Insert Birthday cake with tall candle picture here

Ready for the drumroll? tatataatatatatatatatatat (how do you write the sound of a drum roll anyway?)

This blog is one year old. Pretty amazing huh. I've been blabbing about nothing for a year now. And wonder of all wonders some of you have been following along for just as long. Pretty insane huh?

In honor of the blog's birthday (which was actually 2 days ago, I just missed it) I am sending you the presents. You see, I see the stats. I know you come here and laugh at me and run. And other than a couple, you rarely comment. I know. Humor me here.

Leave a comment. I'll pick one or two of you random friends to send a mystery box to. I'm sure I can find something in the closet somewhere. I mean, I do have an abundance of scrapbook stuff and Partylite candles and a dust bunny or two.

I'll let someone else pick the comment number on, let's say, Friday. That'll give a few days for enough comments to trickle in for me to not feel like I'm talking to myself. Which we all know I am but I'm not ready to admit it just yet.

Friday! Friday! I'll draw a random name on Friday!

See, I really have lost my mind.

Quote away

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha

Living in the present is something we all need to do, right? I think if we all did though, the antacid manufacturers of the world would probably go under. So worry away.

Not me though. I'm on a mission to be Rolaid free by July 1st. Says she who is seriously contemplating calling her mom and asking a "what if" question that seriously isn't living in the present. But it isn't July 1st yet so it's all good.

And now we return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Dooce is giving away 5 Wii Fits

I still think that the fact that they call it a Wii Fit is hysterical. It makes me think of a toddler throwing a tantrum. And then nanny says, "look. She's having a wee fit. Isn't that cute." I think I may have a wee fit myself if the day continues the way it has. Seeing as how it's 3:20 and I'm just now eating lunch. oh well.

Anyway - if you don't read dooce you should. She's freaking hysterical. Honest and far from charming and occasionally a might bit offensive but in a "I can't believe she just said that" kind of way. Not the other way. I wouldn't read it if it were the other way. But you knew that already.

Here is a link to the giveaway post - Giveaway post You can enter as many times as you want. Me, I just entered once. But that's all I'll need. Because I have such good luck and that's why they won't let me in the casinos anymore. (I don't care what you heard. That's the real reason.) Besides, I only need 1 Wii Fit. I'll let you have the other 4.

Monday musings

Ok, not exactly musings but more like scrambled thoughts. Or random. So I guess it's really just a random things for a Monday. LOL

1. I have a hangnail that is driving me nuts.
2. I have a headache. Had a headache yesterday too. Just not sure if this is the same headache or a "I had too much psuedo sangria last night" headache.
3. The weather person was right when they said that yesterday would be "super nice". It was. And not just the weather.
4. I'm contemplating sending all of the stuff I need to send to family members (New Ma's baby shower thank yous. Birth announcements for two grandbabies (one of which is now 5 months old) and updated pics of said babies) in one big envelope with a note stating how sorry I am to be sending this stuff so late. Would that be tacky?
5. We blew through about $35 worth of fireworks last night. It was a banging good time!
6. Having friends over no matter how bad your house looks is still a good thing. When they are good friends they really don't care. I have to remember that more often.
7. Perfection is overrated. Why do I still feel bad when I fall short?

Ok, now that I got that out of my brain I am going back to work. Chat at you soon!

10 Random Things for a Friday

After a two week hiatus, and by popular demand, I offer you the return of the random.......

1. My croc broke. :( It's a sad day. I bought some super glue to fix it but I can't decide whether to glue it so it is up like a clog or back strap down. :( Susan says I can buy just the strap but I called a couple of places and they didn't know what Susan was talking about. You apparently have to go to an actual croc store. We don't have one. But then I was on the crocs website and they have some pretty cool stuff! Wish I had kid size feet so I could get the Sponge Bob ones.
2. I subbed the weekly twelve pack of Diet Coke this week for Diet Dr Pepper. It was on sale. I figured it'd be less caffeine too. Then I found out it is only BARELY less. How much caffeine is in your favorite beverage? Then I found out that 2 Excedrin has nearly as much caffeine as my favorite sugar free energy drink. No wonder I was so jittery when I tried to get rid of the headache on Tuesday! I had 290 mg of caffeine in me!
3. Son2 is now an officially legally licensed driver with his own running insured car. For those of you following along this is a huge milestone.
4. I got to watch the baby BAM overnight Wednesday. It was fun. Especially since he slept for 6 hours straight.
5. This weekend I am pulling the carpet out of the back room. I can't stand looking at the 1960 stuff anymore. I think we'll put in vinyl flooring or something similar. It gets too much traffic for carpet.
6. I've had grocery store sushi twice this week. I have hit a new sushi low.
7. My new to me car has a CD player. I haven't stuck a single CD in it yet. Yes, I know. Sad and pitiful.
8. The W clan is coming over tomorrow night to BBQ dead stuff and slap mosquitoes and catch fireflies and set off fireworks. I should have taken today off to clean my house. :)
9. Madonna and Guy Richie splitting up has zero effect on my life. And I am sick of hearing about it on the radio and TV. Glad I don't live in London. And where did she get her pseudo English accent any way?
10. dh starts a new job on Monday. He gets a real Mon - Fri work week again and gets an hour for lunch. And all for a bit more money than he is making now in his salaried 62 hour a week job. I see camping weekends in our future again!

