Wish List Wednesday

It's Wednesday again! Time for another item on my long, long wish list.

For the past few months, I have been thinking about buying a new camera. Not just any point and shoot camera but a NICE camera that takes awesome pictures. The kind of camera that you change lenses and push a bunch of buttons to get that perfect picture. Do I know how to use such a camera you ask? Nope, I don't but I would love to try to learn how. I really like taking pictures but haven't had much luck with the end results.

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I'd like to interrupt this post with a crazy woman type confession. When I went to Hawaii, I took over 3,000 pictures (crazy woman confession 1). OVER 3,000 PICTURES! I bought a color printer and enough photo paper to print them ALL out (crazy woman confession 2). Unfortunately, when I started to print some of them, they looked horrible! The sand was green and grass was brown. Not pretty.

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Anyway, back to the wish list post. So, since we are going to go to Hawaii next year and I want to have pictures that I can show people, I want to buy a new camera. So, I have my eye on this pretty little thing.

Oh, isn't she beautiful! This is a Canon EOS Rebel T2i Digital SLR Camera. It has an 18.0 megapixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor for awesome quality pictures. It also has 1080 HD video capture technology. There are also a bunch of other features and technical stuff that I am clueless about. ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 12800). Huh? Enhanced 63-zone, Dual-layer metering system, and 9-point AF system. Huh? I'm just starting my research, so I need to educate myself on what all this means before I make any purchase.

Now, for the not so nice part. This camera, for the body only, is selling for $799.99 at Amazon. Holy crap! Now, I know this price is not even close to how expensive cameras can get but I don't think I have spent more than $200 for a camera before. So, this is really expensive to me. And, this doesn't even include any lenses, extra batteries, memory cards, carrying case, etc. By the time all is said and done, we are looking at closer to $2,000-$3,000. YIKES! If I were to purchase something like this, it better last for 40 years!

I think it's time to start saving up for it. Oh, it's so pretty...

Exercise? What's That?

Sigh... Exercise is something that people either hate or love. I fall in the hate group and I hate it with a passion. Why? Well, the honest answer is that I am LAZY and I'm not afraid to admit it. 

When I hear people tell me how great exercise makes them feel, I just don't understand. All exercise makes me feel is sweaty, tired and annoyed. I don't get that burst of energy or feel all warm and fuzzy when I exercise. Someone please explain this me.

My mother for one, who is a very active 70 something year old woman, puts me to shame. She has a membership to a gym and works out there several days a week. She spends four or five HOURS walking, swimming, and doing other exercises. She LOVES how it makes her feel and bums out when she has to skip a day. I DON'T GET IT!

I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. Over the past 20 years, I have attempted numerous exercise routines and different eating plans on and off.

My last attempt was in 2005, about a year before my wedding. Yes, that is the last time I exercised, thank you. Anyway, my last attempt was successful and I met my goal but I fought it every step of the way. It took every ounce of energy and control to drag my butt to the treadmill and to stay on it for more than 2 minutes.

Well, since then my eating habits have gone down the drain and my only exercise is walking to the refrigerator.

See, now that's my idea of exercise! Pathetic. Currently, I'm about one size larger than I'd like to be. So, not a lot but still enough not to be happy.

So, ugh, time for attempt number 382.

Last time, changing my eating habits wasn't too difficult. I just focused on the healthy foods that I liked and cut out the unhealthy foods. So that part of the plan wasn't too much of a struggle. Over time, the unhealthy foods just kind of slowly snuck back in, one cookie at a time.

It's just the darn exercise that is the issue. Anyone have any tips on trying to stay motivated (besides the end result of having a cute butt)? What has worked for those who also hate to exercise? Help!!!

Thank You, Suze Orman

Well, after watching the Suze Orman show, I realized that I'll have enough money to retire when I'm 142.

Yeah, you heard me. 142. Yippie!! Can't wait! Why weren't you around to scare the crap out of me when I was a teenager, huh? Thanks for making my day, Suze.

Wish List Wednesday

Oh my, it's Wednesday again! Well, folks, that means it's Wish List Wednesday. This is when I post about something that is on my wish/dream list.

Listen up men! This item is for you! Today's exciting item is:

 

Two Faced Mood Swing Lip Gloss

Our supernatural formulation starts off crystal clear and blossoms into countless shades of pink from cotton candy to deep fuchsia, depending on your emotional state. Are you in love, jealous, angry, happy, or hot and bothered? Your lips will tell the tale and allow you to express yourself like never before! Your moods change faster than super models change diets, now so can your lips! Mood Swing's secret blend of essential oils and extracts improves elasticity and rejuvenates your lips while natural sunscreens insure a younger looking smile.

I can envision men all around the world running out to purchase this for the women in their lives. Just think, all they have to do is take a quick look at her lips and they will be able to determine if they want to kiss her or run for their lives. Awesome!

You can purchase this magical product for only $18.50 at Amazon.com. What a deal! Don't you think?

Please Repeat That

The person responsible for this should be fired. Immediately, or sometime before or after or during which time someone speaks to or speaks with him or her about how ridiculous or stupid or asinine this somewhat confusing or annoying what you or I would call a sign of some sort is to me or anyone else or something like that. Oh, my head hurts now.

Quick Change Artist, aka Pervert

As I have stated before, people are very interesting. They never cease to entertain me.

One morning a few months ago, I was sitting in my car in the parking structure where I work. As I was sitting there, a man pulled up and parked his car next to mine. He proceeded to get out of his car, walk to the back of it, and open the trunk.

Just to give you a clear set up of the situation, I was parked facing the wall and the man was parked with the trunk of his car against the wall. So we were with an unobstructed view of each other. I could clearly see him and he could clearly see me.

Anyhow, I was sitting there minding my own business when out of the corner of my eye I could see him unbutton his shirt and remove it. Uh, o.k., no problem I guess. A little weird that he is changing his shirt outside of his car in a parking structure but seeing a man's bare chest is not alarming. I assumed that maybe his shirt was too wrinkled so he decided to change it.

Yawn, lady this story is boring. Hold on people, here is where the entertaiment starts. So, as I was still try to mind my own business, I could see that he was now removing his belt and unzipping his pants. Uh, wait a minute. He is not going there is he?

Have you ever REALLY wanted to look at something but knew that you really shouldn't? I kept telling myself not to look. DON'T! LOOK! Besides, I didn't want him to see me looking at him. That would have been a little awkward, or I should say MORE ackward. I knew I just HAD to look. HAD to. It would have to be fast though so I wouldn't get caught!

So, as I pretended to reach over to grab my purse, I stole a quick peek. Well, I'll be damned! Just as I snuck a peek, he dropped his pants and I was looking at the man standing there in his underwear.

What the hell? Dude, what are you doing? There is NO WAY you cannot see me sitting here. Have you no shame, pervert? I don't want to see that, especially so early in the morning. And frankly, you're not even cute. If you were cute, well, uh, still wouldn't have made a difference. Yeah, no difference. Thank God you are wearing boxers and not briefs because that would have been REALLY bad.

Luckily, he put on another pair of pants fairly quickly and then walked away. The thing is though, I saw this guy do this three more times in the following weeks until I got reassigned to another parking spot. Thank you parking structure people, thank you.

What Were You Thinking?

Lady Gaga

This chick is just WEIRD. Enough said.

Excuse Me, Officer

Dear Mr. Officer,

I saw you behind me even though you were driving in an undercover car. Sneaky, sneaky but I saw you! I hope you noticed that when the light turned green, I didn't take off like a maniac and I continued to drive the speed limit. I did that for you, you know, even though I was probably annoying the long line of cars behind me.

I then saw you get into the other lane and thought that maybe you were going to turn off the road. But you didn't do that, did you? Nope, instead you passed me on by. However, I noticed you passed by me pretty darn quickly. Huh, if I was going the speed limit, how come you were flying by me really fast? Oh, I know, YOU WERE SPEEDING Mr. Officer. Yes, you certainly were. I must have missed the sign.

Well, since everyone else was keeping up with your speed, I decided I would too. I didn't want to be the odd man out, you know. Huh, interesting. I noticed my car was now going 15 miles an hour OVER the speed limit just to keep up with YOU and everyone else. Hmm, very interesting indeed.

I wonder if you are the same one who handed me two speeding tickets a few years ago on this very road.

Signed Confused and Not Amused,


Trivial Chatterer

(Note: No squirrels were in danger at the time of this incident. This is not a residential road. It's a mile long extension to the beginning of a freeway. It's quite silly that the speed limit is only 40 and you will rarely find someone driving under 50. Speeding is bad, very, very, bad and I am in no way endorsing it.)

Wish List Wednesday

It's time for Wish List Wednesday again, which is when I post about items that are on my wish list/dream list. The following item falls under my dream list.

This house is listed on Realtor.com for sale in Texas. Can I just say that the closet is probably bigger than my whole apartment. That's a little depressing. However, the good news is that the asking price is $3,995,000, which means I only have about $3,994,000 more to save. It's a possibility, yes it is. Anyone know a prince that's availabe? My husband won't mind, honestly.

I'm Freaking Out!

I am going to have nightmares about these feet. I know I will. I'm going to dream that they are chasing me while calling my name in a low, raspy voice. I'm never going to sleep again. NEVER!

I Want My Hour Back!

Daylight Saving Time ("Saving", not "Savings" people) began today and I want my hour back! I DON'T LIKE losing an hour of sleep. I get so little of it to begin with and I want every single hour I can get! This is how I function with little sleep:

I don't really care about an extra hour of daylight. I'm a night person so it doesn't matter if I even see the sun. Besides, sunlight gives me a headache when it's too bright. Yeah, I'm a little weird.

Apparantly, there are several places in the United States that do not observe Daylight Saving. These include: Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Arizona. (Note to husband: Let's move to Hawaii!!)

(Note to employer: I really don't sleep at my desk much, really I don't. On Monday, don't come by my desk until well after noon please because, uh, that's my naptime I have a conference call.)

Childhood Memories

I loved playing with toys as a child. When I think back, I remember that I had my favorites. One of those favorites were Flatsy dolls.

Flatsy dolls were flat plastic dolls that were made from 1969 to about 1973. The bodies had wires in them so that they could be posed in different ways. Unfortunately, if you bent them too much, you would end up with wires poking out of their ankles or hands. Oops! (All of mine ended up that way eventually and their shoes were always the first accessory that I would lose. Darn it!) I loved the fact that they had wild hair colors (pink, yellow, blue, green, etc.) and stylish outfits. Each were sold with a frame that had some sort of theme, and would normally include a few accessories. These are some of the ones that I had:

Bonnie Flatsy

Dewie Flatsy

Filly Flatsy

Nancy Flatsy

Casey Flatsy

I never really liked the last one, Casey. I always thought he was kind of creepy looking, although I thought BOYS were kind of creepy at that age. To me, he looked like a girl with short, pumpkin colored hair. Not my thing, just saying.

The Flatsy dolls from my childhood are ripped to shreds neatly packed away but a few years ago I purchased a few from Ebay. I'm glad I did because a recent search showed some of these were selling for almost $200. Yikes! (Note to self: Need to buy a television, sell my Flatsy dolls. Just kidding, never ever!!) I think I paid a rather insane decent amount for the ones I purchased but not anywhere near that price!

Things have certainly changed over the years as far as toys go. It's interesting looking back and remembering how toys that didn't make a noise, have batteries, or blinking lights could entertain me for so many hours.

This is Fashion?

I. Don't. Get. It. Name one place you would wear one of these outfits. Just one. I'm all for creativity but what are these people smoking?

Confessions of a Reality Show Freak

Hi, my name is Trivial Chatterer and I am a Reality Show Freak. When I first thought of the idea for this post, I thought that I watched a lot of reality shows. Only after writing them all down and counting them, did I realize how much of a reality show freak I am. Now, this may shock some of you so please prepare yourselves.

Ready? Are you sure? O.k., here we go. The total number of reality shows that Trivial Chatterer has watched over the years is (gulp):

161 Reality Television Shows!!!

Say WHAT?!?!?!

Yes, David, and YOU were on some of those shows. Oh my, I am so ashamed. I was going to list them all until I saw just how many of them there are. You would have been scrolling for days and I didn't want to put anyone through that torture.

My all time favorite show is Big Brother. If the above confession wasn't enough, it's time for confession number two. When Big Brother is on, I not only watch the show that airs on CBS THREE DAYS A WEEK but I also watch the THREE HOUR NIGHTLY Showtime After Dark Show. Oh, I'm not done yet. I also subscribe to the Real Player SuperPass, which gives me the 24 HOUR live feeds in the house. There, I said it. I am so ashamed.

No wonder I don't have time to do anything.

I'm going to go hide in the corner now...

(Note: Thanks to http://www.realitytvworld.com/ for keeping track of all the shows. This is an awesome site for anyone that is into Reality Television, whether you are crazy enough to admit it or not. Be careful though, it can be addicting!)

Wish List Wednesday

Wish List Wednesday will be a weekly post about things on my wish list. There will be a variety of items that range from really cheap to there is no way I will ever have that. So, it's part wish list, part dream list.

The first item on my wish list is this:

This is a Kindle Wireless Reading device that can be found at Amazon. This one has a 6" diagonal screen and can hold 1,500 books. It is currently selling for $259.00. They also have a newer version with a 9.7" diagonal screen, which can hold 3,500 books. This one has a much higher price at $489.00. You can then purchase books and audio books, in addition to subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and blogs. There's a lot more technical mumble jumble that I won't tell you about because I'll sound like an idiot.

I love this. I have a thing for gadgets and this would be awesome to have, especially when traveling. The only problem is that I haven't read a book in years. Yes, people you read that correctly. Then, why in the world would you even be thinking about buying this you ask? Well, I love reading books. I used to read every single night, sometimes for several hours at a time. However, I have become a television and computer junky. I now find myself having way too many shows to watch and too much to look at online to even have time to crack open a book. I have had the same book sitting on my nightstand for about three years now and I don't think I have gotten past Chapter 2. Pathetic! So, if I were to purchase this, I would actually have to make time to read. That would probably be a good thing.

Anybody out there have one and care to share if you love it or hate it?

The Bird Man and the Photographer

I like to get away from the office during my lunch hour so I normally drive down to one of the parks by the lake to relax. While there, I like to listen to the radio, daydream, and just soak in my surroundings. I also enjoy watching the numerous geese, pigeons and ducks flying around and diving for food. However, my favorite thing to do is watch people. Not in a crazy stalker, weird way, mind you, but I find people fascinating to watch and have seen some pretty interesting things.

A few days ago, I was sitting in my car and out of the corner of my eye, I could see a guy get out of his truck, walk towards the water, and then get back in his truck. Well, after about the sixth time doing this, I finally looked over at him. As he was getting back into his truck, I noticed he had a pigeon on his shoulder. Huh?

Why did this guy have a pigeon on his shoulder and why did he then get back in his truck with it? So, this piqued my curiosity and I kept watching. He continued to just sit there with the pigeon inside the truck. About ten minutes later, another car drove into the parking lot and parked close to this bird man. A woman got out of the car, walked up to this guy in the truck, and started taking pictures of him. She must have taken about 30 pictures of this guy and the pigeon. Then, she just walked away, got back into her car, and drove away.

What in the world? Maybe this sort of thing goes on all the time and I'm just not aware of it but I just thought this was odd.

Unfortunately, by this time I had to get back to work so I had to leave. Darn it! I really wanted to stick around to see if this guy drove away with the bird. I REALLY did.

(The next People Watching post will include a man in his underwear standing next to my car door. I'm not making it up, honestly.)

You Can't Make This Stuff Up, Folks!

Some people should be exiled to Stupidity Island. I found a news article about a woman in the Florida Keys who crashed into another car as she was trying to shave her, uh, bikini area.

Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, she was on the way to see her boyfriend and she "wanted to be ready for the visit." Luckily, her ex-husband was also in the car and was nice enough to hold the wheel while she performed this tricky task.

I have two questions for you, genius. 1. Uh, do you think this is maybe something you could have thought about a little earlier? 2. Do you always carry a razor in your purse for an occasion like this?

According to the article:

A day earlier, Barnes had been convicted of numerous driving infractions, including DUI with a prior arrest and driving with a suspended license. She had been ordered to impound her car, her license was revoked for five years, and she had been placed on probation for nine months.

My guess is she was probably still drunk when she came up with this brilliant idea. Remind me to stay off the roads in the Florida Keys.

Can I Get Over My Fear?

Let me first give a little background information before I get to the point of this post.

I don't like insects or bugs. At the top of my list are centipedes, closely followed by grasshoppers. Now I'm sure I could add many, many more but those are the ones that I have personally had contact with. To be completely honest with you, I am TERRIFIED of centipedes. So terrified, I will actually scream when I see one. If one of those creepy, million legged creatures actually crawled on me... Hold on, hold on, I just need to take a few minutes to relax and calm down.

Ouch! Well, that wasn't very relaxing. (Side note here: Is this position even humanly possible? Seriously.) Anyway, back to the bugs. So, I am terrified of centipedes and when I have the misfortunate task of removing one from a wall, I have to squint my eyes real tight until they are practically closed (I don't want to actually see one up close you know) and slowly inch my way towards it. I have to repeat these steps over and over because as soon as I inch closer, I jump back and dance around like my feet are on fire.

I can jump that high, oh yes I can! Back to the story... At this point, I am still at least 10 feet away from one. If I cannot muster up the courage, I have been known to keep my eyes on it from afar and wait until someone else can handle the situation. I am not kidding when I say I have waited at least an hour on some occasions. Yes, I have. So, by now I hope you understand how strong my fears are.

O.k., so after all that, now the point of this post. Still awake? So, I currently live in Wisconsin and I'm not a big fan. Hate, hate, hate the snow and cold weather. My husband and I would eventually like to move somewhere warmer. In doing some research on different places, we are really liking the idea of Texas. Unfortunately, during my research, I found out that it is not uncommon to find several different creatures in or around your house. THIS IS ONE OF THEM:

Oh, have mercy, help me! And how large are these monsters you ask? Only around six inches long!

If that wasn't bad enough, it is also not uncommon to find one of these inside your home.

Oh, but they are so small and they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Oh, I don't think so! There seems to be conflicting reports on how some people never see these two creatures and others find several a month, all depending on where you live. Well, I want to know where they are NOT, please, and I want a guarantee. And to top it all off, I am not even going to talk about the snakes and tarantulas. I am not.

So, my dilemma is can I possibly trade in cold weather for all this? Is my sanity worth it? Do I need to start drinking alcohol, and a lot of it, in order to deal with it? I just don't know if I can do it. 

Dreaming about Hawaii

I'm dreaming about Hawaii, Maui in particular. My husband and I got married on a waterfront estate there and then stayed three weeks for our honeymoon. If I had one word to describe it, which really doesn’t do it justice, it would be: AWESOME!!

We stayed in a condo about 50 feet away from the water. It had a huge lanai (balcony) that was the length of the condo with screen doors that extended from wall to wall. We ended up sleeping in the living room area every night so we could enjoy the warm breeze blowing with the sound of the ocean lulling us to sleep.

I am not a morning person but I woke up early every day just to sit out on the lanai for a few hours. I would just sit and watch the palm trees blowing in the wind and could hear a variety of birds singing. I would close my eyes and feel the warm gusts of wind on my face and just soak it all up. It was so peaceful just staring at the soft waves of the water and seeing mountains in the background. This is a view from our balcony. (Please excuse the quality of the picture.)

There were so many things to do and see there. Three weeks wasn’t enough time to explore everything. However, we planned ahead of time on several must do activities. One of those activities was to try parasailing, which is something I have always wanted to do. Everyone I know had a look of shock on their face when I told them we planned on doing this.

(O.k., he is not a friend or family member but you get the point.) Why were they shocked? Well, I can’t swim and I’m pretty terrified of water. I think I was so excited about doing it that I didn’t even think about being pulled by a rope while hanging 500 feet over the water. I was bummed that it only lasted about 15 minutes and as soon as it ended, I wanted to do again!

Another thing we did was jet skiing. Yes, another water activity for me. This time, I was scared as soon as I got on the water. We both drove our own jet ski and there was a large circular area that a big group of people would drive around. As soon as I started driving around, thoughts of falling in and being swallowed by a huge shark started to come to mind.

