4.30.2008

This Week's Wine Rack Find

eWineRacks has numerous options to choose from, but this is my favorite.

This would look great in our dining room if you ever need a gift idea for me (hint, hint)!

Simple & Classy!! Cioso Wall Mount Wine Rack

A few pics from Sharon's Wedding

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Tuesday night TV is one of my favorites... American Idol & Hell's Kitchen Baby! Cooking is something my husband and I love and David Cook ROCKS!! Plain and simple.

Neil Diamond Night!?!

Neil night! LOL! Not a huge fan of his work, but I guess he's quite a legend. My husband likes his music and threatens to torture me with listening to it. My pick, David Cook, sang "All I Really Need is You" and "Always Be My Baby." Perfect!! I think he was outstanding! I still have this weird feeling it's going to be the other David taking the prize, but you never know. Hopefully it goes like they're predicting — David vs David. Did you notice the AC on his guitar & coat? Is that something to do with his brother?

Brook needs to be the next to go! She should've been given the boot last week after starting her song over. She got the sympathy vote from America. She's becoming my Sanjaya!


Now to Hell's Kitchen

Vanessa decides to leave after her burn injury last week. Poor girl...I actually liked her!

Chef Ramsay picks Jen’s pizza as the contest winner (little bit of Italy, little bit of France pizza). Oh no you di-int!! It actually looked tasty. Matt was furious because he thought his pizza should have made it to the top of the guy's picks! Why is it that he always has that look on his face like he needs to take a crap? Petrozza actually called him a "ding-a-ling."

It's sad to say, but I really don't have a favorite contestant still!! Jen is annoying and always flapping her lips. In fact she even made a comment about Christina talking to hear herself talk and always discussing unnecessary stuff. Um, hello??

Rosann cracks me up because I'm originally from Long Island, NY. Love her accent! Brings me back to my NY days. Did you know she's always "dreamed of flying in a hellacoptah!" She really choked last night though... loved Chef's imitation of her stirring the vegetables! If he was yelling at me like that, I would have thrown the veggies in his face!

Just looking at Louross makes me giggle! Ben was hilarious when he commented on him dealing with the agony of defeat as he "walks around like a whiney little punk-@ss-bitch with his little mohawk." Much friction between Ben & Louross. Ben gets his punishment by having to deliver pizzas in this little roller-skate like vehicle! LOL! Louross reminds me of one of the characters from the movie Hackers. Renoly Santiago – remember him?! 'Phantom Phreak'

Anyway, Christina is plain and simply Barbie, "like OMG!" She was actually up for elimination but escaped the de-robing of her chef jacket.

I'm babbling now like Christina now... Later!

Oh yeah and nobody gets the boot tonight since they completed service last night. Freebie since Vanessa left!

4.22.2008

This Week's Unique Wine Rack Find

I love Paris in the springtime... and wine. Perfect combo!!

Check this Eiffel Tower Rack out from thisnext.com

Are Your Skills Up to Par?

I have nothing really interesting to blog about today, so I had to post this. Was searching for some unique Photoshop Tutorials this morning and recalled this video my husband sent me a few months ago.

Not necessarily a skill we all need to learn, as most designers are pretty fluent with old school techniques, but it cracked me up nonetheless! I love that his cat is named Bridget Jones and how he's obsessed with Dane Cook!! He even sounds like him... Anyway, this is a hilarious Photoshop Tutorial — CHECK IT OUT!

You Suck at Photoshop, Lesson 2 — By Donnie Hoyle

4.18.2008

Interesting Wine Rack

Was just reading Winecast's Blog and noticed an older post of an interesting wine display project from ReadyMade Magazine. I like it...very cool and artsy idea!!

http://winecast.net/2008/02/06/diy-wine-rack/

What Constitutes a Bully These Days?

Admit it, we all feel bullied at one time or another. In most cases verbally, but as adults we have the audacity to move on and leave it behind. When a 10 year old gets termed a bully because he doesn't want to play with another child at recess, is it necessary to cause a big stink? Apparently at our son's elementary school it is.

I received a call yesterday afternoon from his teacher alarming me that he might be upset when we see him after school. She also informed me right away that the mother of this child threatened to call the police because my son was bullying him!!! WHAT??? ABSURD!!! Why would a parent come to such harsh retribution?

After a brief meeting with the teachers and students it was resolved and in fact the true story came out. Our son is completely off the hook and wasn't a deviant after all (could have told them that myself). I finally started asking questions about whom the involved parties are, and why the threat of police involvement would have been necessary (thinking there was an actual fight or threats made). I think I was actually almost laughing at this point, even though I was completely pissed! Come to find out this child wanted to play with our son and his friend and was persistent about doing so (for days apparently). In the past, he has caused many problems and was acting like a little terrorist, so we told our son to just walk away from him and play with others. In turn, I feel this kid is indeed the bully for stalking our son.

