Is Facebook the Root of All Evil?

I wish SO bad I could take credit for this post but I can't. I love it though. It's SO true and it happened to me just the other week. You can read JPo's hilarious blog here. I had a "friend" on facebook completely rip me a new one because of a stupid video that I put up on facebook. I'm seriously contemplating getting off facebook completely and just sticking with my blog. That way at least I have a reason to not get into all the stupid drama.
 
Is it just me or is there a constant cloud of drama hanging over Facebook? Do most of the arguments you get into start with, "I saw on Facebook that you've been....."?

I'm truly beginning to wonder if facebook is the Devil's mistress here on Earth. If Facebook was created in the pits of hell rather than a college dorm room. I've heard of people loosing friends, boyfriends, jobs and HUSBANDS due to the inner workings of this "social site" a.k.a. "festering pool of temptation".

Facebook is fun in a lot of ways....It's one less reason to call your friends on the actual telephone; you can join fun groups like, "I love Mac and Cheese"; you can brag to all your facebook friends by posting pictures of your latest dream vacation or your good looking kids; you can show that person in high school that would always turn you down how damn good you look now. It's fantastic.

But, oh how Facebook can be Satan in disguise. Things get twisted and turned around; people begin hating you for your political opinions; you begin to feel left out if you weren't included in a fun outing that you see the posted pictures of; people of the opposite sex seek you out; you unwillingly have to know the every move of that one fb friend who updates their status every few minutes even when it's "I'm now brushing my teeth".

I mean seriously? I don't want to know if your brushing your teeth, scratching your butt, taking out the trash or taking a poop! I don't care!

Too, often times have you asked your spouse, "Why did you say you 'like' Sally's post?" Is it because you like her??!
Or, why don't you update your relationship to include me? Are you ashamed of our relationship?

Today, I accidentally hurt a dear friend's feelings on facebook. I was so sad that this happened, but what I was most sad about was I had no idea what I did. Immediately, I hopped onto my facebook (which is conveniently located on my phone because, God forbid we go a second without getting our Facebook News Feed updates) to try and figure out what I had done wrong. Nothing, nada. I couldn't find it. After a few phone calls and further searching, BINGO. I found it. I totally see how it could have hurt my sweet friend's feelings. Not because what I said was mean or ill-willed but because it's typed and when something is typed you have no idea what a person's demeanor, feelings or meaning is behind it. It was not meant to hurt anyone just simply to make a joke about myself. But, what did it do? Instead, it hurt someone I love.

Sometimes I miss the good ole' days of MYSPACE, where bands constantly asked you to hear their music and you would search all Saturday morning for the perfect Profile background and Song List.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things....

Sometimes I think I forget to appreciate the small things in life. So here is a list of all the small things that are my favorite. I could probably fill up pages and pages but here are a few.

• A great parking space at work
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Being able to not have to put make up on
• Watching Stratton try to put my make up on
• Spray Tans
• Taco's from Taco Bell with mild sauce
• Swinging on a porch swing
• Sleeping in Derek's
• My own bed with flannel sheets
• Pranks
• Rollos
• violets
• my Iphone 4 and being about to FaceTalk with my MIL
• the way baby puppies smell
• blogging
• 50% off at Hobby Lobby
• VictoriasSecret.com
• geocaching
• comfy jeans
• Dr Pepper
• McDonalds French Fries
• Avenged Sevenfold music
• Gelly Pens
• new earrings for my the gaping holes in my ears
• restaurants that let you color on their table cloths
• new mascara
• slow dancing
• spell checks little wavy red lines
• Ranch dip and hot sauce with Wibbs BBQ  sandwiches
• Chinese food from Pagoda Garde, China Palace, and Golden Gate
• True Religion Perfume
• my new glow in the dark bpa free nalgene bottle
• my planner!!!
• hot wheels
• Stratton waking me up on the weekend wanting eggs. I love the way he says eggs.
• taking pictures
• decorating my house
• the smell of christmas
• Stratton's hugs and kisses
• Stratton's smell when he has just gotten out of a bath
• DVR and not having to ever miss my shows ever again
• Twilight everything
• long warm baths 
• getting my nails done
• the feeling you get when you take off in an airplane

More about me

8 TV Shows I watch:
1. LA Ink
2. Terriers
3. Spongebob Squarepants
4. Project Runway
5. Life of Jenks
7. The Buried Life
8. Americas Next Top Model

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Cafe n' Me
2. Saffron
3. Ruby Tuesdays
4.Mediterranean on Broadway
5. Shogun
6. Taco Bell
7. El Torrero
8. Bella Italia

8 Things that happend to me today:
1. Woke up late
2. Freaked out because my face hates me in the winter and is breaking out
3. Picked up Stratton from D&L's then dropped him off with Mrs Lisa (love her)
4. Got to work 20 min late
5. Set up printers for the 2nd floor
6. Worked on the layout for the 2011 NAMM Show
7. Finished off my container of Hummus (sad face)
8. Checked out the new zit on my face again and plastered more make up over it...not helping my case.

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Getting this week over with
2. Finals next week and not sweating it because I've been staying on top of it! Score!
3. The Jingle Bell Run this weekend
4. Getting to hang out with my sister in laws next Tuesday
5. Getting Stratton to sit on Santa's lap for pictures (which probably isn't going to happen)
6. Making sugar cookies with my Steph, Stratton, Payne, and Mona
7. Catching up with old friends
8. The Future-it's lookin pretty bright to me!

8 Things I wish for:
1. An xterra
2. Stratton being potty trained
3. A shopping spree!
4. Snow on Christmas (I can't remember the last time we had a white Christmas
5. A maid
6. the power to fly
7. My hair to magically grow 8 inches
8. A stronger faith in the Lord

Starting a New Tradition

I want to start a new family tradition this year. I want all three of us (me, Derek & Stratton) to go to Hallmark and pick out our own ornaments for Christmas.I know when I moved out of my parents house it was really nice to not have to but a boat load of Christmas ornaments when it came time to put up our tree. My mom has saved ornaments (not just Hallmark ornaments) over the years and let me pick out a small box to start off our collection of family ornaments. (The sad part is that we are going to have to get a bigger tree because of all the ornaments we have now) Here is the ornament that my sister got for Stratton last year. I just love it.

It's the start of our Hallmark collection. I can't wait to go this weekend and pick a few more out for the entire family. Next year we might just have to invest in a new tree too.

101 in 1001

It's official...I started my 101 in 1001!

Random thought of the day...

I seriously CAN'T stop eating these two items!

 My sister and I went to St. Louis over the weekend to get my phone fixed. (Ugh, I hate when my stuff breaks) We stopped by our friends Dennis and Ambre's house and had a bite to eat then went to the Good Will. (Scored 4 pairs of pants for Stratton and it only cost me $8!) After that we went to Trader Joes and I got sucked into stopped by the sample desk. They had these awesome french truffles sitting out so I devoured tried one and they were amazing! They seriously melt in your mouth. Yumm! The only down side...I seriously can't stop eating them. I keep telling myself that the hummus is healthy so it out weighs the chocolate. It doesn't help that I have only had the hussus open for two days and it's already like 4/5 of the way gone. Oh well. I'll just have to go make another trip up there and get another container...of both. We went by the Alpine Shop and Casey and I both got some REALLY cute hats. Stratton got to spend the day with my mom and dad so it turned out to be a really great day. I even considered geocaching but since my phone was cleaned of all apps we didn't get to. Soon we will be out there again...soon.

Day 14 of 12 Day Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience?

If I were to go on Oprah I would love to have the following:

1. my debt completely paid off

2. a pure bred puppy

 3. a designer hand bag

4. a new (paid off) car

5. a two week cruise for two

6. a trip to Australia or some other other beautiful location

7. an iPad or MacBook

8. MONEY!!!

ok that's enough wishing for one day. 

oh to be Oprah and have more money than I know what to do with...

 

Grandma, Grandpa & Stratton at the Christmas Tree Farm

My mom and dad (Grandma Kathie and Grandpa Calvin) took Stratton to the Christmas Tree Farm this weekend. He had such a good time with the horses and Sage. That little guy loves animals. Here are the pictures my dad took from Saturday.

Day 13 of 12 Day Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter (softened at room temperature)
1 egg, lightly beaten (egg should be at room temperature)
3 Tablespoons half-and-half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) .
2. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
4. With a fork, stir in lightly beaten egg, vanilla and half-and-half. Blend well with fork, then your hands to ensure thorough blending. Chill dough for one hour for easier rolling.
****If you are not rolling the dough, chill for 15 minutes then skip to step 6 for baking.
5. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes.
6. Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sugar or leave plain for decorating with icing.
7. Bake for 6 - 7 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
assorted food coloring colors

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and confectioners sugar until smooth.
2. Beat in corn syrup and the vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If the icing is too thick, add additinal corn syrup to thin slightly.

3. Divide the icing into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to the preferred color intensity. Paint the icing onto the cookies or pipe with decorator icing tubes and tips.
4. Top with candy decorator balls, holiday sprinkles or any other festive design. Enjoy, these are as much fun to decorate as they are to eat!

The following are sure fire tips for the perfect sugar cookies:
* If you are rolling the dough to use cookie cutters, remember to keep the dough chilled. As it warms it sticks to the rolling pin and the surface you're rolling on.
* The thinner you roll your dough, the crispier the cookie will be. This recipe calls for rolling the dough 1/4 inch thick, which makes them soft with just the right amount of crispness around the outside of the cookie.
* Soften the butter at room temperature for about an hour or two before mixing. Butter that isn't softened won't mix properly and your cookies will be flat. Do not microwave butter to soften, it will soften unevenly.
* The eggs should also be room temperature. Cold eggs can cause the batter to curdle.
* Halfway through the baking process, take a minute to rotate the baking sheets from back to front for even baking. This step is worth it to prevent unevenly baked batches of cookies.
* If you are making more than one batch, do not put the dough on hot cookie sheets. It will spread as you're placing the dough on the sheet, and baking will be uneven.
* The brand of flour makes a difference. Gold Medal or Pillsbury flours are lower-protein. King Arthur flour is higher protein which produces slightly drier, cakier cookies.
* If you want extra dough, this sugar cookie recipe freezes well. You can freeze the dough for about four weeks as long as it is tightly wrapped.

Day 12 of 12 Day Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 12: Show off your Christmas lights/decorations

These pictures were taken with my phone so they aren't great. I'll take some more tomorrow.

 Stratton, my mom and I made these today. They were really fun.