of my fathers, he was the pastor at the church where my parents attended when they first moved to Columbia (Sacred Heart) and was the priest who baptized me when I was 27 days old. My earliest memories of him are showing up unannounced at our home bring ice cream for us kids. Vince had surgery to remove esophagus cancer last fall. Below is a report from his sister:

"He has said for over a month that he has not felt well. Last Friday he had a test run and found that he had gall stones. As of today we had not heard what the treatment was to be. That is until this afternoon (March 19). We received a call from Bob Heinz telling us that Vince had called him around noon telling him that he was in severe pain and vomiting. Bob went over and was going to take him to the hospital but Vince was unable to walk to the car, so they called for an ambulance.

Tests were run and found that he had a twisted intestine. Vince called bob around 3:00PM to say he was going to surgery and while on the phone they came for him.We were on the phone with family and the hospital and asked the doctor to call when he finished surgery. Thank God it was Dr. Starke who did the surgery since he did the other one and knows Vince’s insides.

Dr. Starke called about 8:00PM and this is the report: Vince got through surgery okay. He had a bowel obstruction from adhesions, which he said are common for one having had stomach surgery. While in there he took out the gall bladder. Vince has been on blood thinner and they had to reverse that before doing surgery. There was no sign of further cancer. The big concern is Vince’s level of strength.

Update 4:30 A.M. – Dr. Starke called to say that Vince is not doing too well. They had to put him back on the ventilator. His blood pressure is down. He said his condition is not irreversible. So it is definitely up to prayers now."

New Logo:

I just noticed the other night that La Quinta Inn has updated their logo. I think it's an improvement, which isn't always the case with the recent hotel logo redesigns (see post from last July).

St. Louis Survey

This is a silly survey I got off myspace, but it is kind of interested too. I have lived in St. Louis since August 2001...and I think I've done more than some St. Louis natives!

In St. Louis I have seen/been to/experienced:

1. The Adams Mark Hotel -- never stayed in it but I have been inside. My dad stayed at it for a conference when I was a kid and then when we came to St. Louis as a family a couple years later he insisted on taking us inside to show us the big horse statue in the lobby!
2. The Old Spaghetti Factory -- many times
3. Driven over the MLK bridge -- yup
4. Driven Over the J.B. Bridge -- yup (well not me in the drivers seat but I've been over it in the car)
   
5. Driven over the Poplar Street Bridge -- yup
6. Been to Pops -- no
7. Been to The Oz -- no
8. Been to Westport -- yes, not a big fan
9. Been to Mardi Gras -- no I think it's just silly to get a huge crowd of people together in the streets to drink. I'd rather drink comfortably at home.
10. Gone to the top of The Arch -- yes but not since I moved here
11. Ridden Metrolink -- many times
12. Shopped at Plaza Frontenac -- no..because I prefer to shop where I can actually afford things.
13. Eaten at Imo's Pizza -- not in the restaurant, but I've had the pizza and it's yucky.
14. Shopped at South County -- yes, only a couple times, it's out of the way.
    
15. Shopped at West County -- yes, they don't have many stores I like
    
16. Shopped at Galleria -- yes, nice mall, will be interesting to see what happens when hwy 40 is closed tho
    
17. Shopped at Union Station -- yes, tourist mall, I used to see movies out there riding metro down from the UMSL dorms my freshman year though
    
18. Shopped at The Mills --yes, they don't have many stores I care for
19. Been to Pink Galleon (any location) -- yes, I hate smokey bars though.
20. Gone to Octoberfest in Hermann -- I think we drove out there once or twice when I was a kid.
21. Been to Ted Drewes -- yes, and I even had some at a department meeting this afternoon!
22. Walked along the Riverfront -- yes
23. Been to the Art Museum -- yes - was going every semester while I was in school for art history classes
24. Been to Six Flags -- yes, at least once a year for the last 5 years or so
25. Been to the St. Louis Zoo -- yes, one of my favorite St. Louis spots!
26. Been to Ronnies Theatre -- no, but I don't think I'm missing anything
    
