Whatsa Laptot?

Hubby and I were perusing the aisles at Target this evening. Oh, wait. I perused. He walked quickly to what he came to buy. We were actually there for a number of really random things, including Halloween candy, moisturizer, and 3-prong extension cords… but I digress.

Upon arriving in the electronics area, where hubby was spying video games and no longer speed walking, I found this tiny little laptop. It was so small that I thought it was a scaled-down model of the real thing, until I looked at the price: $299. Intrigued, I had to study it more closely.

Sorry. I had the drier set on high and the laptop shrunk. from Target.com

Though it looked like a portable DVD player with a keyboard, it’s actually a miniature laptop or a “laptot,” as this article about purchasing one says. Cute, huh? This particular model from Target is from ASUS and I have no idea what that means! But it does a lot of what a normal laptop would do. It has wi-fi capabilities, 3 USB connectors, office work type of software capabilities, and some other stuff. I thought it would be nice to take it to Europe next summer for school so that I don’t have to lug my heavy MacBook. Sure, I would miss having Photoshop, but I wonder if I would miss anything else?

What do you guys think? Have you seen one? Would you buy it? (Am I behind the times and everyone knows about these things but me??)

Ironic Candy

from www.smarties.com

I decided to get my “kids” some candy for Halloween. Do you think they will be happy or insulted that I am providing a mix of Dum Dum lollipops and Smarties? Hmmm.

Maybe if they knew the history of Dum Dums they would be OK:

Dum Dum Pops were originated by Akron Candy Company in Bellevue, Ohio, in 1924. I.C. Bahr, the early sales manager of the company, named the ball-shaped candy on a stick and figured Dum Dum was a word any child could say. Spangler Candy purchased the Dum Dum Pop in 1953 from Akron Candy Company and moved the operation to Bryan, Ohio.

A Package… for Me? Can’t be.

Yesterday I arrived home to find 2 packages (uh, OK, bigger mailing envelopes) addressed to me! Wha? I rarely get mail. What could it possibly be?

In an unprecedented level of customer service, I received my new passport (and the old one in another envelope) in less than 2 weeks! Isn’t that amazing? I couldn’t believe how fast the turnaround was.

So now I’m ready to venture off to Europe… after I book my flight… after I pack my bags… after I plan the Study Abroad program. At least one thing is checked off my list.

Picture Day

Recently I was in need of renewing two semi-permanent documents that were going up for expiration-my passport and my driver’s license. Both turned out to be a long process, not because of filling out paperwork to renew or lines at the DMV. Nope.

It was because I didn’t know what to wear!

The practical side of me decided to take care of getting the passport picture and driver’s license renewal on the same day. As I got ready, I scanned the closet for something to wear, changed into whatever I found, looked at myself in the mirror, and headed back to the closet to find something else. This happened about five times until the hubby decided to speak up. The conversation went a little something like this:

the hubby: What are you doing? We need to go.

that girl: I’m changing. I’ll be done soon…. Isn’t that weird that I’m going to look the same in both photos?

the hubby: Didn’t you just change?

that girl: Yes, I know. I know! I’ve changed a bunch of times… But I have to find something decent. It’s a passport picture. It will be in that little book for 10 years! Can you believe I still wear that dang jacket that’s in the picture from last time?!… And it’s also my driver’s license. Who knows how long that will stick around?

the hubby: Right…. OK…. Well, find something that will be fashionable 10 years from now and let’s go.

Oh the comedy. That hubby. He’s a funny guy.

You see, I have a history of taking not-so-great, identification photos. Yearbook? ugh. Big bangs were terrible. Student ID for college? I swear those “photographers” intentionally make you look bad. My face took up the whole thing, no neck, very little hair. Current Faculty ID? They stretch out all of the photos. My face is elongated. Aquatic Center ID? It was 9am and I was going to the pool. How do you think I looked? Old passport? Washed out. Old driver’s license? Too much headroom. I look like I’m 4 feet tall…. Myrtle Beach Grand Prix? perfect!

Thankfully, this time around, I was really lucky. The passport photo people allowed me to look at the picture before printing it out and since he was a “real” photographer, he knew how to take and crop a photo. (Incidentally, did you know if you are getting a US passport picture taken, you need to make sure you hair doesn’t cover your ears? I had to tuck mine behind my ears.) And because I didn’t end up having enough time to do both pictures in the same day, I took the driver’s license photo today. It was a pretty good picture of me. I was so happy with it that I took a picture of it with my cell phone and sent it to hubby.