That is all. See you again soon.

I need to get an Ipod

Or a Zune or another MP3 player. Do you have one? What do you have? Do you love it? Would you buy it again? I need one. Ok, really I just want one but it's bordering on a need. :) I'd love the U2 edition of the Ipod but that's out of my price range. I want to download songs and take them with me wherever I want to go. I won't use itunes though. Too expensive. I'm more of a Rhapsody or Zune type gal.

I'll start by downloading all of the songs from Sarah Bowen's playlist. Take a listen. LOVE her choice of music. Want to take it with me on a walk.

2nd grade weather forecasting

From KETV Weather

Can't believe they actually published this.....

But hey! At least we know it will be nice.

Ear Worms and Algebra

Apparently Algebra will kill an earworm. Who'd a thought?

"Getting "Eye of the Tiger" stuck in your head is the result of a glitch in your auditory cortex. This part of your brain processes sounds and stores them for later recall. It powers up and can start crooning uncontrollably after hearing just a few notes of a familiar tune. Want it to stop? Listen to the whole song or do some math."

Wired Magazine

Edited - For those that don't already know -- an earworm is a song that gets stuck in your head. You know, like "I'm a little teapot. Short and stout. Here is my handle here is my spout."

George Carlin Talks About Stuff

I'm sure by now, you've heard that George Carlin passed. Sad. But thanks to DVD, television, his books, comedy albums, and YouTube, he can still make us laugh.

Umm. I just realized that in retrospect, the "stuff" video is a little distasteful, considering the post about everybody who just lost all of their "stuff". No disrespect intended. No second meaning. I just love the bit.

The weekend update

Went to CR this weekend. I'd been planning to go since we were there on the 1st. Considered not going because of the flooding. But they opened I380 back up so I decided to make the trip.

The entire agenda of the weekend was to spend time with Jr and the baby. And spend time with the baby is EXACTLY what I did. Got to see my brother, SIL, and baby Rachel as well. It was a perfect way to spend the weekend. I'll have to post pics later. He's such a cutie. :) I might be biased though.

Regarding the flood - It is so sad. Depressing actually. Driving from Marion to Elvis' through town on Friday night was the eeriest, most surreal moment. From H Avenue to Wilson Ave (nearly 2 miles) the only lights you saw were the hospital. Quaker was dark. The apartments were dark. The neighborhoods were dark. Alliant Energy (the electric company) was dark. The bridges were dark. For about 2 miles, there was only the occasional street light or blinking stop light. It was just flat out eerie. You never know how many lights there are until they all go dark.

Drove through downtown, Czech Village, Taylor neighborhood, and the flats. It's so sad. Everywhere you look there is nothing but devastation. Then there are the piles. Imagine everything in your house piled by the curb. Throw dirt on it. Then hose it down until it can't take up any more water. Everything becomes undistinguishable. It's all just a pile of wet, brown garbage. The same "stuff" you spent your lifetime accumulating. Now diminished to wet, brown garbage.

You can see the look of defeat in people's faces as they take yet another load to the curb. It'll take months just to haul everything to the landfill. The "new" landfill that has now had it's life expectancy cut in half due to the sheer quantity of newly mudded wet, brown garbage. At least in a tornado's aftermath, you can sift through and salvage most of your "stuff". In a fire it all is disposed of for you. Not much to take to the landfill. But this. This is blocks and blocks of wet, brown everything that had to be hauled armful after wheelbarrow full after arm full to the curb. And then when you are done, you still have to clean up and pull drywall and hope that your insurance will replace at least some of what is gone. It's overwhelmingly sad.

SIL keeps talking about waiting in line for assistance. So many lines. So many phone calls. So much red tape.

SIL's house looks to be repairable. There is still a little water in the basement. And all of her wet, brown possessions are at the curb. But in Rompot, everything has a different smell than the rest of the city. Apparently the sewer came up before the river came over. So the whole neighborhood smells like dried sewage. Wet, brown, sewer smelling garbage. It's unfathomably sad.

Consequences

The quote of the day on Dave Ramsey's website is:

Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences - Robert Louis Stevenson

Thought the quote was cool. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Goodbye to Tastespotting

There have been no updates on my Tastespotting.com widget. Or in my google reader feed. So I finally broke down and went to the actual site. Apparently there are legal issues and they took the site down. I am saddened. Now I have to actually add my fav food blog feeds individually. Cripes.

So sad to see you go Tastespotting.com. I'll miss you.

Top Story on Yahoo Mail news feed

Cedar Rapids Flooding

I finally shut the video feed off when I left work at 8:00. Then I get on to check my email earlier. And there it was. Cedar Rapids is the top story on Yahoo's mail news feed.