My solution to not falling in was to go really, really slow. My husband was having a blast driving like a madman around the course and he passed me numerous times. I was definitely the slowest one out there! Every time the jet ski would topple a little around the turns I would practically stop. Afterwards, my husband laughed at me and said that he reached speeds around 60 miles per hour. I think I didn’t even reach 25 miles per hour!

We did a lot of driving while we were there. We drove the Road to Hana, which is a long, winding road that goes around a large portion of the island. When I say winding road, I mean exactly that. You rarely went over 5 miles an hour because of the numerous, very sharp turns you had to make. In a lot of places, you could not see oncoming traffic and the road was just wide enough to squeeze two cars through. In some areas, the road only fit one car so you had to patiently wait until they passed you by before continuing to drive. The road did not have any side rails and during most parts you had the wall of the mountain on one side and a cliff literally inches from the road on the other side. This was definitely not for the faint at heart. I think I would have passed out if I saw one of these:

Here are some tips for anyone attempting to drive on this road. Please learn from our mistakes!

1. First, if you get car sick like me, take some medication that will help prevent this.
2. Fill your gas tank because you will drive for hours without seeing a gas station.
3. Don’t drive at night if this is your first attempt.
4. Don’t think you can drive the entire road all the way around quickly. (Ahem...it takes about 6 hours)

Every place we went, we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the island. The landscape, tropical flowers, waterfalls, lava fields, and the beaches were simply amazing. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. If you have some time, I will now post all 3,000 pictures that I took. Just kidding!

We recently decided to go back for our five year anniversary, which is next year. I am so EXCITED! More about this on a later post.

Blogger Number ??? / Vent Session #1

Yet another blogger. Just what the world needs, right? What kind of captivating, exciting ramblings will I have to share? Not sure yet but you will probably find a variety of random thoughts and opinions that are currently floating around in my head. So let’s get started, shall we?

What's on my mind right now are my annoying neighbors. Anyone have one? No? Oh, consider yourself very lucky. I unfortunately live in an apartment with cardboard walls. In the past hour, as I am trying to live out my dream as being the world's best couch potato, I have had the pleasure of hearing doors slamming.

The slamming is hard enough to make things on the wall vibrate. Once? Twice? Oh, no. I wish I were that lucky. Ten to fifteen times sounds about right. No exaggerating here. I am blessed to have to deal with this on a daily basis, all day and all night. Can you tell me why people need to go in and out of their home that many times in an hour because I can’t figure it out. What in the world are they doing? Running out to their garage? Running out to their car? Running around the apartment? WHAT ARE THEY DOING AND WHY DO THEY HAVE TO SLAM THE DOOR EVERY SINGLE TIME???

If that wasn’t enough, they are annoyingly loud talkers and shouters. They aren’t fighting mind you but it’s the kind of shouting you might hear when people are watching a football game and someone just made a touchdown.

Are these people watching football all the time or are they just that excited about everything? SHUT THE HELL UP OVER THERE!! Seriously.

Wait! It doesn’t end there. Someone over there likes to play music, practice playing his guitar and blasting video games. LOUDLY.

Their favorite times are late at night or early in the morning. Yeah! Fun. Especially when you hear the same song, over and over and over and over and over and over. I’m tempted to send them a CD just to change it up a little. Think they would mind if I put in a request since I’m part of the audience? TURN THAT CRAP DOWN PLEASE!! Thank you.

And just when you thought I was done… Have you ever had a neighbor that sounded like they were banging on walls or throwing things around all the time? Welcome to my world. Are they doing construction over there? Maybe wrestling matches? Rearranging furniture? Please tell me what you are constantly doing that makes so much noise.

Dear neighbor,

How long are you planning on living here? Not long I hope. Home is supposed to be a place to relax after a long day at work. It would nice if you would maybe think about someone other than yourself. It’s called consideration. Look it up in the dictionary please and start practicing. In case you weren't aware of this, I would like to inform you that you are not the only one that lives here.

Signed,

Your pissed off neighbor.

Bitch session over. Thanks for listening.

Note to self: Next post needs to be about puppies, sunshine, or other happy thoughts for a little balance (or so people don't think you are a crabby old bat).