A funny, fun, frenetic, FULL 4-day weekend!!
I'll skip the rambling preamble (heehee) and just say that if anyone wants a hint at what my Labor Day Weekend consisted of, and what I therefore am going to write about, just look at all the tags/keywords below. (The reference to "photos" is because there are some pix of my sweet furry boys eating! ;D If that don't tempt ya, I don't know what will!)
Oh, and the reason I chose my summery, tropical hibiscus icon for this entry is because Labor Day is kind of thought of as the "end of summer," even though the Autumnal Equinox doesn't happen for a few more weeks.
First things first...
Labor Day was today (Monday, Sept. 3), but the reason I had a four-day weekend is because I ended up not working on Friday, Aug. 31! I'd actually worked the entire rest of the week preceeding it, however. That's right -- I worked FOUR days last week, due to one of the managing editors being away on a company-sponsored biz trip. I did LOTS more editing, along with some new special projects (researching and short writing). All this is why they had me there for almost a full week! :D Yay!! (They simply didn't need me Friday, so I didn't work).
The pay is great (the main reason I love the extra time), the work I get to do is great, and the co-workers are great! :) Oh, and for the past few weeks, delicious LUNCH keeps being ordered for us on Thursdays and delivered via Waiter.com, since there always seems to be some department's deadline on Thursday and/or Friday. So far we've had food from a Mediterranean restaurant (last week), a Chinese restaurant (the week before), and a Togo's sandwiches party platter (the week before that!). Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch was WRONG! :D
Before I forget: a very odd dream!
One of the nights over the four-day weekend, I had a weird dream. I was dating a very romantic and handsome Middle Eastern guy, who also happened to give a great massage -- I know, because he gave me one! ;) I don't think he was born in a Middle Eastern country though. I'm not sure if he had an accent; he may have been born in the U.S. The only reason I mention he was Middle Eastern at all, is because that theme plays a big part in the dream.
So, I'm dating this guy and he wants me to meet his parents. I think they did live some Middle Eastern country, but I'm not sure of that either. I asked him if he thought his folks would mind that he was dating a non-Muslim woman. He said he didn't think they'd mind, but he hoped I'd wear a traditional garment out of respect to them. That was fine with me. When we got to their house (don't ask me how we got there or how long it took! LOL) his really nice sisters helped me get into the "traditional" clothing. I put that in quotation marks because it was NOT the typical outfit (complete with burqas and/or hijabs) you see Muslim women wearing on TV. It was actually like a cross between a belly dancer's costume, and the traditional saris that Hindu women wear in India. I guess my dreaming mind was getting its world cultures mixed up! *blush*
Anyhoo, I remember bits and pieces of the rest of the trip there, but I don't think I ever "met the parents." *chuckle* I do remember what the place looked like where we were staying, and it was beautiful! Almost like a fairytale castle on the outside, but mostly modern on the inside. The only other part I REALLY remember about the dream is that at one point -- I think while I was still on the trip but maybe after returning to the U.S. -- I made a phone call to the OTHER guy I was dating! I don't know if that makes me a two-timer or not. *blush* I seem to think the Middle Eastern guy knew I was also seeing someone else, but the "someone else" did not. And that other man was none other than Richie McDonald, lead singer of the country band Lonestar! I must admit I've been kind of attracted to Richie ever since I first discovered Lonestar many years ago. ;) However, I've no idea why he suddenly popped up in a dream, since it's not like I'd just been to a Lonestar concert or seen them on TV or anything like that. heh Unfortunately, I don't remember what transpired between me and Richie on the phone; I don't think anything was resolved when I awakened.
Happy belated birthdays to SEVEN people!
As many of you know, I've been a member of the AWESOME community called bday_packages for a year and a half now. It's one of the most fun and rewarding things I've ever done, and I think I actually get more excited as a "giver" than as a "receiver"! Anyhoo, I've been feeling really down on myself for not being active in that community for about two months, but I'm happy to say that I'm FINALLY back in the saddle! And in an attempt to play catch-up, I packaged up and sent gifts to seven August babies over the course of my long Labor Day holiday weekend! *cheer*
Here's a link to my triumphant post on this topic in the community itself (mainly for my own reference, since it includes the names of the recipients). However, if anyone reading this has ANY inkling of curiosity about this community, please click here to visit its profile page and learn more. You will NOT regret joining this community! It's like one big warm fuzzy! ;D
Monthly "Game Day"
In my townhouse complex, we hold a "Game Day" the first Sunday of each month. It's a free event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Clubhouse, and everyone is welcome. My next-door neighbor and friend (and fellow Bingo Belle) Lisa M. and I got this event going a few months ago, due to our mutual love for and interest in playing games -- especially the "party-style" board and card games like Apples to Apples, Scattergories, Taboo, and the Cranium family of games. The small budget of the Community Relations committee, on which Lisa and I both sit, pays for drinks and a few snacks, and people are encouraged to bring their own snacks to share, if they wish. Additionally, we have quite a few games on hand in the Clubhouse, but again, people often bring their own games as well.