Anyway, his mother overreacted and threatened children to play with him or she's calling the cops. Sounds like she has a little growing up to do herself! Everybody wants to fit in and have friends, but some kids just shouldn't play together. I want my child to be friends with everyone and always be happy. Sometimes, that can't happen. Welcome to Life Skills 101. It's not our fault she can't cut the cord between her and her son. I know that may sound mean, but give him some freedom and the ability to learn some skills himself, especially before junior high rolls around.

To make things worse, the principal of the school said that not playing with someone on the playground is bullying! WHAT???!!! That's simply absurd. So if a second grade boy goes up to a group of 5th grade girls and wants to play with them and they turn him away, the girls are bullies? When I was in school bullying was verbal, physical and rumor related.

Our son is the most caring, compassionate, likable boy and always receives praise from family, teachers, aids, etc. Many people in the school know him and his kind heart. He even volunteered to read to a child in another classroom with Cerebral Palsy. That made my cry! He has a heart of gold and is by no means a BULLY!!

How do you define a bully??

4.16.2008

7th Rock from the "Son"

Picking up a winter's worth of dog tirds wasn't enough Sunday morning. Felt like I was doing some serious time and should have been clad in an orange suit with a pokey stick! But, I love my dog. Just wish she wouldn't crap so much :)

Last night my mind was directed at learning more curse words from the man himself, Gordon Ramsay. Then, like a bomb, our son pulls out an emergency homework assignment from the depths of his backpack. Crap!! At least this time it doesn't stink...

The assignment is something I'm obviously not mature enough to handle and at first seemed funny (you'll know what I'm talking about in a bit. Hang tight). Yet, it kind of annoyed me in the manner that it was directed towards her whole 4th grade class. In a moment of hormonal insanity, she decided to have ALL the kids work on this extra assignment at home because of a few trouble makers. This isn't the first time it has happened, but now it was on the same night as Hell's Kitchen! Come on, lady!!

Our son is a hair away from being a straight A student and is always considerate of others at school, so a little extra homework won't hurt, right? This could be a fun learning experience for the whole family. Well there is no book to refer to, only the internet. Now I know this may sound crazy, but we are one of the actual few families who don't have internet at home for several reasons. I'm into studying the planets and stars so this should be easy. Anyway, we gathered up all the books on Astronomy we could find in the house and started searching for answers. Since most of them were published in the late 80's, I'm guessing they're not too accurate now!

After about half an hour of struggling with the resources we had, I call my parents to help us look stuff up on the Interent. Thanks so much for helping us out last night, Dad! I have to give him credit for helping me with my homework; most infamously speed reading many novels throughout my high school years. I giggle every time I hear "Huckleberry Finn" and wonder to this day what the book may have been about. What's funny is I'm now reading the works of Charlotte Brontë, maybe as an effort to get my reading skills back up to par, or just to replace the guilt from sliding by in high school literature.

As you all know the planet Uranus used to be pronounced "Your Anus". Today's pronunciation is a polite "Urine-iss". This planetary silliness caused quite a stir and I actually became giddy just talking about it.

I'll spare much of the details, but here are a few highlights:

  • How many moons does Uranus have? That's a little ironic, don't ya think?!?
  • Neptune is not as fun as Uranus.
  • Is Pluto even a planet anymore? Didn't think so, but on this sheet it was...
  • According to our son, the length of a day on Uranus should be 24/7
  • I probably know more about gas from my husband's anus than gas on any other planet


After this fun lesson, if astronomy is ever part of "No Child Left Behind" testing, our son will be fluent in the works of Uranus and may actually someday be able to give a dissertation with our findings.

4.14.2008

Never Expected This! Gotcha!!



"What?!! I just got Tay Rolled," you say?? Purposely enticing someone to watch this video has been nicknamed "Tay Rolling" (A form of "Rick Rolling" – defined as an internet prank leading to Rick Astley's video of "Never Gonna Give You Up" from 1987).

Want to learn more about Tay? Mahalo presents him as one of their featured videos!! Tay Zonday - Never Gonna Give You Up

More of Tay's nonlinguistic vocal greatness... My personal favorite — Chocolate Rain! I love how he periodically leans over to grab some air! LOL! A note to my bro – this ought to get your week on track! LOL. Sing it loud!

4.11.2008

The Ozzman Cometh!

Last night's survivor was awesome!!! I'm in a pool (for a whole 20 bucks), and my guy is Ozzy! No big prize, just glory, because I know my guy's going to WIN :)

With the field narrowed down to 10 at the start of the show, the teams unite to form "Tribe Dabu".