He has yet to reply. He is probably jealous or is staring at in admiration… or thinks I’m crazy.

Pig Pickin’

A friend invited me to go to a Pig Pickin’. Yup. I didn’t ask too many questions about what this was exactly, I just agreed to go and figured whatever happens… happens. Every once in a while, you just need to try something different and not worry about it, so that’s what I did.

Turns out that it was a gathering of a bunch of folks down by a creek at a farm in a remote mountain area. There was a really long picnic table with tons of food and some “whole pork” had been cooking since 4:00 that morning. Our hosts offered hay rides around the property along with a scavenger hunt and other games for kids.

I have to say, this was one of the more relaxing activities I’ve done in a while and I’m glad I went. I ended up running into someone I knew and meeting some really interesting folks on the hayride. If you ever get invited to a Pig Pickin’, you should go. See what it’s like.

The view from our hosts’ home.

My seat on the hayride

One of the “sights” on the hayride tour.

SNL with Tina Fey… or is it Sarah Palin?

I heart Tina Fey. I think she is just wonderful. She is awesome on 30 Rock, one of my favorite shows. And does a great Sarah Palin. But do you know who does a better Sarah Palin? Yah. Sarah Palin.

Here’s a look at her stint on SNL this past weekend. It’s good stuff and she’s a good sport. The part with Alec Baldwin is too funny.

Screen image from SNL

Time for a Poll

Hey, look at that! WordPress has a new snazzy toy: polling. How very Election 2008! I must take advantage.

I'm that girl and I approve this message.

Losing Brain Cells

So I’m sitting here watching The Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo for the first time and this episode is about preparing for the Oscars. And I’m wondering a couple of things:

• How many brain cells have I lost doing this?
• On a scale of 1-10, how annoying is this woman?
• How superficial is this woman?
• Are these people cartoon characters? I hate the way they speak. They remind me of the Gap girls from the SNL skits of the ’90s. Every person has the tone of a valley girl, including the men.
• Can someone please buy these people a hairbrush? Dang, there is some messy hair on this show.
• Is there a drinking game associated with this show? If not, I think you should take a big gulp of something everything this woman flutters her eyelashes in dramatic fashion during her interview segments.

What a Croc!

My pursuit of a comfy, non-grandmotherish shoe continued yesterday at Super Shoes. While the other items at this place are not my thing—scrubs, boots, and outdoorsy wear—I do like to make it a stop on a shoe hunt. I’ve found some winners there over the years. Also, did you know that you can save your receipts and get a hefty discount with them? I’ve been saving for a while now and yesterday was my big day to cash in! I decided get a “free” pair… of… Crocs.

Crocs Malindi... an alternative to clown Crocs (from zappos.com)

If you read my comment from that previous blog post, you know that I’m not the most avid of Croc fans and I question their contribution to fashionable footwear. Regardless, I felt OK getting these things since I wasn’t really paying for them. On top of that, I didn’t go with a traditional Croc. Instead, I bought the ones you see here.

Yeah, way cuter than the original Croc and they provide a good bit of comfort. And I can actually walk in them, unlike clown Crocs.

After I got them home, I tried them on with a pair of dress pants just to see what they would look like. As afraid as I am to admit it, they might be passable for work as long as my pants are long enough.

Yup, I would wear these to work. (from shoesonashoe string.com)

So now I’m going to take a chance on a pair of YOU by Crocs that I found on Piperlime.com. Since the return shipping is free, I figure it worth a shot. I think these shoes are pretty sassy and I’ve been eyeing them for a while but in the past, the price was not in my range. Now they are. Go me!

As a good will gesture, I’m going to clean out the closet and donate a bunch of shoes. (Hopefully the hubby read that.)

I learned about this site while at the shoe store yesterday: http://www.soles4souls.org

Noggin Injuries

I’m not sure what went on this weekend but two of my “kids” have concussions! One was “pushed into a brick wall” (as he explained in an email) and needed 3 staples in his head. Sounds pretty brutal, if you ask me. I don’t know what happened to the other but she told me she can’t make any sudden movements or it could cause her to get dizzy and fall over. This was a bit alarming. Thankfully, she moved slowly and didn’t injure herself further.

I am tempted to ask these kids if they know each other but I won’t since it’s none of my business.

I think my kids need to wear helmets.