I had a feeling there wouldn't be much of a turnout for the September gathering, since it's during the Labor Day weekend, and I was right. It was quite small, BUT most of the "usuals" were there, and some of us ended up playing a VERY funny and fun Scattergories. I havent' played this game in YEARS, but being a "word worm" I always loved it, so I was very pleased to finally play it again. :D
Isn't "Red Lobster" a redundant title?
That's me -- always thinking like a copy editor and/or proofreader! LOL Anyhoo, on Sunday evening my mom and I went to Red Lobster for an early dinner. My dad was supposed to come too, but he wasn't feeling up to it because being out in the hot weather makes his breathing even more difficult than it normally is, plus he was feeling kind of queasy, which actually is nothing new for him, although after a million tests, his doctors still can't get to the bottom of it! :(
I had a $5 and a $10 gift card good for Red Lobster or its sister restaurant, Olive Garden, and my mom had a coupon from the newspaper good for $4 off any two entrees, so between all of that, we barely had to pay anything for our dinner! (When you don't have much money, you can still allow yourself to enjoy eating out, but you learn to wait until circumstances are the most frugal for doing so! *chuckle*) BTW, the gift cards were the result of me saving up and redeeming POINTS that I earned by taking surveys at one of the many survey websites I belong to. Usually I get gift cards like this from my participation with Harris Poll Online, but this time it was from somewhere else. I think it was from Lightspeed Panel or from Zoom Panel.
Anyhoo, being someone who appreciates both good food and a good value, I just want to say how pleased I was with my meal. I ordered the golden-fried filet of sole entree, which came with choice of garden salad, Caesar salad or cole slaw (I got garden salad), choice of cooked veggies, rice, fries, mashed or baked potato with the entree (I got mashed), and of course Red Lobster's complimentary (and famous) Cheddar Bay biscuits, which arrived even before the salad did. All of this was only $10.50, which I think is very generous!! My mom had ALMOST the same dinner: the only differences were her choice of salad dressing, and the fact that she got her sole baked or broiled, not fried. I think I must've gotten more fish than she did, because it was such a generous portion, I had to take some home!
Portmanteau synchronicity
Here's a very weird coincidence! While playing Scattergories at the aforementioned Game Day, I had to come up with an article of furniture that started with the leter "P", and I wrote "portmanteau". For some reason I thought it was something like a server or a china cabinet, although I definitely was NOT sure about this at all! One of the other players, Pam, said she thought a portmanteau was something that you carried, like a large piece of luggage, but she wasn't sure either. I chose not to take a point for that answer, since no one knew what a portmanteau really was! *chuckle* As it turns out, Pam was correct, but only PARTIALLY! There is also a completely different definition for portmanteau, which according to Webster's is the following: "A word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (as smog from smoke and fog.)" For much more interesting reading on this word, click here.
The reason this was synchronicitious (sp?) is because prior to portmanteau popping into my head during Game Day on Sunday, I hadn't heard or throught about that word in AGES. But either that very same night, or the night right after, I was wasting time looking up SpongeBob SquarePants characters (one of my fave cartoons) on Wikipedia and when I came to the entry for Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, it called Mermaid Man's name "a portmanteau of mermaid and the lesser-known merman, the latter being the actual name for the male version of a mermaid." How crazy is that?? LOL
I met a wolf! (well, sort of)
rodluvan will like reading about this, because when she writes about dogs she meets, or photographs, she often calls them "wolves". ;) It makes more sense if you know that her LJ username means something like "Red Riding Hood" in English. heehee Anyway, today I went to the Campbell PetsMart store to exchange something that came in my last online order from their website. When I was waiting to check out, I noticed the "dog" standing very politely with the lady in front of me looked more like a wolf! I talked to the lady and she told me that Brianna is a wolf-dog hybrid! In particular: half wolf and half Alaskan malamute. Believe it or not, though, this very big, very beautiful dog was still not quite as big as I remember Te, the giant malamute of raininroses and amor_ereptor, as being!
Anyhoo, I asked Brianna's owner how she gets along with other dogs and/or if she tries to be the "alpha" among dogs or even PEOPLE, which I've heard can sometimes be a challenge with wolf-dog hybrids. Well, apparently Brianna inherited the malamute temperament, because her owner said she is extremely easygoing and loves the company of not only all dogs and all humans, but even CATS and SQUIRRELS! :D All she wants to be is a loyal and loving friend to all living things, and willingly takes on the submissive role with any animal who seems the least bit dominant. *chuckle*
I'm not saying all malamutes are like this; I'm just saying that most wolves are certainly NOT like this! So Brianna's owner was very lucky to get a hybrid with such an excellent temperament -- especially since poor Bri was given up by her previous owners and taken in by a malamute rescue organization. Who the hell would give up such a drop-dead gorgeous dog with such a gentle, loving personality and great intelligence is beyond me! (And I must admit, there's also another good reason to get a dog like her. If you didn't know her, you wouldn't EVER want to mess with her owner or her owner's family or house, because she definitely looks part-wolf and is big enough to be very intimidating to even a large human!
Oh, and speaking of portmanteaus, another one just came up, synchronicitiously enough! LOL! I was doing some online research about wolf-dog hybrids, to try to find a good photo of one, and I came across the term wolamute, which of course someone made up as a cross between wolf and malamute. And that's also a prime example of a portmanteau! You can click here for an interesting page about wolamutes. Brianna doesn't really look like the ones on that page, however. She's strictly black, gray and white -- no brown, tan or beige.
Blueberry & Jellybean!! Hooray for rat pix!!
Of course, no mention of pets would be complete without including mention of my sweet, smart, silly little boys! ;D Here are two of their most recent pix, taken just this weekend!
Blueberry enjoys his namesake fruit, but he also enjoys many other yummy fruits and veggies. Here he is eating a piece of watermelon in my upstairs bathroom, where the boys get their out-of-cage playtimes each evening with many toys and accessories. Somehow I think Berrykins looks either sneaky or annoyed in this photo, but he was NEITHER, believe me! *giggle* He was very pleased!
And here is Jellybean. As you can probably see, he's sitting in my lap. Not ON my lap, but IN it -- I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and he was right there at my crotch! heehee In this pic, for which I used the camera's macro setting, I caught Jelly nibbling some type of seed or cereal puff from one of the treat pillows I bought from Astrid at the awesome WonderRodent.com!
P.S. This entry is dated Monday, Sept. 3, which is when I started it, but I didn't actually completely finish it until Tuesday, Sept. 4, which is the current date! *blush*
Oh, and the reason I chose my summery, tropical hibiscus icon for this entry is because Labor Day is kind of thought of as the "end of summer," even though the Autumnal Equinox doesn't happen for a few more weeks.
First things first...
Labor Day was today (Monday, Sept. 3), but the reason I had a four-day weekend is because I ended up not working on Friday, Aug. 31! I'd actually worked the entire rest of the week preceeding it, however. That's right -- I worked FOUR days last week, due to one of the managing editors being away on a company-sponsored biz trip. I did LOTS more editing, along with some new special projects (researching and short writing). All this is why they had me there for almost a full week! :D Yay!! (They simply didn't need me Friday, so I didn't work).
The pay is great (the main reason I love the extra time), the work I get to do is great, and the co-workers are great! :) Oh, and for the past few weeks, delicious LUNCH keeps being ordered for us on Thursdays and delivered via Waiter.com, since there always seems to be some department's deadline on Thursday and/or Friday. So far we've had food from a Mediterranean restaurant (last week), a Chinese restaurant (the week before), and a Togo's sandwiches party platter (the week before that!). Whoever said there's no such thing as a free lunch was WRONG! :D
Before I forget: a very odd dream!
One of the nights over the four-day weekend, I had a weird dream. I was dating a very romantic and handsome Middle Eastern guy, who also happened to give a great massage -- I know, because he gave me one! ;) I don't think he was born in a Middle Eastern country though. I'm not sure if he had an accent; he may have been born in the U.S. The only reason I mention he was Middle Eastern at all, is because that theme plays a big part in the dream.