27. Been to the Muny -- yes
28. Been to Silo X -- I am seriously afraid of haunted houses...but I want to go to a REAL haunted house with real ghosts and spirits and such
29. Been to Forest Park -- yes, it's really quite nice
30. Been to Fast Eddies -- nope
31. Been to the car show at the Edward Jones Dome -- no but I had to pay extra for my parking when I was working downtown and it was going on!
32. Been to a reception at Orlando Gardens -- no but I visited to see about having our wedding reception there.
33. Been to The Hill -- yes
34. Been to (old) Busch Stadium -- yup
35. Been to Busch Stadium II -- yup
36. Been to The Checkerdome -- just learned that this is the old arena, and the answer is no because they tore it down before I moved here.
37. Been to The Keil Center/Savvis Center/Scottrade Center -- I saw Pope John Paul II there back in 1998 (it was Keil then)
38. Been to a concert at Riverport/UMB Pavillion -- yes
39. Skied at Hidden Valley -- nope
40. Been to Hacienda on Manchester -- yes, I love me some mexican food
41. Flown out of Lambert Airport -- yes
42. Been to St. Anthony's Hospital -- no
43. Eaten at Eat Rite -- ha no but I consider it whenever I drive by
44. Been to The Tivoli theatre -- no
45. Eaten at Cecil Whittaker's Pizza -- nope
46. Been to the "'Revolving Restaurant" downtown? -- no
47. Eaten at Crown Candy Kitchen -- yes
48. Been to the V.P. Fair -- yes, loved it, trying to forget about the ride home on metro
    
49. Been to Dogtown for the Hibernian's St. Patty's Day Celebration -- nope
50. Been to Ameristar -- no
51. Been to Harrahs -- no
52. Been to Casino Queen -- no
53. Been to Fairmount Park for horse-race betting -- no
54. Been to Dave & Buster's in Earth City -- yes
55. Gone Bowling at Brentwood Lanes -- no
56. Sat on that big Tortoise in Forest Park -- yes
57. Seen the hot air balloon race at Forest Park -- not the race, but I have seen the glow twice
58. Been to the Lemp Mansion -- no but it is supposedly haunted so I want to check it out
59. Been to Grant's Farm -- yes, I love to feed the goats from the baby bottles!
60. Met Marshall Faulk in person -- no and I wouldn't know him if I saw him
61. Met Nelly in person -- no
62. Met Ozzie Smith in person -- no
63. Eaten at Cunnetto house of Pasta -- yes
64. Ridden in the Moon Light Ramble -- no
65. Eaten at Helen Fitzgerald's -- no
66. Been to the Old Cathedral -- yes
67. Hung out on Delmar -- yes, one of the first places I went with people from the dorm when I moved here.
68. Been to Meramec Caverns -- no, surprisingly
    
69. Taken classes at Meramec/Forest Park/Flo. Valley -- nope
70. Been to the notorious East Side -- ha no!
71. Have you ever been asked what high school you go to -- Yes and I tell them Hickman and they look at me like "huh?" Then I explain that I didn't grow up in St. Louis
72. Gassed up your car at the giant Amoco sign at the Highest Pointe in St. Louis -- I honestly can't remember. I know I've met up with people at that station
73. Eaten at Blueberry Hill? -- yes
74. Gone down a slide at the City Museum? -- they are so much fun!
75. Gone sledding at Art Hill? -- no
76. Gone ice skating at Steinberg rink? -- yes
77. Been to Dirt Cheap Cigarettes and Liquor? -- yes
78. Mentioned Buckley? -- LOL NO
79. Been to the science center? -- yes
80. Been on the AB brewery tour? -- no but I have been on Schfley's tour at the Bottleworks!
81. Been to Tower Grove Park? -- no
82. Been to Laumier Sculpture Park? -- yes, I love it there
83. Left St. Louis via the AmShack? -- ha no
84. Moved away and come back? -- nope

Wii have something to play tonight!

Tom got me a Wii!!! We've been looking whenever we are in a store that sells this exciting new game system, but hadn't found one in stock yet until today. More to come later...

Why I love craigslist...

Examples of why I love craigslist, here are two posted today:

2 to 3 foot female boa constrictor for trade:
very healthy snake. around 2 to 3 foot female guyana red tail boa. also a 20 gallon tank.will trade for a ps2,go carts,pocket bikes and other interesting trades. also looking for a registered female pitbull.i also have more high end boas i might consider trading.

Free somewhat busted lamp & bookshelf:
I just ditched a somewhat busted bookshelf (the little pegs that hold up one of the movable shelves are missing) and a somewhat busted 3-bulb stand-up lamp (the kind that normally has a long tubular papery shade over it, but the shade got torn up by my darling little cat, and it turns out I hate the lamp anyway) by one of the dumpsters behind the 6600 block of Washington Ave in U City (just south of the loop). So if you want some slightly busted furniture, by all means....

It's a girl!

Find out all the details on the St. Louis Zoo website!
(image from stlzoo.org)

sick

i am sick.
throat hurts.
nose running.
sinuses swelled.
ears popped.

St. Louis Barbie

I saw this on stltoday.com today and found it hillarious. Turns out they have a similar list floating around the internet for most major US cities...still funny when it's personalized just for you though!

"Clayton/Ladue Barbie"
This princess Barbie is sold only at Plaza Frontenac & the Galleria. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade, Prada and LV Handbags, Rolex watch a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a 25,000 sq ft. patio home. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

"Webster Barbie"
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

"East St. Louis Barbie"
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) ..unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

"Chesterfield Barbie"
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of Rolls Royce convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

"Jeffco Barbie"
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

"Downtown Barbie"
This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available as well as warehouse conversion condo.

"That one trailer park in Frontenac Barbie"
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Wentzville Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

"Central West End Barbie"
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow . She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Central West End Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

"Ferguson Barbie"
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

The end of viral marketing?

I'm sick of viral marketing. It's a good idea, but it has been way too over done. Remember a year or so ago in St. Louis where the cardinals billboards were allegedly "vandalized" and one morning and the whole city was talking about the missing birds from the billboards. Well that was one thing...now in Boston an entire city is up in arms because a viral campaign was mistaken for a terrorist attack. Find out more here.

This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. Seriously people, the feds have to take things seriously. If they hadn't taken it seriously, and it ended up being the work of a terrorist, who would be laughing then? There's a line between viral... between funny... between witty... between smart... between genius design and going too far and this was too far. It would have been completely different had the feds been notified, maybe the Mass. department of transportation (seeing as they were affixed to bridges). Let people know so there isn't a mass panic, and people can discover and enjoy your marketing. The funniest part of all is that the agency responsible for this stunt, Interference Inc, has taken down their website. I'd hate to be one of their other clients right about now.

The path from AT&T to...well...AT&T

I don't watch The Colbert Report much, or Comedy Central for that matter, but I found this video clip to be absolutely hilarious...and mostly because it's true. Check it out now on YouTube!

Stephen Colbert explains the evolution of AT&T starting in the 1980s to the AT&T we have today - and not much has changed except their logo (as shown below thanks to the Colbert Report):


I guess the lowercase letters in their logo are supposed to make them look more friendly and approachable.

Safe Driver Test

Remember that written test you had to take before getting your learners permit? Do you still remember the answers to those tricky questions like which way your wheels should be turned when you park on a hill? Find out now!

Take the Safe Driver Test by GMAC insurance. According to their website, 1 in 11 licensed drivers would fail a written drivers test if taken again today. To "pass" you must get a 70%. I'd be curious how many would pass the actual driving test if they had to take it again today...

I scored an 80%.

Sayonara Sears

Our dryer died the week before Christmas. Being a busy week we decided to pick out and purchase a dryer after the holiday when we had a week off. We figured we could buy it and get it delivered all while we were off work. Wishful thinking.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006:
I wash and dry a load of laundry. I go downstairs to put a second load in the dryer and it won't go on. Tom takes a look at it and confirms that it isn't working.

Friday, December 22, 2006:
Tom takes the dryer apart to try and figure out the problem. While he had fun deciphering the wiring diagram conveniently included inside the dryer panel, the dryer either had a dead motor or a dead timer. We decided to just buy a new dryer instead of repairing a 25 year old dryer that could require more repairs in the coming months.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006:
Me, Tom and Tom's father visit the near buy Sears hardware store and choose a moderately priced dryer with all the features that we wanted. Tom's parents offered to purchase the dryer for us as part of our Christmas present, and we graciously agreed (thanks again!). That evening Tom tried calling the Sears information line that they told us to call if we had any questions. We wanted to find out if the 25 year old setup down in the basement was still code by today's standards for a gas dryer. All Tom could get out of the recording on the phone was when it was going to be delivered.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006:
Tom calls St. Louis County to find out if our copper gas line meets county code. They say yes, it does you should be fine.

Friday, December 29, 2006:
The new dryer is delivered. However, the delivery guys refused to unhook the old dryer from the gas line because of the copper line. They tell us to have the gas company out, and once the line is replaced with a black pipe, then they will come out and haul away the old dryer and hook up the new one.

Wednesday, January 3, 2006:
Tom takes a day off work to stay at home and wait for Laclede Gas to come out and switch out the gas line.

Saturday, January 6, 2007:
Sears comes back out to haul away the old dryer and hook up the new one.....except that their order form from the store doesn't say anything about hooking up the new one. They haul the old one away and assure us that someone will be out later in the day to hook up the new one.

Tom spends the entire afternoon on the phone with Sears, and gets different stories from each person he talks to. Some say that it should have been hooked up. Some say that the ticket was written out wrong and they should have hooked it up anyway. Some say that the "customer refused hook-up." After 4 hours of getting no answers Tom tells Sears we are returning the dryer, that this is ridiculous and we aren't putting up with their crap.

Sunday, January 7, 2007:
Sears guys come to the house to hook up the dryer. Tom tells them that he's returning it, and once again calls their customer service to return the dryer. We are offered a $50 Sears gift card for our troubles if only we do not return the dryer ($50 to spend EVEN more money at a place that can't get their shit together...)

Monday, January 8, 2007:
Message on the answering machine when we get home from work from the local Sears Hardware store manager saying that she hears we had a "situation" over the weekend.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007:
Tom returns the call to Sears. The manager is one of the rudest people Tom has spoken to yet about the "situation" and tells Tom that he had not given them the opportunity to fix the situation before returning the dryer, and that he had called the wrong people on Saturday (so apparently the Sears store is separate from Sears customer service and Sears delivery....I think not!). Tom tells the manager there is nothing she can do, the damage has been done...Sears already had a chance to try to make amends.

That night we went to the Maytag store where we purchased a much cheaper dryer (with all the same features) from a very knowledgeable and friendly salesman. That dryer will be delivered and hooked up this Saturday. Maybe they will arrive at the same time as the Sears people arrive to take out the one we are returning.

We'll keep you posted on how Saturday goes!

The Cost of Higher Education

"In 1981, most students could earn two-thirds of the cost of a year of college by working full time at a minimum-wage job during the summer. Today, students would have to work full time for an entire year to cover the cost of one year at a public university..."

An interesting article from the Columbia Missourian, A penny saved is a degree earned.

I'd have to say that I definately missed out on a lot of stuff offered by my university because I had to work to get through college. Each year for the 4 years I was in school the tuition was raised, I think by 14% one year from the year before.

Recap of 2006

This survey is about the year 2006. Answer the questions thinking about the past year. My answers are below:

1. Overall, have you had a good year? It's a good thing we got married this year....otherwise the entire year would have sucked.
   
2. What has been your biggest achievement? getting married
   
3. Did you take any exams, pass? nope nope I is done with school
   
4. Have you been on a vacation (list where and when)? Jamaica in June for the honeymoon, and then Chicago in July to go to Six Flags and Chicago again in October to help some friends move (I don't know if that one counts as a vacation)
   
5. Have you bought anything expensive? a new car - 2004 Honda Civic
   
6. Have you had a job? yes, been there 1 year and 3 months now
   
7. Made any big decisions? I said "I do"
8. Lost a friend or loved one? In the emotional sense, not the physical (as in she didn't die or anything....)
9. Met anyone amazing? That's pretty hard to live up to...someone AMAZING...not sure.
   
10. Made new friends? yes, some new people at work and friends of friends
    
11. Moved house? nope
12. Changed College? done with college
    
13. Tried something new? being married - LOL
    
14. Been more happy or sad? happy
15. Made any enemies? not on purpose...
    
16. What music will you remember from this year? I haven't bought a CD in ages...music sucks right now.
    
17. What movies have you seen at the cinema this year? Believe it or not, I have not seen ANY movies in the theater this year...but I did join netflix
    
18. What was your best night out? My wedding day
19. What was your worst night out? I don't go out much
20. Best day? my wedding day
21. Worst day? when our chinchilla Teddy died
22. Best month? June
23. Worst month? November
24. Was summer a gooden'? summer's always good
25. Have you made better friends with anyone? yes and very glad for it
26. Lost any friends? yes...it makes me sad
27. Made any plans for next year? not really
28. How many hair colours have you had? just brown
29. Got pierced? no...still too scared of needles
30. Got inked? never!
31. Changed your image? nope
32. Missed anyone? yes
33. Know what you want in the future? yup
34. Regret anything? yes, but who never does anything they regret?
35. Have you had any relationships this year? with my husband!
36. Been to church? yes, I try to go every week but sometimes I can't get out of bed early enough.
    
37. Cried yet? yeah....it happens once in awhile
    
38. Been on a diet? I *thought* about going on a diet but never got past that point
    
39. Pulled an all nighter? no...I like my sleep
    
40. Drank Starbucks? yucky-0
41. Went Camping? no but I hope too next year
    
42. Bought something(s)? lots of things
    
43. Met someone special? everyone is special
    
44. Been out of state? out of the country in fact
    
45. Gone Snowboarding? no...but we got a lot of snow this week and I probably could have.
    
46. Gotten in a car accident? well not me...but I was in the car
    
47. Gone over your cell phone bill? yes because I had to make sure that we weren't going over our minutes
    

Gift Card Purchases

I got this warning via email and verified that it is true on snopes.com:

Well the crooks have found a way to rob you of your gift card balance. If you buy Gift Cards from a display rack that has various store cards you may become a victim of theft. Crooks are now jotting down the card numbers in the store and then wait a few days and call to see how much
of a balance THEY have on the card. Once they find the card is "activated", and then they go online and start shopping. You may want to purchase your card from a customer service person, where they do not have the Gift Cards viewable to the public. Please share this with all your family and friends...

Where should these folks live?

This random couple in New York have turned to the internet to decide where they should live after they get married. They chose 250 towns across the continental United States and want people to vote for where they should live. You can vote as many times as you’d like for any combination of towns you like. Once a town receives 1,000,000 votes, they are going to move to that town for at least one year (and update the world on what they think of the town they end up in). Personally I think they should have narrowed it down some - 250 towns is way too many, but I guess they wanted the media hype in all those towns across the country. They probably should have worked a little harder on their website design as well ... but then, I'm just picky about things like that.

So where do you think they should live. I have submitted several votes for my hometown of Columbia, MO (which is currently number 33 of 250). Below is the top 10, just to give you an idea of where things stand.

So cast your vote!

The Scream

Here is the infuz rendition of The Scream by Edvard Munch.