I've talked to many that I know in CR. Some are evacuated. Some have no power and moved to friend's houses. One has decided to leave town. All seem to be in shock at the water's devastation.

I keep watching things I know. Stores I grew up shopping at. The office building I used to work in. The shop we used to run. All under water. Then I think of those in shelters that are spending their time watching news feed of their homes that are now under water.

I can't even imagine.

My prayers go out to everyone affected.

CR flooding

Whether you pray or bring good thoughts or send positive energy, keep Cedar Rapids, Iowa in mind. The flooding is unprecedented.

The river is STILL rising. 10,000 people have been evacuated. 12,000 land parcels are effected. 20,000 households are without power. Almost every road and highway in and out of town is closed. A railroad bridge has collapsed. Curfews have been implemented. It isn't expected to crest until some time tomorrow or Saturday.

It's unreal. And it makes me cry. So many people I love are effected.

You can see the live feed here. I can't seem to shut if off. :(

And the rain is still coming.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I've only been to Starbucks once this week. I think that's pretty darn good considering.
2. Spent a good portion of Tuesday with new mama and baby B. It made for a very enjoyable day.
3. New mama got a new job! She is now officially working in her chosen field of nursing.
4. Son2 is working his rear off. He is working 12 hour days for about the next week. Two jobs will do that to you!
5. We have been bicycle shopping. Son2 bought a really cool new Schwinn. Hubby and I are considering new bike purchases but at the moment don't have the cash. Maybe money will fall out of the sky next week.
6. I am craving sushi and sake bombs. Not that that is any big surprise. But it's been a while since either were on the "I have a craving" list. Go figure.
7. My bftcmhbftlfa (best friend that calls me her best friend that lives far away) is coming to visit in November. She is coming for the New Kids on the Block concert. I'll take any excuse to see her though so no complaints here.
8. Sonic sugarfree limeades are the bomb.
9. I took my camera to CR last Sunday and never broke it out. That is a first I do believe.
10. I am going back to CR the weekend of the 21st. I need more baby time. It's Freedom Festival too! Want to come?

Posted a little after the fact but hey, I started it on Friday. I should get credit for that, right?

Anxiety Attack after Anxiety Attack

Anxiety attack after anxiety attack and none of them for any good reason. Ok, not full out as bad as I have ever had them kind of attacks. Just the level that totally screws with your day and makes it so you don't get a darn thing done because you are obsessed with what caused (is causing) the anxiety.

• Started on Saturday worrying about everything that had to be done for Sunday. Continued when I realized that I had left almost everything to my mom to do and felt bad about that.
• Now that I think about it I think it started the middle of last week. I yelled at hubby and Son2 for next to nothing a couple of times last week. (OK, probably more than a couple) Usually a pretty good indicator of underlying anxiety issues.
• Sunday started out that way but quickly dissipated after I blew up at people that didn't really need blown up at.
• Monday was stupid people at work day. (not the people I work WITH, just the people that I had to deal with. That sure didn't help anything.
• Tuesday was... well Tuesday was a whole nasty day in and of itself and deserves it's own post so we'll let it go here.
• Wednesday -- Stupid storm. We had a storm on Wednesday night that freaked me out. I usually really enjoy storms. Truly. But this one and all of it's "the storm is coming the storm is coming" meteorological glory freaked me out. And then it got here and it had died down and it wasn't so scary. Go figure.
• Then there is today. I have ZERO tolerance for people. Not anyone specific but everyone in general.
• I have to get the plates and registration for the new car. How much is that going to cost me?
• Baby B is running a low grade fever. Is he OK? Why hasn't she called me yet to tell me how he is doing?
• Now we are having another storm. Black on the radar is bad, right?
• I should not have had Starbucks this morning. I don't think the caffeine is helping the anxiety at all.
• And there is that whole, someone is standing on my chest every time I think of anything of any consequence thing. And no. It is not a heart problem or blood pressure. It's anxiety. And eventually, this too will go away.

Please pass the Lorazepam.

Annual insanity update

Last Sunday was the annual balloon release. You know that though because you read it in the blog entry a couple back that wasn't really a blog entry but a copy of the press release. It was (as always) a very mixed emotion day.

The weather was perfect. We couldn't have asked for better. I was saddened by the lack of media attention. We usually get 3 of 4 stations and the newspaper. We had 1 station show up. Thank you KGAN. Much appreciated. Any media is good media, right?

The balloon release itself went well. Neither Jim or I could say anything without crying though. So the big "thank you to everyone for coming" speech was cut REALLY short and we just released the balloons instead.

Every year I think this will get easier. And every year it doesn't. I think it actually gets harder. I have this idea in my head that this will be the last time we have to do this. That next year she'll be home and we can have a big party instead. Still waiting.

Spent time after the release with most all of the family from every side of the clan. When you offer a potluck picnic, they all will stay for food! Yeah for family time! I am glad we could all come together. It was a good thing for everybody I think.

And I got to spend ALL afternoon playing with Lucas James. So that in and of itself was healing. Now if only I could hold onto that all the time.

(Wrote all of this last week. Not sure how I missed posting it. Sorry.)