So, I'm dating this guy and he wants me to meet his parents. I think they did live some Middle Eastern country, but I'm not sure of that either. I asked him if he thought his folks would mind that he was dating a non-Muslim woman. He said he didn't think they'd mind, but he hoped I'd wear a traditional garment out of respect to them. That was fine with me. When we got to their house (don't ask me how we got there or how long it took! LOL) his really nice sisters helped me get into the "traditional" clothing. I put that in quotation marks because it was NOT the typical outfit (complete with burqas and/or hijabs) you see Muslim women wearing on TV. It was actually like a cross between a belly dancer's costume, and the traditional saris that Hindu women wear in India. I guess my dreaming mind was getting its world cultures mixed up! *blush*
Anyhoo, I remember bits and pieces of the rest of the trip there, but I don't think I ever "met the parents." *chuckle* I do remember what the place looked like where we were staying, and it was beautiful! Almost like a fairytale castle on the outside, but mostly modern on the inside. The only other part I REALLY remember about the dream is that at one point -- I think while I was still on the trip but maybe after returning to the U.S. -- I made a phone call to the OTHER guy I was dating! I don't know if that makes me a two-timer or not. *blush* I seem to think the Middle Eastern guy knew I was also seeing someone else, but the "someone else" did not. And that other man was none other than Richie McDonald, lead singer of the country band Lonestar! I must admit I've been kind of attracted to Richie ever since I first discovered Lonestar many years ago. ;) However, I've no idea why he suddenly popped up in a dream, since it's not like I'd just been to a Lonestar concert or seen them on TV or anything like that. heh Unfortunately, I don't remember what transpired between me and Richie on the phone; I don't think anything was resolved when I awakened.
Happy belated birthdays to SEVEN people!
As many of you know, I've been a member of the AWESOME community called bday_packages for a year and a half now. It's one of the most fun and rewarding things I've ever done, and I think I actually get more excited as a "giver" than as a "receiver"! Anyhoo, I've been feeling really down on myself for not being active in that community for about two months, but I'm happy to say that I'm FINALLY back in the saddle! And in an attempt to play catch-up, I packaged up and sent gifts to seven August babies over the course of my long Labor Day holiday weekend! *cheer*
Here's a link to my triumphant post on this topic in the community itself (mainly for my own reference, since it includes the names of the recipients). However, if anyone reading this has ANY inkling of curiosity about this community, please click here to visit its profile page and learn more. You will NOT regret joining this community! It's like one big warm fuzzy! ;D
Monthly "Game Day"
In my townhouse complex, we hold a "Game Day" the first Sunday of each month. It's a free event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Clubhouse, and everyone is welcome. My next-door neighbor and friend (and fellow Bingo Belle) Lisa M. and I got this event going a few months ago, due to our mutual love for and interest in playing games -- especially the "party-style" board and card games like Apples to Apples, Scattergories, Taboo, and the Cranium family of games. The small budget of the Community Relations committee, on which Lisa and I both sit, pays for drinks and a few snacks, and people are encouraged to bring their own snacks to share, if they wish. Additionally, we have quite a few games on hand in the Clubhouse, but again, people often bring their own games as well.
I had a feeling there wouldn't be much of a turnout for the September gathering, since it's during the Labor Day weekend, and I was right. It was quite small, BUT most of the "usuals" were there, and some of us ended up playing a VERY funny and fun Scattergories. I havent' played this game in YEARS, but being a "word worm" I always loved it, so I was very pleased to finally play it again. :D
Isn't "Red Lobster" a redundant title?
That's me -- always thinking like a copy editor and/or proofreader! LOL Anyhoo, on Sunday evening my mom and I went to Red Lobster for an early dinner. My dad was supposed to come too, but he wasn't feeling up to it because being out in the hot weather makes his breathing even more difficult than it normally is, plus he was feeling kind of queasy, which actually is nothing new for him, although after a million tests, his doctors still can't get to the bottom of it! :(
I had a $5 and a $10 gift card good for Red Lobster or its sister restaurant, Olive Garden, and my mom had a coupon from the newspaper good for $4 off any two entrees, so between all of that, we barely had to pay anything for our dinner! (When you don't have much money, you can still allow yourself to enjoy eating out, but you learn to wait until circumstances are the most frugal for doing so! *chuckle*) BTW, the gift cards were the result of me saving up and redeeming POINTS that I earned by taking surveys at one of the many survey websites I belong to. Usually I get gift cards like this from my participation with Harris Poll Online, but this time it was from somewhere else. I think it was from Lightspeed Panel or from Zoom Panel.
Anyhoo, being someone who appreciates both good food and a good value, I just want to say how pleased I was with my meal. I ordered the golden-fried filet of sole entree, which came with choice of garden salad, Caesar salad or cole slaw (I got garden salad), choice of cooked veggies, rice, fries, mashed or baked potato with the entree (I got mashed), and of course Red Lobster's complimentary (and famous) Cheddar Bay biscuits, which arrived even before the salad did. All of this was only $10.50, which I think is very generous!! My mom had ALMOST the same dinner: the only differences were her choice of salad dressing, and the fact that she got her sole baked or broiled, not fried. I think I must've gotten more fish than she did, because it was such a generous portion, I had to take some home!
Portmanteau synchronicity
Here's a very weird coincidence! While playing Scattergories at the aforementioned Game Day, I had to come up with an article of furniture that started with the leter "P", and I wrote "portmanteau". For some reason I thought it was something like a server or a china cabinet, although I definitely was NOT sure about this at all! One of the other players, Pam, said she thought a portmanteau was something that you carried, like a large piece of luggage, but she wasn't sure either. I chose not to take a point for that answer, since no one knew what a portmanteau really was! *chuckle* As it turns out, Pam was correct, but only PARTIALLY! There is also a completely different definition for portmanteau, which according to Webster's is the following: "A word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (as smog from smoke and fog.)" For much more interesting reading on this word, click here.
The reason this was synchronicitious (sp?) is because prior to portmanteau popping into my head during Game Day on Sunday, I hadn't heard or throught about that word in AGES. But either that very same night, or the night right after, I was wasting time looking up SpongeBob SquarePants characters (one of my fave cartoons) on Wikipedia and when I came to the entry for Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, it called Mermaid Man's name "a portmanteau of mermaid and the lesser-known merman, the latter being the actual name for the male version of a mermaid." How crazy is that?? LOL
I met a wolf! (well, sort of)
rodluvan will like reading about this, because when she writes about dogs she meets, or photographs, she often calls them "wolves". ;) It makes more sense if you know that her LJ username means something like "Red Riding Hood" in English. heehee Anyway, today I went to the Campbell PetsMart store to exchange something that came in my last online order from their website. When I was waiting to check out, I noticed the "dog" standing very politely with the lady in front of me looked more like a wolf! I talked to the lady and she told me that Brianna is a wolf-dog hybrid! In particular: half wolf and half Alaskan malamute. Believe it or not, though, this very big, very beautiful dog was still not quite as big as I remember Te, the giant malamute of raininroses and amor_ereptor, as being!
Anyhoo, I asked Brianna's owner how she gets along with other dogs and/or if she tries to be the "alpha" among dogs or even PEOPLE, which I've heard can sometimes be a challenge with wolf-dog hybrids. Well, apparently Brianna inherited the malamute temperament, because her owner said she is extremely easygoing and loves the company of not only all dogs and all humans, but even CATS and SQUIRRELS! :D All she wants to be is a loyal and loving friend to all living things, and willingly takes on the submissive role with any animal who seems the least bit dominant. *chuckle*
I'm not saying all malamutes are like this; I'm just saying that most wolves are certainly NOT like this! So Brianna's owner was very lucky to get a hybrid with such an excellent temperament -- especially since poor Bri was given up by her previous owners and taken in by a malamute rescue organization. Who the hell would give up such a drop-dead gorgeous dog with such a gentle, loving personality and great intelligence is beyond me! (And I must admit, there's also another good reason to get a dog like her. If you didn't know her, you wouldn't EVER want to mess with her owner or her owner's family or house, because she definitely looks part-wolf and is big enough to be very intimidating to even a large human!
Oh, and speaking of portmanteaus, another one just came up, synchronicitiously enough! LOL! I was doing some online research about wolf-dog hybrids, to try to find a good photo of one, and I came across the term wolamute, which of course someone made up as a cross between wolf and malamute. And that's also a prime example of a portmanteau! You can click here for an interesting page about wolamutes. Brianna doesn't really look like the ones on that page, however. She's strictly black, gray and white -- no brown, tan or beige.
Blueberry & Jellybean!! Hooray for rat pix!!
Of course, no mention of pets would be complete without including mention of my sweet, smart, silly little boys! ;D Here are two of their most recent pix, taken just this weekend!
Blueberry enjoys his namesake fruit, but he also enjoys many other yummy fruits and veggies. Here he is eating a piece of watermelon in my upstairs bathroom, where the boys get their out-of-cage playtimes each evening with many toys and accessories. Somehow I think Berrykins looks either sneaky or annoyed in this photo, but he was NEITHER, believe me! *giggle* He was very pleased!
And here is Jellybean. As you can probably see, he's sitting in my lap. Not ON my lap, but IN it -- I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and he was right there at my crotch! heehee In this pic, for which I used the camera's macro setting, I caught Jelly nibbling some type of seed or cereal puff from one of the treat pillows I bought from Astrid at the awesome WonderRodent.com!
P.S. This entry is dated Monday, Sept. 3, which is when I started it, but I didn't actually completely finish it until Tuesday, Sept. 4, which is the current date! *blush*