Remember when Jason found the fake idol that Ozzy made awhile ago? Well he tells Eliza that if he wins individual immunity, he'll give it to her so she can avoid being voted off. So needless to say, he wins and starts talking smack about Ozzy and how he "dominated" the challenge. Whatever!! Jason gives the power of the idol to Eliza and they giggle about how this is going to be the "biggest blindside in history". Funnier yet!!

Best line of the episode is from Ozzy after the fake idol he carved gets tossed in the fire, "Come on! That took hours to make!"

Eliza unwrapping the mystical idol

from it's napkin outer shell!



Ozzy laughing his ass off when he finds out
they were playing his hand-carved specialty!



Announcing that the idol is indeed fake...
Shortly after — Eliza gets the boot!


A Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education

With autism in the news lately and my nephew and family experiencing it firsthand, I was very excited to see this many stars participating in such a great event. Live performances, sketches and short films will help raise money to ease the severe shortage of effective schools and education programs for autistic childen and adults.

Hosted by Jon Steward this Sunday

April 13th — 8:00pm ET — Comedy Central

Scheduled to appear: Matthew Broderick, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Jonah hill, Conan O'Brien Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, Maroon 5, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Kevin James, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, WILL FERRELL and MORE!!

The entire broadcast is scheduled to stream on Comedy Central Monday, April 14. Beginning Tuesday, April 15, "Night of Too Many Stars" will also be available for download on iTunes for $1.99. Download proceeds go directly to the charity!!

For more info:
www.comedycentral.com

Don't forget to "Take a Walk" to my Autism page and donate to help autism research and raise society's awareness!
www.walknowforautism.org

4.09.2008

Communication Skills Review

An oldie but goodie from Ze Frank in 2004...

Admit it, at one time or another we've all been here! Designer or not, Ze discusses how to get your frustrations out. Next time you need to write an email and can't use the words you feel fit, take some lessons from this hilarious video:

Mac Should Name its Next System "Cobra"

Since I'm a mac person, I love their advertising and well... everything about macs in general! I have a continuous battle with my coworkers bashing mac users. Yet, it seems like I never need assistance fixing my computer! IMAGINE THAT!! I know the joking is in good fun (most of the time) — but macs ROCK! While I have sooo many reasons to love mac (besides the fact that they're pretty, run the software I need, and are just damn cool) their advertising team consistently does an awesome job! In this case they attack the reliability of Windows Vista. I'm expecting someone to send me a yoga-mac parody soon to stir the pot! Not naming any names...


Which ad is your favorite? Get a Mac

4.08.2008

Quit Staring at me with those Googly-Eyes!!

Many thanks to a co-worker for pointing this one out to me. Had to steal it & share...Good stuff!!


What Do You Suppose the "F" Stands For?


Awesome pic of Gordon Ramsay... I think that says it all!! Last week was "the worst ever start," according to Ramsay. The field has been whittled down to 14 contestants... I haven't quite picked out an obvious winner or a favorite for that matter.

Wonder what's in store for tonight's episode? Can't wait!!

4.04.2008

Grape Vines on My Mind


At last by ~ladyivery on deviantART


Isn't that a great photo? Two of my favorite things...wine & art!!

I'm getting excited because in a few weeks I'll finally buy more grape vines to replace what didn't grow last year in our yard. (I personally think I planted them too late. And sometimes a Sam's Club bargain should just be left alone. Oh well!) I know it will be a lot of work, but I love gardening and think it will be fun to grow our own grapes. And with our many fruits trees we already have, I'm sure we can maybe concoct some yummy new wine combinations.

Have a great weekend everyone!

4.02.2008

First World Autism Awareness Day!!

I need to take a day away from my usual rants and reviews of my favorite reality tv shows to discuss a very serious matter.

Something that is very close to my heart lately is the diagnosis of my nephew's autism. He is the most adorable, free-spirited 2-year old, with the cutest, curly, blond hair. I don't think many people understand autism until you actually see someone you love trying to weed through the twists and tangles of daily activities. I've seen the initial heartache my brother, sister-in-law and family experienced, the waiting for a diagnosis and the desperation to get treatment. There's still a long winding road ahead, but he has made much progress in his program since his diagnosis in December!

The General Assembly of the United Nations has established today (April 2) as the First World Autism Awareness Day. The goal is to raise society’s awareness of autism and the struggles of families with an autistic member.

For those of you who are not familiar with autism, here is Wikipedia's condensed definition: "Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old." Autism was a very rare condition and eventually the stats rose to 5 in 10,000. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with autism. It's rising out of control and something needs to be done quickly!


Take A Walk!!
Why not take a virtual walk today, and see how you can help autism!
I just did :)
www.walknowforautism.org



Great Autism Resources —

My brother's blog: 1in150.wordpress.com

My sister-in-law's blog: hopingnotcoping.wordpress.com

A few good links about autism: