I Don't Know Why I Laugh Sometimes

You're Gonna Miss This

2011-11-11T13:54:00.001-06:00

I figured out what my role in life is. Don't worry, this won't be some deep and meaningful post. You should know that by now.

What I really mean is: I know what my role in life is while I'm driving in my car. (More lighthearted. You are welcome)

I drive a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am. It's had better days - like back in the 90s when I wasn't driving it, but it's gotten me from point A to point B, so I'm not complaining. I'm not. I love my car. I know my car and how it drives.

It's like my car was built for me. The driver's seat adjustment is permanently locked into place. Some bar or gear or something broke, so only I can drive my car comfortably. Sure, I get frustrated with it sometimes, like how my window will never roll down again so going through the drive-thru is only doable by me opening up my door and ordering my McDouble like a freak.

But when I'm driving on the highway or exit ramp, my car and I are a blessing. Since my car takes awhile to get up to the speed limit, my slow acceleration happily lets other cars switch lanes. That's what my role in life is on the road. I'm the person who when you are frustrated because you can't get into your lane or if your lane is ending and you desperately need to get over...have no fear, my Pontiac Grand Am is here!

When my car finally takes it's last breath it will be a sad day. It's been my only car since I got my license, and I'm going to miss it. And the other drivers out there will miss my car too.

Grown-Up Fingernails

2011-09-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

Some people have really nice fingernails. I call them grown-up fingernails. They're even, strong, and a polite length. Mine are just the opposite: crooked, weak, and short/on the verge of the fingernail not even being called a fingernail anymore. Oh, and sometimes they're dirty or have chipped blue nail polish on them. I like to think that they have personality - "those fingernails have lived," people will say as they pass me on the street. Yet, I still want to have grown-up fingernails.

I keep telling myself that when I grow up I will achieve nice fingernails. Well, it's been 24 years and my fingernails still look like crap. Sometimes I think I can grow them out, but I just snag them on something and then decide to rip them instead of clip them.

I'm pretty keen on my hands and fingers though. They are pretty :)

24

2011-09-08T17:55:00.004-05:00

Howdy, howdy, howdy! I'm 24 years old now :) I was born on Labor Day and my birthday was on Labor Day this year. Yay! It was a good birthday. I went out to lunch with my bff Andrea at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then I met my parents at the movie theater. We saw The Debt - really good movie. Then my brother and his family came over for supper and cake.

Since my last post, I left you wondering how our team did in our volleyball tournament. We were seeded 3rd out of nine teams. We never got to play the all-girl team again, but we would've definitely beat them if we had, and we ended up with 2nd place!! The team seeded in 8th place won - weird, right? They played the number 1 team and beat them! We watched with wide eyes in hopes that the 1st place team would lose, and they did. Holy crap, it was hilarious :) So we ended up in the championship game with the number 8 team and lost. It's okay. We should've beat them, but they deserved to win. They played a better game than us. It's as simple as that.

Now I'm on a new volleyball league with a different team. We played our first game last night and won. It was fun, as it always is.

Here's a picture of my niece Elsie. She is 2months old now!Elsie and me in August.

Time for a Kinsey Update

2011-08-26T14:09:00.005-05:00

Since I've been gone, I need to do a catch-up with the lovely people who (hopefully) still read my blog when I have a new post. I'm crossing my fingers on that one.

1. I've been in bar volleyball league since the end of May. We're pretty good. Probably 2nd in our Wednesday bracket. There's one team that's really good, and a guy on the team wears one long colored sock. It's weird, so we call him the sock man. And whenever we have a really good hit, Jeremy says, "We need to put a sock on you!" Haha, we think it's funny.

2. On Wednesday we played an all-girl team. We had three guys and two girls on our team, since Andrea couldn't make it to the game. The rules are you need to ask the other team if it's okay to play with less girls than guys. I hate asking, and I've only had to ask one other time, but I strolled over to their side of the net and asked politely, "Is it okay if we play with three guys and two girls? My friend is a teacher (put that in there for good measure) and she can't make it."

They were silent for about five seconds too long before one girl said, "This happens to us every week."

"So is it okay?" I asked, completely ignoring her snarky remark.

"Fine."

Good, I thought. Then we started playing and the all-girl team totally sucks!! They are really bad. The snarky one did that one arm hit almost every time a ball came to her. We won all three games easily. Then at the end I heard the captain talking to the ref: "What would have happened if we said no they can't play with more guys?" The ref shrugged - he was probably thinking, it doesn't matter because next week is the tournament and the brackets are already up and you guys suck, so it really doesn't matter.

The girl then said, "Because next time this is not going to happen."

I stood there, signed off on the score sheet, and walked away. Seriously, they are the 2nd to worst team on our league. We could have played with three people and still killed them. I can't wait to play them next week (with our entire team) and really slam it in their faces.

3. I have a new niece in my family. My sister Tyne had her first baby in July. She named her Elsie, and she is soooooo cute! I'm her Godmother too! Yay! She likes to poop though. Just today, she was at our house and my mom was holding her. Then we heard this loud, juicy fart, and my mom pulled her away and Elsie's poop shot out of the side of her diaper - onto my mom's leg and the floor. GROSS! That was a nasty one. But she's still cute :)

4. I'm slowly running out of money. Even with my job (which is now only part-time) I'm just making my loan payments and other bills. It stinks. Thank goodness I live at home and don't have to pay for rent or groceries. Oh no, I just said, "Thank goodness I live at home." Something might be wrong with me.

5. Big Brother is my new favorite reality TV show. I want to be on it so bad! Does anyone else watch it?

6. I'm obsessed with a new show. It's not a "new" show, but it's new to me. I started watching Battlestar Galactica on Netflix Instant, and I LOVE it! It's so good. If anyone is looking for a show that is action/romantic/drama/mystery, then this is a show for you! It's also kind of funny. I started watching it on Sunday and I'm already done with the first season.

Battlestar Galactica

Well, I'm off to a wedding this weekend, and I promise to post more.

Robot Bank

2011-07-06T21:50:00.003-05:00

I feel like I have certain situations that happen to me more than any other person I know. For example, the other day I ran to the bank to make a deposit. One would assume this a simple task. So did I, believe me, so did I...

I've never been to this bank before, but I expected it to be like most banks. Tellers greeting you with their sad smiles, that ONE guy holding a bucket full of change, a smelly but very tan dude with sweat stains on the back of his cut-off tee, and the mother trying to control her wild children and then threatening them with "NO wii time tonight!!" Ahhh, the joys of banks.

When I entered the bank something seemed off. I felt like Dorothy walking from black & white into the world of color. Except my world of color was a world where no tellers were to be seen. Odd, I thought. Where have all the tellers gone?? Hmmm, whatever, I'll fill out my deposit slip and worry about that little problem later.

About one minute later...frick, where are the tellers?? How am I supposed to make a deposit? I stood in the room looking awkward as awkward could be. I see a couple offices, a few "stations" with tv screens and telephones, and a roped off path that led to it. I walked around looking for a teller with my deposit slip in hand and a confused look glued to my face, when finally I decided to ask the guy that was in one of the "stations," "Hey, I'm trying to make a deposit. Where do I do that?"

He smiled and answered politely: "Right here. It's like a drive-up window, but inside. It's weird, but this bank is close to my house..." He shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, and walked to my little cubby of a "station." I then proceeded to tap on the tv screen thinking it was a touch screen...nothing happened. "I don't know what I'm doing," I said, still tapping on the NON-touch screen tv.

The polite guy walked me through it, "Put the money in the container and push the button, then someone will show up. I know it's weird, believe me. I feel like I'm banking in the future."

"This is crazy. I'm never coming to this bank again," I said. And with that I made my deposit talking to the guy in the tv screen who works in the basement. I seriously just walked into the bank and had no human contact with a teller. Unbelievable. Also, these poor tellers are working in a basement...ummmm, sucks for them.

Honestly, they might as well have robots working there. What's the point? I walk into a bank expecting to interact with another person, and I talk to a man in a tv. I know that's what the drive-up is for, and if my car window rolled down believe me, I'd be all over that.

But I have to walk in and do my business inside. It's the way of the world for me and my Pontiac Grand Am. So as you can see, this kind of awkward banking experience happens to me a lot. Seriously, I don't think Julia Roberts has ever had to go through something like this.

Bates Motel

2011-06-27T16:39:00.003-05:00

I went to wedding this weekend. It was a nice wedding. Beautiful bride and wonderful music. Very enjoyable. The bridesmaids looked clad in their "Little Bo Peep" dresses - their words...not mine. But they did kind of look like Blue Sheepherders.

With every wedding there are speeches. I've given one as a maid-of-honor at my bff Andrea's wedding last August. I kept it short but meaningful. I didn't put in a bunch of "inside jokes" or embarrassing stories. I followed "THE RULES."

Unfortunately, at this wedding the maid-of-honor speech ran 10 minutes too long - I'm not exaggerating. This speech was literally 10 minutes long. I died a slow death that night, and almost died (seriously) later that night. I'll get to that later. Anway, the maid-of-honor had way too much to drink, so she rambled on and on and on AND ON about this sandwich - or what she liked to call - "SAMwich." The sandwich wasn't a critical part of the story. She should've stopped after her first story. Yes, she told more than one.

After the first story I couldn't even look at the head table. I was so embarrassed and uncomfortable. The entire reception hall slowly went into this awkward silence wishing that she would finally wrap up her SAMwich and call it a day. After about five more minutes of a story that was going nowhere, she finally finished her speech. Like on cue, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Thank god that was over.

Before I get to the part where I seriously thought I was going to die, let me tell you about the dinner rolls, because dinner rolls are very important in any meal. Well, every person at the reception received a basket of dinner rolls except our table! I was starving. Andrea and Jeremy weren't starving as much as I was because they ate at BWW during our 3 hour lapse between the wedding and reception. I wanted to save myself for the meal. Bad idea. While everyone else enjoyed their dinner rolls, we all sat drooling over our empty plates. Finally, a server stopped by our table and we informed her that we needed dinner rolls.

We all got served our salad, then our meal, then our rolls. But we got extra rolls. And HOT rolls right out of the oven. It's safe to say that we got the best dinner rolls in the entire state of Wisconsin. They were tasty!!!! And we were all able to have two! How wonderful.

Okay, now to the part where my life almost ended. So, I stayed at a motel because I wasn't sure if I would be able to drive home after the dance. I played it safe and booked a room across the road. When I checked in (before the reception) and pulled up to my room at The Royal Inn (nice name, right?) I got in and unpacked. The room smelled musty like an attic mixed with bad breath. Gross. So I sprayed my body spray all over the place in hope to mask the smell until my nose got used to it.

After the reception I pulled into The Royal Inn and made myself comfortable. The interior wasn't as bad as the exterior. The motel website even states: "Don't judge us by our exterior." That probably should have been my first sign as not to stay here, but I didn't want to spend over $100 a night, just to sleep. Well, I fell asleep and awoke around 2 or 3 am. I had an end room, and I heard two men talking outside. Actually, they were yelling at each other. For example:

"Take your mother-effing business somewhere else. I don't want to see your effing face again!"
"Nonononononono! I ain't doing nothing wrong."
Then there was some pushing (I'm guessing).
"I don't care. This is my place and you don't do business here. If you know what's good for you.."
blah blah blah, scary blah blah...

So I'm in bed, curled up in a tiny little ball with wide eyes thinking, "Ohmygosh, this is it. This is the end. One of the scary talking guys is gonna pull out a gun and shoot the other one, but miss and the bullet is gonna come through the wall and kill me. They won't find me until after check-out, and my dead body is going to be all over the news!"

I was freaking out. I thought about calling 911, but if I could hear them, then they could probably hear me, right? And I definitely didn't want to be a witness to anything. So I waited out their 5 minute "conversation" about drugs or pimping, or whatever, and fell back asleep. When I woke up, I was alive and well, but I got the hell out of there, and will never return again.

I'm happy to be alive.

Ghost Face Did It

2011-05-05T17:51:00.003-05:00

Last week I went and saw Scre4m. I wanted to go with my brother, but he was busy. So I asked my friend Kory if he could come with me, but he was busy too. My mom said she would go with me, but my mom hasn't seen any of the Scream movies, so I didn't want to have to explain everything to her. I really wanted to see the movie, so I went by myself.

It was an early evening movie, so hardly anybody was at the theaters and no one was in the Scre4m theater. Just me. Just me and my large popcorn and pop combo. Yum. I love movie popcorn. It's so good, and so bad for your health, but so good!

Since no one was in the theater with me, I had my choice of seats. I picked the last row, because I wanted to be able to see everything...it's a scary movie I wanted to know that no one was behind me. Paranoid? No, just smart. Anyway, I texted Kory to make him feel bad about not coming to the movie with me, saying that I was all by myself. He had a paper to finish for school, so there was no way he would be able to make it to the movie.

I put my phone away, because even though I was the only one in the theater, I still like to put away my distractions and make my $20 movie going experience worth it. About 30 minutes into the movie, someone walked in and stopped where the theater opens up to the seats. I couldn't make out who it was. I was a little freaked out, because the person stood there watching the movie for like 5 minutes. It was uncomfortable to say the least. I figured it was just one of the employees because they left.

Finally, I thought, now I can watch my scary movie in peace. NOT! The next thing I see is someone wearing the Scream (ghost face) mask come barreling into the theater and up the steps. He stood above me, and I knew it was Kory. It was, thank God, because if it wasn't...well, I would've been out of that theater in two seconds.

He knew I was alone in the theater, since I texted him that information. And he was the guy who came in and scoped out the theater before scaring me with the ghost face mask. Kory could only stay for a few minutes, because he had to go and turn in his paper, but I give him credit for trying to scare me.

The movie was really good. I was surprised by the ending, as usual. If you're into the Scream movies, then I recommend seeing the 4th movie. It was nice seeing the cast back together after ten years.

Holy BALLS!

2011-04-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

The other day on my way home from work I was listening to the radio and 4:00 Trivia came on. Normally, I never call in...even if I know the answer, but this was for two free movie tickets, so I HAD to call in.

The question was: "Stairs and bicycles are two of the top three inanimate objects that cause accidents. What is the third inanimate object?"

I thought for about two seconds when BALLS came to my mind. Balls, balls, balls, it has to be balls. People get hit with balls all the time. I've had two accidents where balls were the number one cause. When I was about 14 I played short-stop and I got hit by a line drive right in the mouth. It hurt really bad. No teeth were lost, but there was a lot of blood.

In high school, my coach had me out in right field, and I was sprinting to catch a fly ball. I ran so fast that I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings. The next thing I remember is literally bouncing off the fence with my FACE and landing on the ground. I had fence markings on my chin for about a week. *I caught the ball, though, but when I fell to the ground the ball fell out, and the umpire said it wasn't an out. What a lousy ump.*

BALLS! It has to be. So I start dialing. Busy signal. Redial. Busy Signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. I couldn't get through. Typical.

Then the song ends and someone guesses the toilet. Wrong. I know it's balls, so I call in again. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. Redial. Busy signal. I give up.

The next person guesses a ladder. Good guess, but wrong. So the radio host gives a clue, "It's something you throw." Ugh, I was right!!!! But I couldn't get through. I'm spinning angry.

I didn't even try again to call in, because only a dummy would call in and get the answer wrong. There was no use for me to keep redialing only to hear more busy signals. Those movie passes could've been mine. Balls.

Playwright = Me

2011-04-20T18:53:00.003-05:00

I'm officially a playwright. I guess I was officially a playwright when I won the competition, but last night I actually felt it when I watched my play, "A Little Bit," on stage. It was a nerve-wracking experience up until last night, but wonderful none-the-less.

Yesterday, I spent my day doubting myself and my play: Would people laugh? Would they enjoy it? I hope they don't walk away from it saying it was a waste of money.

I am my own worst critic. My stomach was in knots...literal knots. I was so nervous that I barely had an appetite. And I always have an appetite.

Anyway, to make a long story short, my play did a fine job. My three actors really played well off of each other and the audience laughed appropriately. I was very touched to have about 25 close friends and family come to the performance just to see my play. That was my favorite part of the whole night.

Catching Up

2011-04-07T18:31:00.003-05:00

I'm going to make this post a quick read, bullet style.

- I saw Cedar Rapids this week, and it was great! I've always wanted to see a movie by myself, and I finally got to do it. It was a very enlightening experience, and I can cross it off my bucket list now...not the movie, but the act of seeing the movie alone ;)

- Started my job this week. So far, so good. Actually, I really, really, really like it. The people are awesome, and I'm sincerely looking forward to learning about insurance.

- I cast my play this week too. (I've had a very eventful week) I'm very happy with the three parts I was able to fill. Right when I saw and heard the two women that read for the leads, I knew I had to pick them. They were perfect! Plus, the rest of the auditions were kids under the age of 15...I couldn't possibly have a 7 year old play the part of a pregnant woman. That would not look good.

- The weather is amazing here! And when I say "amazing" I mean upper 50 degree weather. That's pretty good here, especially when I can still see snow patches and mounds in the front yard. So I played some basketball with my niece after she got off the bus. It felt good to be outside without a jacket on.

- Watched the movie Unstoppable from Netflix. It was a very stressful viewing experience. Very stressful.

Do you know how I know why I will never be on Jeopardy?

2011-03-29T07:46:00.001-05:00

The "smarties" on Jeopardy know a lot about a variety of subjects. They have to...that's how they get on the show. I like to think that I'm pretty good at Jeopardy, shouting out a few answers here and there, but really I would come in last place every single time.

Unless, of course, most of the categories were about tv, movies, (some sports) and other pop culture. I would clear the categories on my own, and the crowd would applaud at how amazingly fast I buzzed in with the right answer.

If you pay close enough attention to Jeopardy most contestants save the pop culture category for last. They pick "The History of the Wheel" or "Around the World." They know things like who invented the apple peeler, or the name of Queen Victoria's head chef, or how much wood could a wood chuck chuck! It's crazy what these people know.

But today I was watching and you know what clue none of the contestants buzzed in for with Spice Girls in the category? "Tell me what you want, what you really really want...is this popular song...?" Okay, I can't remember the clue word-for-word, but they gave part of the lyrics! No one buzzed in. Hello? It's WANNABE!

Typical Jeopardy "smarties." They may have a broad knowledge of everything textbook, but they don't know the most popular song by the Spice Girls. They may know that Millard Fillmore was the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president, but they don't know the name of the actor who plays the lovable Jim Halpert on The Office.

This is how I know why I will never be on Jeopardy. I can't compete with the contestants who choose "American Politics of the 1940s" over "American Pie Sequels." I really have no chance at all.

Wimpy Kid Mania

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I took my lovely little niece, Caitlyn, to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. It was really good. Very funny - for both adults and children.

Short review: Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) returns to middle school a year older - 7th grade. This time the movie focuses less on school and more on family with Greg's older brother/tormentor Rodrick (Devon Bostick) as part of the main plot. Their mother (Rachael Harris) bribes the boys with "Mom Bucks" in exchange for brother bonding. The movie soars with undeniable funny family feuding, and the loyal best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) steals a few scenes with his endearing self. Also stars Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

I asked my niece if she liked the first Diary or this one better, and she replied: "This one."

Now I have to tell you about my experience while waiting in line to get popcorn before the movie. We arrived about 25 minutes before the movie started to give us enough time to go to the bathroom, get concessions, and find a good seat. Well, as Caitlyn and I headed to get popcorn, this little girl (about 6) raced in front of us, turned the corner to the concessions stand, and went straight up to the counter.

I noticed right away that she "cut" in line. The people (a high schooler with what looked like her younger sister), now behind her, also noticed but didn't say anything. Caitlyn and I stood in our respective spots in line. About 10 seconds later, the little 6-year-old deviant's father and brother walked up to the stand. The dad asked for five popcorns and two large sodas. The register dude said, "That comes to $40.37."

The dad was outraged at the cost. Meanwhile, Caitlyn asked what time it was. I said I didn't know, but not to worry, because we have a lot of time before the movie starts.

The father then said, "What if I get 3 popcorns and four large sodas?" The poor guy behind the counter told him that the price would still be 40 some bucks. Still outraged the dad said that was too much money. Um, yeah! CAN'T YOU READ THE PRICES IN FRONT OF YOU? Jeez.

I bent down to Caitlyn and said, "See that little girl." Caitlyn nodded. "If she wouldn't have cut in line, we would be sitting in theater by now." Caitlyn nodded again with an extra eye roll. I looked to my right and saw that the other line for concessions was moving at a regular pace. Ugh, I couldn't switch lines now, we were so close! So I stayed in my line with an annoyed look on my face.

Back to the father: Finally he decided on a large popcorn combo and another soda. The register guy asked him what kind of soda he wanted. And ya' know what? The father didn't know. He asked his two kids what they wanted...they didn't know either. So they THOUGHT about it for awhile.

Ohmigosh! I was starting to lose it. I was seriously going to throw some punches soon. Caitlyn looked at me again and asked what time it was. I told her again that we still have lots of time. I honestly had no idea what time it was, but I didn't want to worry Caitlyn that we might be late for our movie, because of some indecisive/unprepared parent. People in line behind me were also getting annoyed, shuffling their feet and rubbing their foreheads.

After they paid, the line moved fast, since everyone had plenty of time to decide on what they wanted. It's really a no-brainer...this theater concession stuff. Pretty much everyone I hear in line knows what they want before they get there. It's not like people are deciding on a five-course meal here.

When it was my turn to order I simply said, "One large popcorn with butter. That's it." Wow, that took me less than a minute to order, pay, and receive my food.

I like people. I do. But when some people pull a "stunt" like this, I get really annoyed. Quietly annoyed. I would never throw punches...haha, I wouldn't ever even say anything. I'm too scared to do something reckless like that.

Anyway, after the movie was done, Caitlyn and I walked to my car, and Caitlyn said, "Remember that girl who cut in line?"
I said, "Yeah."
"Well," Caitlyn said, "We would've gotten our popcorn a lot faster if she didn't cut."

Yep.

Wanna hear something sad?

2011-03-24T10:22:00.004-05:00

It's not boo-hoo-hoo sad. It's pathetic sad. My favorite kind of sad.

Yesterday, our local NBC station was out because their tower was down. Instead, we received NBC out of the cities. Bummer.

Anyway, the sad part is, at 11am, I switched over to our local NBC channel to watch Kathie Lee and Hoda on Today. What I found instead was Kare 11 news. Boy, was I disappointed. Kathie Lee and Hoda are my guilty morning pleasures. I find them utterly entertaining. They drink early in the morning, interview B-List actors, and interrupt each other constantly. They're a hoot! But I didn't get to see them. My whole morning was thrown off. What was I going to watch from 11-noon?

Today is different though. My local NBC channel has been up and running since yesterday at noon. Too bad it wasn't fixed at 11. Sigh.

**I have more good news!**
I got offered a job! I'm so excited about it, and I can't wait to start. Everything is coming together for me, and I am so thankful. Plus, with this job I'll get to use my writing expertise!

Ride a Bike

2011-03-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Before the age of sixteen my bicycle was my only form of transportation. The faster I pedaled, the farther I ventured into my imagination: I was the cop, they were the robbers. I was a motorcyclist on the open road. I was the navigator of my airplane.

I grew up in a neighborhood with four other houses settled in a cul-de-sac. We all called it "The Circle." Across the road was my best neighborhood friend, Dusty. We would ride our bikes constantly around the circle, through our yards, and down to the stop sign at the end of our road only to turn around and do it all over again.

We would see how fast we could take the inside corner of "The Circle" where light sand and dirt settled. Sometimes we would wipe out. Sometimes not.

One time, Dusty rode on my bike handles. It wasn't safe, but it was fun. Especially when he flew off my handlebars because I hit the brakes too hard and quick. We never did that again. It sure was funny though.

When we drew our chalk houses on our driveways, our bikes were our cars and were parked in our chalk garages.

Our bikes acted as step-ladders propped next to a tree in order to get a frisbee down or to simply just climb a tree.

I would "repair" my bike in our garage. Fiddling with my dad's tools, not really doing anything to fix the unbroken bike, but to pretend that I knew how to fix my bike, because it was fun.

I loved my bike as a child. Almost everything I did growing up was with my bike. At first it was my sister's banana seater, and then I received my own NEW bike as a birthday gift around the age of 11 or so.

It saddens me to see some kids who don't appreciate the power of the bicycle. They are too busy with video games and television. My childhood was my bike and the adventures we had together, and I hope my kids (when I have them someday) will share this love too.

Wonderful News!

2011-03-21T11:43:00.004-05:00

Last Wednesday I received some great news in the mail. A ten-minute play of mine is getting produced at a local theater!

I found that the theater was holding a New Playwright's Competition, so I entered. Two plays were accepted in each age category: Middle School, High School, and Adult. I was one of the winners in the adult category.

My play, along with the other 5 plays, will be shown on April 19th. Also, I get to act as assistant director to my play and help make decisions on costumes and music.

I'm overjoyed with the thought of it all. Even now when I think about it I can't help but smile!!!

The title of my play is A Little Bit. It's a glimpse into the lives of two friends while they sit in a hospital waiting room. And it's funny :)

Tumbling Madness

2011-03-15T20:38:00.003-05:00

Last week, a blogger friend of mine, Krystal at Krystal's Kitsch , introduced me to tumblr.com in an around about way. She blogged about her tumblr account, and after I checked out her page I spent a couple hours browsing the website and liked what it was all about. So I decided to hop on the bandwagon.

Tumblr is another way to post whatever you want - you can blog, post pictures, videos, links, whatever! Well, I like blogging from blogger better than I do from tumblr. No worries...I will still be on blogger! I use tumblr to post pictures, videos, and quotes - just a few random things a day that I create/like. It's a quick and easy way to share anything. I like it for it's simplicity.

If you'd like to check out tumblr for yourself, go ahead. But be forewarned...you may get hooked. I did ;)

Here is my tumblr address: http://laughingand.tumblr.com/

Squirrel!!!

2011-03-14T08:04:00.000-05:00

I've never been squirrel shooting before. I know people who really enjoy the sport, because it's fast-paced and it really tests your shooting accuracy.

We have a big gray squirrel that eats out of our bird feeder in the backyard. Yesterday, my niece and nephew were at our house, and I pointed out to them the squirrel gobbling up the bird seed.

I said, "I'm gonna get the BB gun!" They both smiled in excitement. Aunt Kinsey is going hunting!

Outside on the deck I squatted with the gun pointed at the bird feeder. No squirrel in sight. In the window were four little eyes staring at me with their noses pressed to the pane. Connor gave me a thumbs up and Addie blew me a kiss.

I was a warrior ready for battle against the evil gray-haired squirrel. When he returned, I was going to pop him one and scare him away for good.

After 10 minutes of standing in the 30 degree winter weather, I shivered in disappointment and went back inside, defeated. The squirrel must have known that I was out there. Sneaky little vermin.

All three of us sat inside and watched out the window for the return of the chubby mammal. And what to our hunting eyes did appear? A little red squirrel. Good enough for me!!

I ran out of the house, sneaked up the tiny fuzzball, and aimed. I missed. The little thing sprinted towards the woods. In turn, I stepped on the bench railing of our deck and shot again. He knew I was after him, and he ran away in fright.

Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or sometime in the future the squirrel and I will meet again. And I will be ready. Yes, I will be ready. Connor gave me some good advice that I'll have to take into account next time: He said, "Aunt Kinsey, I think you need to wear camouflage."

What I Overheard

2011-03-10T11:20:00.004-06:00

Last night, I didn't go to Trivia. Kory had homework and Andrea and Jeremy had church to attend. So my mom and I went out to eat and to a movie - Just Go With It. The movie was great! Really funny. I loved it.

We ate at Perkins because it was Customer Appreciation Week and they had some really good deals. A family of five sat behind me. Two little boys and a girl. I overheard a lot of their conversations, and I just have to share some of what I heard, because it was so cute.

The mom to her son: "I love you too much to argue with you."

The mom asking one of her sons: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
He replied, "I want to be an electricity man like my uncle!"

The two boys conversing about K-Mart across the street: "How many cars do you think are out there?"
"20-30, maybe 55."
"I think 2." He laughs, "No, I don't think 2. I was joking." He laughs more.

It was just so fun to listen to these kids talk. And while they kept me interested, the little girl in the high chair kept smiling at my mom. I'm happy to say that these kids didn't complain or scream or cry about anything after their mom said, "I love you too much to argue with you." Good parenting. Good job!

Trivia in Chippewa

2011-03-09T10:01:00.004-06:00

As most of you know Wednesday means Team Trivia night for my friends and me. We started back in October at a bar in Stanley. Then after they stopped hosting there, we moved to a place in Eau Claire. Now we go to a bar/restaurant in Chippewa Falls.

Well, last week was our first week in Chippewa Falls at The Sheeley House. Kory and I arrived first, so it's our job to start thinking up a clever name for our team so we can win the free pitcher of beer at halftime. Previously, in Stanley and Eau Claire, the best team name won a free pitcher of beer...we've only won the pitcher a couple of times.

And in Stanley and in Eau Claire we were competing with some pretty clever and rude team names. One team always joked about Helen Keller and Anne Frank. Lately, people have been picking on Scott Walker. We once won with the name: "I tried to use penis as my password, but my computer said it was too short" - rude but worthy of free beer.

So Kory and I sat at The Sheeley House scoping out the other teams around us. We figured that they, like the other teams we played against in other towns, were just as clever and funny with their names. I mean, hello, it's a free pitcher of beer we're playing for!

We decided to use the name: "I like my women like I like my wine - 12 years old and locked in the cellar." (I think pedophilia is awful...but the team name was funny, so we used it). Our other team members agreed with the name. Hopefully the pitcher of beer would be ours.

Eight other teams were there, and when our standings were announced at halftime we awaited the creativity of names the other trivia teams had thought up. Boy, were we wrong. The DJ announced the names and the points accordingly. Here's how it went: The Jokers, 18 points, We Love The Sheeley House, 19 points, I'm Batman, 22 points, I like my women like I like my wine - 12 years old and in the cellar, 23 points.

Oh my gosh, we all sank in our seats. No other team was playing it funny and clever like us! How humiliating. Luckily, the other teams laughed at our name respectively. However, there is no free pitcher of beer at The Sheeley House. No wonder we were the only team with a rude/sick name.

Tonight, we will again drive to The Sheeley House for trivia. This time though, our name will be of a different sort.

Confirm Your Address

2011-03-01T14:15:00.004-06:00

Why is it that when you enter information into a form on a web page to win a contest there is always that line that says: Confirm e-mail address. So just by typing in my email twice...it's a confirmation?

Same with passwords. What's magical about entering the password again? I don't get it. Frankly, I find it a little annoying when I have to type in the same exact information consecutively on a web page.

I would rather have a confirmation e-mail sent to my address where, then, I can confirm that I'm entering to win a pink punching bag on fitness.com.

If I win that pink punching bag, the first thing I'm going to do is punch out my frustration about this ridiculous e-mail and password confirmation hoopla. Sheesh, I tell ya.

What's the Deal with Meteorologists?

2011-02-17T12:18:00.003-06:00

I like watching the news. I like watching the weather even more, because I'm interested in knowing what the temperature is going to be in the morning, at noon, and night. I love the 7-day forecast. It's my favorite part.

But what's the deal with meteorologists? Just tell me the weather. Seriously, all I need is a screen with numbers in Fahrenheit and pictures of clouds. I don't want you to explain what fog is or a bunch of other fast-talking information you feel is important. All I want is the weather.

Frankly, I don't even need a meteorologist. In my perfect world the meteorologist would stay behind the scenes. If they did come out and present the weather it would go something like this: "It's going to thunderstorm today until about 5:00 pm. Tomorrow is going to be sunny with a high of 75. Here's your 7-day forecast." Then they would walk away.

Instead, I get this..."Good Thursday afternoon. We have a low pressure system coming from the South. The national weather system says blahblahblah, but blahblahblah, I don't really get it. Hey, am I still talking? Ha, I think I have the best job in the world. I'm almost always wrong. We've had a week of record temperatures, but it might snow tomorrow. Then it will be pretty nice again next week. Something about some counties blahblahblah, and more counties that aren't even in our viewing area...let's talk about them for awhile. Oh, and in Texas the temperatures are in the blahboogerblah. But we live in Wisconsin. Maybe I should spend time actually talking about our state. I like to wave my arms and hands around to distract you viewers from seeing the 7-day forecast. Guess what? It took me three hours to figure out how to make that sun on the screen sparkle. Like my tie? It's festive. Now that I've wasted your time, back to you."

So annoying. I find myself zoning out when the weather comes on - like I'm in a trance. I have a theory that my local meteorologist is actually hypnotizing the viewers into thinking he's actually good at his job. My only defense is the mute button on the remote...if I can get to it in time.

Wednesday Musings: Take Fourteen

2011-02-16T13:17:00.002-06:00

I haven't done a Wednesday Musing in awhile. I thought it was time for one.

-My nephew, Alec, loves game shows. He's only 7 months old! He loves Family Feud, Jeopardy, and The Price is Right! It's so funny. He likes watching The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb too. Is it time for an intervention?

-Yesterday I went for a run and I saw six people snowshoeing by the creek. Good for them.

-CBS' new show Mad Love on Monday is really funny. Watch it.

-I recently watched the movie Trick 'r' Treat on Netflix and it's a great Halloween movie. I wish it would've been on instant streaming this Halloween, because it would've royally freaked me out. Needless to say, watching in in February didn't make it less scary. I watched most of it through my fingers.

The Cover Letter that I've Been Dying to Write

2011-02-08T12:46:00.004-06:00

2010 was a year of disappointments for me career wise. My favorite was when I applied to a local newspaper and got rejected in two ways: email and snail mail. Thanks. On the flipside, at least they let me know that they found someone else.

I've been tempted to write a cover letter to really get across my argument of why a company should hire me as a writer (technical, creative, proofreader, whatever). So here it is, my no holds back cover letter that I will never send out because it would get rejected faster than Christina Aguilera ran off the football field.

Dear Reviewer:

I heard about your job opening, because I'm desperate for a job in a field where I spent four years of my life and money at a wonderful university. I would like to apply for this position, because I know I would do an outstanding job.

I graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelors Degree in English: Writing. If I would've known that all you employers were just interested in experience, then I would've gotten an Associates Degree in Administrative Assistance (because apparently I can't even get hired for that unless I have an degree in answering phones...no offense to secretaries, I'm sure the job is harder than it looks) and spent the other two years working on getting experience before my actual experience. Too bad I didn't know this. Be that as it may, I think my four years at Winona State gave me equal or even better of an experience in writing as a job would.

Furthermore, I've had more than eight years experience with computers. Although I don't have "job experience" entering data into a computer, I've spent half of my life working with multiple computer software including Microsoft Office. If a monkey can do it, so can I. While attending school I worked as a waitress where I assisted the guests with excellent customer service in person and over the phone. I'm a great people-person who can handle stressful situations with a smile and a great attitude. I know I would be an important asset to your company, because I'm a creative, energetic, and hard-working individual who is more than ready for a job in the career path I've studied all my life for. Attached is my resume. Don't get scared off by my multiple past jobs. I worked summers to help pay for my overpriced education.

I will contact your office within a week to confirm that you received my application. Don't sound so surprised, I do know how to dial a telephone.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Kinsey Bodenburg

Wow, that felt good. The sad part is, besides how desperate and rude I sound, half of my submissions don't even get looked at. A computer searches for certain words and picks out the application, or somebody just chooses candidates that they know. So really, I have a slim chance to get a good writing job. I've applied all over the U.S. and nothing back yet besides a few rejections. I guess time will tell.

I'm a Packer, You're a Packer, We're a Packer

2011-02-07T18:49:00.004-06:00

Born and raised in Wisconsin. Cheese fanatic - in my mouth or on my head. Favorite color is green. Would love to have gold...gold anything. An undying love for NFL football. Can brave the frigid temperatures at Lambeau Field for three hours surrounded by the warm company of Green Bay Packers fans!

That's me! I love the Packers. I do, I do, I do. And that's what I'll say to any GB player who proposes to me.

The Super Bowl last night was AMAZING!! Fantastic! At times, it was frustrating and I almost thought it was over and we were going to lose, and good thing we didn't, because I would've cried. I would've still been proud of them, sure, but I'm so happy we won!

I can say "we" like I'm part of the team, because I am. I think anyone who loves a team feels like they belong to it, because it kind of represents who they are. Boy, now I'm getting kind of sentimental here. But I'm on a roll...

It's like everything a person does reflects them. The people they hang out with, the tv shows they watch and books they read, their actions, fashion, attitudes, and hobbies. So the Packers are a part of me and I am a part of them. The same with Hugh Laurie. He may not know it, but I'm a part of him and he's a part of me...well, I may not be a part of me...because he doesn't know me, but someday! Ha! Not so sentimental anymore. That didn't take long.

Okay, time to end this post because House is on and I made my point - The Green Bay Packers are awesome. And I love them. And they deserved their win last night. And I love them. I do ;)

Pajama Jeans or Jeggings?

2011-02-01T11:43:00.005-06:00

Have you seen the Pajama Jeans infomercial? The product they're selling is a pair of pants that look like jeans but feel like pajama pants!! O-M-G! This is the best thing in the whole wide world. I want one, I want 5, I want millions!

Juuuuust kidding. Maybe if they actually did look like jeans and not a pair of "jeans" my Barbie wore back in the 90's, then maybe I would buy them. But they look awful - especially the front where a zipper should be . Eesh, jeans need zippers, not fake stitchings that look like a zipper should be in that region. And they cost $40.00 + s/h!! I'm sorry, but that's way too expensive for a pair of pajama pants.

So what's the difference between Pajama Jeans and Jeggings?

Ummm, jeggings are just better.

Jeggings are leggings that look like jeans. They are leggings. They aren't sweatpants that look like jeans. Leggings and jeggings are fashionable. Plus, they are more cost friendly.

When you wear leggings or jeggings, more often than not, you wear a longer shirt. So even if there is a faux zipper, it's covered. And even if you don't, the outfit looks just fine because jeggings are in and Pajama Jeans are not. I know I don't have much of an argument here, but if you're ever confronted with a choice between Pajama Jeans and Jeggings, pick jeggings. My 2 1/2 year old niece even wears jeggings. She's got style.

But if you're not one to wear tight fitting pants like leggings and jeggings, then don't. I advise against the Pajama Jeans, though...I especially advise against wearing them in PUBLIC if you already own them. Remember, just say no to the PJ Jeans and yes to real jeans or jeggings.

Stuck in an Elevator

2011-01-31T08:30:00.000-06:00

Ever said something, then five minutes later completely regret it because it came true? I have. Plenty of times.

A couple of weekends ago I went to the Rascal Flatts concert at the Xcel Energy center in St. Paul, MN. My friend, Heather, had two tickets so she invited me to go with her. We had a really great time! Rascal Flatts did an amazing job!! Chris Young and Luke Bryan opened for them...they were awesome too :)

To get to the concert, we parked in a parking garage and then walked to the elevator since we had to go up about 5 or 6 levels. As we stood in the cold, frigid Minnesota air waiting for the elevator to arrive, Heather turned to me and said, "I hope the elevator doesn't get stuck and we miss the whole concert."

I couldn't believe my ears. Did she just say what I thought she just said?? I replied, "Heather! Don't say that. That would suck if we missed the concert."

Finally the elevator opened up and we poured in. All six of us, plus the six who were already in there. Then four more people scrunched in - idiots, we were already jammed in there like sardines. The extra four made it even more uncomfortable for 16 strangers to be shoulder to shoulder in a hot elevator.

We went up one floor. Then all of sudden the elevator stopped. Heather and I looked at each other, since we both knew that it was her fault that the elevator stopped working.

"Omigosh! Is the elevator stuck? Omigosh, omigosh! I cant' believe this is happening," was what the Rascal Flatts t-shirt wearing sardines all said.

Heather and I just stared at each other. Then she said, "I shouldn't have said that."

"Um, yeah, Heather, you hexed us. Don't say anything else while we're stuck in here," I ordered her. Then we both laughed. Holy crappola! It was unbelievable.

The lady closest to the buttons pressed the emergency one. Then the intercom came on and told us not to panic and that they had someone on their way.

Luckily for us, we weren't stuck between floors, so the strong sardines in the front pried the door open. We all flooded out, climbed the 4+ floors, and enjoyed the concert.

After the concert we (dumbly) waited for the elevator again. I reminded Heather, in good humor, to not say anything about elevators getting stuck ever again.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Kinsey

2011-01-28T13:31:00.006-06:00

I never told the blogging world about my trip to Los Angeles in December for the Screenwriter's Summit. Well, it was amazing. I learned a lot about screenwriting and I'm so happy that I went, because it sparked a lot of ideas for my scripts. I have already seen my writing improve.

While we were there, we saw some famous people. Gwyneth Paltrow got her star on the walk of fame, so we saw her, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Matthew Morrison (from Glee), Ross Matthews, Amy Adams, and Rob Corddry. Pretty amazing, huh? And we saw all those people within an hour of each other.

Paltrow, McGraw, Hill, Morrison, and Matthews were there for her star ceremony. Amy Adams and Rob Corddry were filming a scene for the upcoming Muppets movie.

The best part was that Ross Matthews saw me and waved excitedly to me. He heard me say his name when I was talking to my parents, then he turned and looked at me, I waved, he smiled and waved...magic, haha! If you don't know who Ross Matthews is he's known as Ross the Intern on Jay Leno, and he's frequently on Chelsea Lately as part of the roundtable discussion.

After we returned from L.A. I browsed some pictures of Gwyneth Paltrow getting her star and in the background was ME!!! Too bad none of the photos that I was in made the magazines, but it's on the internet :) Close enough for me.

Deleting Friends

2011-01-27T14:01:00.003-06:00

I had two intertwined conversations yesterday with two different people at two different times, but about the same subject. The first wasn't even a real "conversation" as in face-to-face, but on Facebook. One of my friends put as her status that she was annoyed at how many people were trying to friend her that she didn't know.

I commented on her status because I agreed with her. I had two friend requests a couple days ago from my high school. But I didn't know them. Sure, we graduated from the same school, but I don't know you. The requests were from students still in high school...ummm, I don't know you! My friend who put this as her status had the same complaint. Weird? Not really, this happens a lot. I "ignore" friend requests more than I accept.

Later, at trivia last night (we didn't win and we got our regular waitress...thank god) my bff told me about how she just went through her Facebook friends and deleted a lot of them. We talked a little about it, and I said that I needed to do that too, because I really only talk to about a dozen of my friends on there.

So, today, even though I added about three or four friends on my Facebook page, I deleted about 100 of them. Most of them were from college - the random "add" of someone who I had class with. It was convenient at the time, because if I ever missed class I could just message them about homework or tests. But now, that's not the case. So I deleted them.

I kept all my relatives, people from my graduating class (I don't want our reunion to be awkward if I see them and we're not "friends") and people I still keep in touch with or am interested in hearing about - which is different than stalking.

In a few months I'll probably delete more friends, but if I can delete them with one push of button and not regret it...were they truly a friend to begin with?

Tips

2011-01-26T15:32:00.003-06:00

Last week, I went out with some friends to a restaurant/bar for Trivia night. We always order food and drinks - a pitcher right away. Normally, we get the same waitress every week. She knows us, we know her, she does a good job, and in turn we tip her very well.

It was a different story last week. Our waitress was NOT GOOD. Since I used to wait tables, I had some sympathy for her, but she never redeemed herself. Let's count the ways she messed up:

1. She didn't ask us if we wanted anything to drink when she sat us.

2. When she came back, after 10 minutes, we ordered a pitcher then asked for menus.

3. Ten minutes later (see a trend?) she came back with the pitcher but NO menus.

4. Ten minutes later she came back with the menus.

5. When she came back, we already finished our pitcher, and had gotten a new one from the bar...that's how long she was gone. We ordered.

6. One of us ordered wings and when he asked if he could have sauce on the side, she said "Bleu cheese or ranch?" He corrected her and described "sauce" like mild, bbq, or hot. Then she said, "We have salsa." I had to cover my face, because I was laughing so hard.

7. She came back with our food, and the sauce guy didn't get anything with his wings...no sauce, no bleu cheese, nothing. Just wings. He asked where his sauce was. She forgot.

8. Later, she asked if any of us needed a box. One of us did.

9. She brought us our bill.

10. She collected our bill, we asked for our box since she forgot it.

When she brought us our bill, mine came to $7.90, and since she did a wonderfully awful job, I decided to tip her $.10 and make it an even 8 bucks. What I didn't expect was that she would take our bill before she brought us our "forgotten" box. When she returned with the box, she obviously saw that I only left her a dime, she didn't even look at us. She was peeved.

Honestly, she did a really bad job. I don't feel bad for only leaving her a tiny tip. Her total tip was probably $8.00 total, so she really had nothing to complain about.

I must say that when we left the restaurant we had to pass her and she did not look happy. This was a tough lesson for her. Maybe she will do a better job next time. Hopefully, we won't get her tonight. One word - awkward.

Resolution: To Make Resolutions

2011-01-25T18:59:00.002-06:00

Talk about late New Year resolution making. Sheesh, it's almost February. Better late than never, is what I like to say. Or as others say: excuses...excuses.

I was a little hungover to start my resolution on the 1st of January anyway. Now that I'm over that 25 days of post-party"ness" I would like to start my 2011 year with a whirring noise of the elliptical machine in my basement instead of a bang. We need to oil it...it shouldn't be making a noise. That will be part of my first resolution. Let's call it number 1.25.

My other resolution...yeah, I have TWO, this is going to be a good year...is to finish all my scripts that I've started. And that number would be, wait while I check, twelve. Holy crap, twelve! I didn't know I had that many. Sonofamother! That's a lot. Okay, new second resolution: Finish only the good scripts that I've started. In that case, my number goes down. Plus, I've finished three of them already. So this new number *cough* five *cough* is more manageable.

To sum up this really short blog post, only for the sake of writing "To sum up," my resolutions are:

1) Work-out at least three days a week
1.25) Oil that elliptical machine
2) Finish the good scripts

That doesn't sound too hard. On the other hand, it took me 25 days to get this resolution thing sorted out...26 actually, since I'm starting tomorrow.

Guilty or not Guilty Pleasure

2011-01-19T09:51:00.003-06:00

*I would've taken a picture of that crazy yard, but I don't pass that house anymore. That Friday, I quit my job since more possibilities were waiting for me somewhere else. But for some reason, if I pass that house again, I will make sure to snap a quick pic with my phone*

Guilty pleasures. Mine are Lifetime movies, Hallmark movies, and really bad Syfy movies...the ones with horrible graphics of a man-eating dinorobot terrorizing people on a remote island. What are the chances??

As I watched The Today Show and Live! With Regis and Kelly this morning, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian were being interviewed, and one of the hosts mentioned that their reality show is a "guilty pleasure." This spurned some thoughts for me. What is the definition of a guilty pleasure?

According to the first result from a Google search, "Guilty Pleasure" is defined as "Something one enjoys despite feeling guilt for it." Pretty self-explanatory.

Keeping up with the Kardashians, and the related other shows with the family, are not my guilty pleasure. They are just a true pleasure. I love this family. They're funny, relatable, and (yes, I'm going to say it) real. I know most reality tv isn't real. Don't preach that to me, because I know this to be true. Some reality shows aren't real...they're scripted.

I don't know for sure if this show is scripted. If you watch it, they don't seem to be acting or reading off of a script. I think they heighten the drama and sometimes they have to re-enact what happened the day before or something that happened a month before...but it was real at one point.

This show, these shows, Take Miami, and Take New York (which premieres on Sunday with Kourtney and Kim on E!) are truly entertaining for me. They are not, however, guilty pleasures. I proudly admit to watching them. They may be rude, goofy, and shocking...but they sure are fun to watch. Heck, my mom even loves them, and if you know my mom, that really says something about the Kardashians...or something about my mom...hmmm.

I'm not blogging about the Kardashians to change anybody's mind about them. Honestly, this is just another thing for me to write about.

At least I'm not blogging about The Hills or The City. Like, I totally, like dislike that like show, or like those like shows. Like, yeah. Like, like, like...I mean like, that like show, like makes my head like hurt.

One man's guilty pleasure is another man's pleasure.

What's yours? Guilty or not.

Lawn Gnomes Camping in the Yard

2011-01-06T18:09:00.004-06:00

There should be a Regulation Lawn Toy(s) Law. It may be "in style" to put out lawn gnomes in your garden here and there, or eye-pleasing to stick a wind-powered flower light generator in your yard, and it's even welcoming to hang a seasoned flag from your door, but when you cross that thin line of too much stuff in your yard, I have a problem.

And like the saying goes: too much is not always a good thing.

I drive back and forth to work everyday. You see, because I need to go to work and then come back home. Hence: back and forth. While I take this monotonous drive every morning and every night, I pass by this two-story home.

This home could be beautiful. Some little fixes to the siding and the roof would make this house look like a pleasant place to live. The problem is, though, that this place is a dump.

The owners have a hodge-podge of items scattered throughout their front lawn. More like junk than actually items. A run-down pop-up camper sits directly in the front of the house. Poles stick up randomly throughout the yard, a "fort" made out of boards and black and green, ripped tarp sits next to the camper, and lawn ornaments (if I can even call them ornaments) are scattered in no particular fashion throughout. There are boards laying everywhere with words painted on them...none of which say "For Sale" or "Free, please take it so my house doesn't look like a dump!"

If only there was a law that made the owners of this house clean up their place. It amazes me that they can come home every night and manage to navigate through their yard without stepping on a land-mine.

And here's what really bothers me: these people probably have NO problem with how their house looks to the public. I think people should be able to put anything (that is legal) in their BACKyard. The front yard, however, should have some regulations, because this house is an eye sore.

Now, I have always thought that lawn gnomes are pretty frickin' cute. And if there's one hiding in your garden watching over your plants, that's wonderful...because that gnome has a purpose.

On the other hand, if you have a tarp-tent and a gross, old camper sitting right next to each other in the middle of Winter...I have a serious issue with that. It's hard to believe that someone is residing in the holey tarp-tent, or windowless camper in January. No Purpose - get rid of it.

Twas a Blog Before Christmas

2010-12-22T17:13:00.003-06:00

I've already finished my Christmas shopping, I've sent out my cards, I've watched some holiday movies, and I've even opened up some presents.

We celebrated Christmas with my siblings last weekend, because on real Christmas they will be celebrating with their in-laws. Only my sister and I will be home for the holidays.

Normally on Christmas Eve we go to church, have our meal, open up our new pajamas, play some games, watch a movie or two, then read "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

When Christmas morning arrives (no earlier than 6am...that's a rule in our house) we get up and see what Santa left us under our tree. Even at the age of 23 Santa still gives me a gift or two ;)

A couple hours later my parents wake up and we open up our gifts from each other. The rest of the day is spent much like the night before - playing games (Scrabble is our favorite), watching old holiday tv episodes, movies, and snacking on leftovers.

And because I've had this week off from work (yes, I'm very lucky) I've been waiting patiently for Christmas Day to arrive. When I was little I wished for it to come as fast as it could, but now that I'm older I wish for it to last a little longer. For it is the waiting that really makes Christmas special to me.

Merry Christmas to all my blog followers. I hope you all have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday and a wonderful new year!!!

Old News: Black Friday is the Blackest of Fridays...Especially at Walmart

2010-12-06T21:17:00.004-06:00

Walmart people are the worst. That was my Facebook status on the day after Thanksgiving at about 2 o'clock in the AM!! And ya know what! They truly are the WORST! Let me start from the beginning.

Wednesday while I was visiting my bestie Andrea, she asked me to go Black Friday shopping with her. Aaaand since I had a few too many drinks I said yes! Later, I tried to get out of it, but I think I'm kind of a people pleaser so I just agreed (again) to shop with her on the darkest day of the year.

Thursday came with a wallop of turkey, potatoes, stuffing (YUM), and other good food. My siblings and I searched through the flyers of "must have deals and doorbusters" when my sister, Tyne, said, "Let's get dad a TV." Target had an awesome deal, and I agreed that I would stand in line with her. So I promised Andrea that I would shop with her and then my sister too. Knowing that Andrea would understand, I was able to work out my shopping plans so that I could do Target with Tyne and then meet up with Andrea for the rest of the morning.

As I searched the flyers for the umpteenth time, I figured that I could run to Walmart and grab a few DVDs too. Might as well, right? Wrong.

Friday morning came faster than ever. I dropped Tyne off at Target so she could stand in line. The time was 1:00 AM. I dashed off to Walmart to get those cheap DVDs. Well, all the ones I wanted/needed were gone except for one. So I grabbed it, dialed Tyne's cell to tell her that I would probably be awhile since the lines are disgustingly long at Walmart, and then got in line. Thinking I was at the end of the line I shut my cell phone. The lady in front of me turned around with a nasty wicked witch of the west look and said, "Ya' know...it's not nice to cut!"

I apologized immediately and said that I didn't even realize I cut. She didn't care. She just turned around to her heaping cart full of Walmartness, and I politely moved to find a new line. I felt bad, yes, but I didn't know I was cutting. I swear! I never even cut in the lunch line when it was tater-tot hotdish day!!

After I found a new line, I stood there with my DVD for 20 minutes. The line didn't budge once!! So I left the DVD in the greeting card aisle and went back to my sister empty-handed.

Yes, Walmart people are the worst. The store was a mess on Black Friday. The lines were atrocious. There was no order or method to the check-out lanes and they didn't even have all of the lanes open. Plus, that lady was mean to me, and she made me feel bad.

After Target opened at 4:00 AM, I got the TV, grabbed a couple of DVDs and other things and was checked out in about 15 minutes. Target was well prepared with everything. Therefore, Target people are the best.

The rest of the morning went well when I met up with Andrea. All the other stores did a good job with all the madness of shopping too. Props to Sam's Club, Younkers, Menards, and Target.

But Walmart, shame on you!

**Honestly, I have nothing against Walmart on the other days of the year. In fact, I shop there a lot. But I will never Black Friday shop there again**

Come on baby, light my...sign

2010-11-19T12:36:00.004-06:00

On the way home from my nephew's first birthday last weekend, I couldn't help but notice numerous signs that needed fixing.

Bake Squa - I'm just thankful Bakers Square doesn't have a "w" instead of an "r" in their name.

Flee Farm - I don't think this is the kind of marketing Fleet Farm is looking for when trying to attract customers.

Texas Roadho - ummmm, inappropriate. Yes, inappropriate. But I shouldn't judge, the Roadho's in Texas might be some classy ladies who serve up delectable dishes.

So to all the Minnesota companies and to companies everywhere with lighted signs, keep an eye on your signs. You don't want to send out the wrong message.

And on a completely different note: I saw HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows last night at MIDNIGHT!!! It was amazing. I think it's by far the best one yet. Since I haven't read the books past the second one, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. I can't wait for part 2 to come out this summer. After that one though, I'm going to read all the books. If you're a Harry Potter fan, this is a must-see.

Paranoid

2010-11-16T21:29:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I feel paranoid about things. I think everyone has paranoid moments. It's normal. Everyone can probably think of a time where they thought somebody or everybody was out to get them, or something else...What? Stop looking at me like that.

I can seriously get myself worked up or freaked out about tiny little things. Minuscule things, sounds, looks, whatever. Like this one time on Halloween:

I prepped myself for being alone on Halloween by watching a couple scary movies - mistake number one. Then I looked up the history of Halloween on the internet as it started to get dark outside - mistake number two. When I went outside to check to see if my jack-0-lantern was shining brightly and not on fire, I heard a rustling in the woods. My paranoid mind went straight to "OMG there's a serial killer in the woods, and he knows I'm alone, and the reason why I haven't had any trick-or-treaters yet is because they are scared to trick-0r-treat at the house where the scary man is lurking!!!" So I stood outside for a couple of minutes and just stared into the woods, half hoping to not see something, but still kind of hoping that a gigantic squirrel will jump out with a mouth full of acorns.

Nothing was there, but my mind went straight to the worst possible thought, instead of thinking that a branch could have easily fell from a tree, or a chipmunk ran through the leaves, or the wind blew. No, I had to think of a serial killer.

Another time, just recently actually, had me awake in my bed at 3 o'clock in the morning. The weather outside was frightful, but the fire was sure delightful....oh boy. The weather was bad outside, and I kept hearing noises above me in our "attic." (I air quote attic, because it's not your typical attic. It's rafters) So, I heard a boom, bang, crash, pitter patter noises, and I thought, "OMG someone or something is up in our rafters!!" Then I listened closer and I swear that I heard my car door open. Then I thought, "SOMEONE IS STEALING MY CAR!" And the next thought - "Well, then I'll get a new car."

The more I listened, the more random the noises sounded. I couldn't differentiate what bang was outside or what boom was above my head. I grabbed my cell phone and looked up local news stories on the web, and what did I find??? "Armed Robbery in Altoona, Suspects on the Loose." AHHHHHH, Altoona isn't far from my town, and two men are on the loose! One with a bat and one with a long gun. (Reporter's words, not mine) Que paranoid self and this is what came out: "The two men are robbing our house, very slowly (because now it's almost 5 am, so they've been at it for 2 hours now), they are going to steal my car, and for some reason they are making a lot of noise up in our "attic." OMG, they're stealing our deck furniture that we keep stored up there!!"

Finally I fell asleep, and when I asked my parents about the noise, they convinced me it was snow falling off the trees and blowing on our roof. Then my dad said that it could have been a squirrel stuck in our rafters.

Those darn squirrels.

A Cougar Jingle...who knew?

2010-11-12T19:17:00.005-06:00

Would you like to have a commercial jingle stuck in your head?

Me either, but I did have one in my head, and I still do. Here's how it goes..."I'm a cougar. She's a cougar. We're all cougars. Men love cougars. Don't you want to date a cougar tooooooooooo?"

All day I've been singing about cougars!

Have you seen this commercial? The only channel I've seen it on has been FX when I watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League. It's a commercial about a dating website for men who LOVE cougars...which is all men, because the jingle says so. Apparently, there are enough women in the world who think of themselves as "cougars" that a website is actually successful...or is it? I don't know, and I don't have any interest in knowing.

The women in the commercial do NOT look like cougars. They look like they're in the twenties. So the only way these women can be labeled as "cougars" is if they are also pedophiles. Gross. Unless they are really in their forties....then what the heck, I want to be a cougar too - if my body looks like that and if I'm still single in twenty years. Wow, I hope I'm not single in twenty years.

But really, all that I care about is getting the jingle out of my head. The only good part about the commercial is when a sound clip of a cougar (the animal) roars! It's so funny that I actually laughed out loud. I'm sure cougars everywhere laughed until they peed their Depends.

Here's the commercial for you to watch. Now all of you will have the jingle stuck in your head. It's hard to catch the cougar roar on YouTube, but it's at the 23rd second. Believe me, the roar is more prominent on TV.

When did Frosty the Snowman become Evil?

2010-11-10T21:21:00.004-06:00

I've decided that I'm going to start critiquing commercials, because I watch them so much and I need to talk about them. I need to talk about them.

Have you all seen the Droid commercial with the snowman? If not, let me recap it for you...

Open on a winter evening scene. A couple of children run into the house (probably for supper). Then the snowman comes to life...MUAHAHAHAA!!

Zoom in on the snowman (let's call him Droidy the Motorolaman). Droidy's stick arm falls off. Oh no! Then Droidy's eyes light up like evil laser-beams of red death. His head starts to melt, because it's obviously so frickin' hot outside - I would understand if he was standing in a greenhouse, but he's not. That's a different snowman. What is wrong with this snowman?

Here's the zinger - his eyes are actually cell phones! Whowouldathunkit! This isn't the good ole commercial days when ad men used snowmen to sell soup. Like the snowman who shuffles inside and then melts down to a little boy eating a bowl of Campells. Oh no, this is not that kind of commercial.

The eye, I mean Droid X or whatever new Droid is out now, turns and subliminally tells me that this phone can do anything. For example:

It is waterproof. It has to be - it's been inside a snowman's head for probably a good 30 minutes to an hour. I have a feeling those kids worked really hard on it. That's probably why they ran into the house for supper. (Man, I hope there actually were kids at the beginning of the commercial...it's kind of fuzzy right now, and I can't find the commercial on the internet). Anyway, for the sake of being safe, "whoever" built the snowman didn't do a shotty job.

It can perform Jedi Mind tricks. They should be calling this phone YODA. Hey, if George Lucas had to give them the rights to use the term "Droid" then he can hand over "Yoda" too. How perform mind tricks does it, hmm? For starters, Droidy snapped his own arms off to get your attention. Plus, these robot arms emerged to replace the stick arms!! SCARY! Then he melted his own face!! This phone is crazy! And you know what the biggest mind trick is? Millions of people are going to go buy Droid X and Droid 2...because if they don't, Droidy the Motorolaman will put you in a Darth Vader choke hold.

That's my recap.

Here's the critique: Not too bad of a commercial. I get all the George Lucas...I mean Droid Lucas...crap, I mean DROID comparisons to an actual "I-can-do-anything-cell-phone-of-the-future." And I like how they chose a snowman to deconstruct instead of Santa or a reindeer or an elf for their holiday commercial. I don't want to see a reindeer's head blow up to uncover two Droid phones. I don't like seeing alive deer, so I definitely don't want to see a dead one.

Secondly, I'm sort of a Star Wars fan, if you couldn't already tell :) So, hats off to making the snowman like Darth Vader. Yes, his head looks like Lord Vader's with his helmet off - the pale skin, the dark set eyes, the sympathy I start feeling for him even though he is evil and bad, but he can't help it because he's on the Dark Side, just like a snowman doesn't choose to be a snowman - someone has to make him into a snowman, and a snowman can't go back because he will melt, and Vader can't go back either. WHOA! Epiphany! Symbolism, I tell ya, too bad this commercial didn't come out when I was still in college. I feel like I have a good term paper here.

And let's not forget the robotic arms which coincide with Luke Skywalker's robotic hand. Honestly, I think George Lucas should be getting paid BIG TIME for this commercial.

Halloween is mine. Oh yes, it will be mine

2010-11-04T18:31:00.004-05:00

And it was!!! Halloween was a ton of fun. As you know, I was Wayne Campbell and Andrea was Garth Algar from Wayne's World. Here are some pictures from the night. By the way, I had to put on extra make-up, because I looked too much like a boy. Good thing I have boobs, haha.

All I want to do...

2010-10-28T19:18:00.003-05:00

All I want to do is watch scary movies. I'm so happy AMC has been playing Friday the 13th and Halloween, even though I've seen a lot of them already.

But I can't watch them alone. I can watch them alone in my room, but not alone in the house...no way. I would love to write a scary movie, because I have some pretty good ideas in my head right now.

Here's the problem with that though, you would never associate Wes Craven with a romantic comedy, would you? The same goes with Nancy Meyers...can you picture her writing a role for Meryl Streep as a serial killer who gives you nightmares...on Elm Street, makes you scream because the last house on the left is the only place to go, because the hills look like they have eyes?

How's that for some movie title name-dropping?

But anyway, I love Halloween so much I want it to occur everyday. I'm serious. The decorations are incredible, the weather is decent to fair, it's football season, my favorite tv shows do Halloween specials, Saw Infinity would be closer to ending it's horrible sequels, and people get to dress up and act like children when in reality they are 35. I know I talked about Halloween before, but it's just so AWESOME!

I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, so have a safe and happy Halloween. Hopefully the Groundhog Day gods have heard my cry and Monday will be Halloween too, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and...

Food=Bad. Well, for me at least

2010-10-20T19:09:00.003-05:00

Wondering why I haven't blogged since last week? Not wondering? I'm going to tell you anyway.

I was lucky enough to get food poisoning. I felt like crap for three days! Was I going to die...maybe. I could barely move. Probably because I was so frickin' weak. Which is because I couldn't eat anything, because I couldn't keep anything down!! I moaned and groaned on the couch hoping that my outbursts of pain would make me feel better. It only made me feel the tiniest bit better.

On Monday, I only inhabited my bedroom, bathroom, and living room. I almost forgot what my kitchen looked like. When Tuesday came around, I finally was able to put some food in my stomach - a piece of toast, about a cup of noodle soup, and later some mashed potatoes.

I even went to the doctor since my back and stomach hurt. When I say hurt, what I truly mean is "felt like Jason Voorhees was trying to stab me in the abdomen with a dull machete he pulled from a barn." (AMC has been having a Friday the 13th marathon) Watch it. Or are you scared? Don't be. It's very predictable and cheesy. I think the new Friday the 13th (maybe it's a couple or three years old) is pretty scary though, but watch the classics too. Wow, I'm way off track here. Anyway...

The doctor found nothing, which was slightly discouraging because at the time I wanted relief. I wanted something to free me from this pain. Well, a little heat on my back for about 2 hours Tuesday night really relaxed everything. You see, this pain I felt was a combination of me laying around all day on the couch and bed, not eating enough, and the typical food poisoning cramps.

Today though, I feel so much better. I'm not back to my regular eating habits, but it will happen.

Oh, and to my parents: Thank you for taking care of me. I promise to try my hardest to take care of you guys when you come down with some sort of illness. It's going to be hard, but I'll try. (I don't do well around others who are sick...it scares me) Ha!

Kinsey's World!

2010-10-14T20:06:00.004-05:00

WAYNE'S WORLD!!! Party time!! Excellent!

Anyone else really excited about Halloween? I mean, every single year I look forward to this magical holiday night. It's my second favorite holiday. Christmas is first...presents, duh...and Jesus.

So my bff (Andrea), her hubby (Jeremy), and I are dressing up as Wayne-me, Garth-Andrea, and Jeremy will be Terry the cameraman.

NO WAY!!!
WAY!!

Yes, this will be an excellent night. Let the countdown begin...

But first, let me show you a picture of Andrea, Jeremy, and me. Picture us in Wayne's World gear. Use your imagination people.

Okay, really use your imagination because blogger won't let me upload a picture at this time.

All I have to say about that is "asphinctersayswhat."

Exactly.

Softballin' for a good cause

2010-10-11T18:57:00.002-05:00

I've been walking like an old man with really bad knees today. Saturday night I woke up in the middle of the morning, tried to turn over and realized my legs weren't moving easily with my body. Plus they hurt like a son of a mother. My left leg is scraped up, both my knees are bruised with scrapes on them...I look and feel like I got beat with a rusty board in a ditch.

But really, I'm okay. It's nothing serious. You see, I played softball at a Memorial/Scholarship fundraiser this past Saturday. Since I haven't played serious ball since 2006, these aches and pains are normal. In fact, if I wasn't hurting I think I would be more worried, because I stole bases (safe every time), dove for a ball (caught it), and got slid into (I played short-stop).

It was the first year doing this fundraiser so only three softball teams signed up to play. Hopefully, in years to come there will be more teams. Our team, Y2K Plus, consisted of graduates from 2006-2009 (or 2010...), then there was a team of 8th graders called Future Stars, then there was a team from the graduating classes of late 1980s and early 1990s. Their team name was Golden Girls. Betty White was unable to make it...she's just sooooo darn busy these days :)

It was really fun to play both teams, but I enjoyed playing against the Golden Girls more since the competition and skill level was near equivalency.

Our team, Y2K plus, beat both teams. YAY! We only won by one run against the Golden Girls, and we beat Future Stars by 10 or something.

It felt like old times and it really made me realize how much I miss organized sports. I felt like I stepped in a time capsule. My skill level was still up to par (I haven't lost much athleticism...which I am very thankful for), besides the fact that I was huffing and puffing after I rounded the bases, but that's due to my lack of running lately.

I wish the day lasted longer. The sun shined, the temperature was beautiful (albeit hot), and the company was nostalgic. It was a perfect day. Perfect.

Wednesday Musings: Take Thirteen (8 Questions)

2010-10-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

Jill from Life After College tagged me in a questionnaire where I answer 8 questions. Since I was lucky enough to be tagged, I figured I would let it take my Wednesday Musings' place.

1. Female-Thongs or boyshorts?
This is a hard one. On one hand, thongthongthongthongthongthong. On the other hand, boyshorts are so cute and comfortable. So both. I'm wearing both right now...I mean, I pick BOTH!! Yes, I pick both, and I wear them both, but not at the same time...that would be weird.

2. What's your favorite kind of ice-cream?
Anything with peanut butter in it :) But at Culver's (custard instead of ice cream) I pick chocolate custard with Andes Mints...my nephew introduced me to it. He has good taste.

3. What's your most embarrassing moment?
Uhhh, gosh I can't think of any particular moment. I have stupid moments that are slightly embarrassing, but not omigod-I-CAN'T-live-another-day-embarrassing moments. I have a pretty good humor about these things, so I brush embarrassing moments off with a smile. Like today, I brushed off about three moments with my smile.

4. What age was your first kiss?
I was in 7th or 8th grade. I kissed a boy who played the trumpet. We were in one of the band practice rooms during recess. If we had a "pass" we could stay in from recess and practice our instrument. (I swear I wasn't a band geek) I played the trumpet too, so this boy and I practiced and then I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Hahaha, then I ran out and told my friend who was practicing in another room. I didn't abide by the "kiss and don't tell" rule. I was a rebel. A rebel who played the trumpet.

5. Do you prefer cats, dogs, or neither?
Cats, but I have a sister-in-law who is allergic. So if I ever get a pet, I would love to get a small dog for an apartment, but then when I get my own house someday I will have an outside cat ;) My whole life is now planned out.

6. Do you have any tattoos?
Yes. I look like Kat Von D. I'm all inked up ;) Haha, not.

7. What do you hope has changed in this world by 3010?
I hope we have cars like in the movie I, Robot where they drive themselves. Why am I saying "I hope..." I won't be around. Ooooh, but I hope that people will be studying my works in English class or watching my films and saying: "That Kinsey - she must have been pretty awesome back in the day."

8. What's your favorite book?
Hmmmm, I really enjoy all the Chelsea Handler books, but to be literary (as I studied the subject)...The Handmaid's Tale is really good. Margaret Atwood is brilliant! But my favorite, favorite, favorite book takes me back to the 5th grade - Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Makes me want to get lost in the woods and eat berries and throw up from eating too many berries. What an adventure.

Caffeine

2010-10-05T18:16:00.003-05:00

I drank about two or three cups of coffee today. I don't think it has an effect on me. Uh oh. I was still tired at noon, two, and five. Waking up at 5:45am may have played a role in my tiredness, but making my coffee strong and black this morning should have made me feel more awake!

Am I too used to caffeine that now it doesn't phase me? I hope not.

On the other hand, I wasn't CRAZY, yawning every five minutes tired today. So maybe I shouldn't over-analyze this caffeine dilemma.

Ya know what's going to happen? I'll have trouble sleeping tonight because of the coffee I drank today and the Coke I'm having right now. Good thing I don't have a dentist appointment until January.

The "Shart" Confusion

2010-10-04T19:06:00.004-05:00

At work today I overheard the funniest comment. One of my co-workers was having a discussion with another co-worker.

She said, "I sharted."

My eyes were wide with intrigue. Omigosh, did she just say what I thought she just just said?? Did she actually shart herself? Why is she sharing this embarrassing and disgusting act of flatulence/pooping herself?

Then she repeated herself to another co-worker who didn't hear her. So again she said, "I just sorted it."

I looked back to my work and smiled. She didn't shart herself...thank goodness. She was sorting out her order.

Bahahaha, I laughed inside until I sharted myself.

The New Adventures of Old Kinsey

2010-10-01T17:52:00.004-05:00

:)

Who doesn't love Julia Louis-Dreyfuss? She was hilarious as Elaine, and she's just as good (some say better) as Christine on The New Adventures of Old Christine. Too bad the show got canceled. Boo CBS! Shame on you!

Good thing Lifetime shows reruns during the week.

So now it's time for new adventures with ME!!!! It's October 1st and I'm ready. I have a clear outlook on my future and I'm totally ready to grab life my the horns.

Ew, I hate how cliche I just sounded, but I need to get my point across. Watch out people, Kinsey is grabbing the horns of life, seizing the day, shooting for the moon, because there is light at the end of the tunnel, I'm upping the ante, because time is money, and I'm ready to hit it out of the ballpark.

First things first, I'm getting tired of my blog theme - so I'll work on that tonight and hopefully set it up this weekend.

Secondly, I'm super excited to say that I'm going to attend a Screenwriter's Summit this December for two days!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! I'm so excited that I could burst. I'm happy as a clam or a lark or a pig in the mud. Let's just say I'm a happy camper :)

My new adventures are beginning.

Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, and Me

2010-09-30T10:17:00.005-05:00

Julie and Julia is a good movie. Yes, I probably should've seen this movie when it first came out, but I didn't. I'm the type of person who likes to talk about movies like they're new when in actuality, they are old or not fresh to hit the cinemas.

Speaking of Meryl Streep...have you seen Kramer vs. Kramer???

Anyway, for those of you who have seen Julie and Julia, I'm not going to bore you with the details. Basically, to refresh some people, it's about a woman - Amy Adams, cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook and blogging about it. While Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child as she takes cooking classes and writes a cookbook.

If you haven't seen it, please rent it, or catch it on tv like me.

To get to my point, as there should always be a point, this movie not only inspired to keep on blogging, but it reiterated why I started blogging in the first place. To keep writing.

Sometimes, most of the time, it's difficult to tell people what I want to do with my life. On top of which, it's hard to tell people that "Yes, I have a job, but it has nothing to do with my college degree." And although I love, love, love my job, I can't help but think about writing everyday...or writing as a living. But how do you write for a living without any experience and expect to get paid? Believe it or not, but I need money. So I might as well work at a place that treats me wonderfully and flowers me with respect and "gifts" for a job well done. Plus, I truly look forward to going to work each day. (If you're wondering why I'm not working at this moment, but I have a day off...it's a slow day at my company. Lucky for me, I get to watch my little nephew Alec! Who smiled about a dozen times at me already.)

So to everyone who thinks that I need a job in my "major" right out of college is crazy. If I were a teacher or a nurse, and was working at Burger King...this would be another story. You see, teachers get jobs at schools, and nurses work in a facility where people need care. Writers don't work that way. Unless you're a writer for a television show and you work in the writers' room. Or if you work for a published magazine or newspaper. But I don't want to be a journalist.

I want to be a screenwriter.

I said it. And after the invisible eye rolls from people I've told, it hurts a bit inside to see people who I thought believed in me all this time, scoff it off as a joke. Well my friends, soon I'm going to be taking a big next step to further my dream career as a screenwriter. (Details in another post...hopefully soon!)

And there was a quote in the movie that really resonated with me, but I can't remember it word for word. It was about being able to be "published" without being published. This is done by blogging. Sure, anyone can do it, but I feel special enough to have a blog and have followers, so in a way, I'm a "published writer."

This blog may not be Casablanca or even Julie and Julia, but it is...something.

My 111th Post

2010-09-29T17:09:00.003-05:00

One, one, one.

Guess where I'm blogging from???

Paris, France...you guessed it! Hahaha, NO. I wish. I'm blogging from my couch. A couch in my house. Upstairs too. Not downstairs. Not in my cold basement. Not plugged in at all.

We have wireless :)

So I'm beginning again. I will now blog everyday (well like about 4 or 5 times a week). Who's excited???

I bet you would be more excited if you were in Paris, France. Right?? I don't know why I'm on this Paris kick.

But I am eating Cracker Jacks. Question: When did the prizes start sucking? Seriously, I want Cracker Jack rings, little figurines, stuff like that. This is what I got. A "Can You Guess Who I Grow Up To Be?" paper picture puzzle.

Here's what it looks like...
So apparently, David Duchovny grows up to Abe Lincoln.

Well, Abe, thank you for your early years with "The X-Files." I never would of thought that you went from Mulder to Honest Abe. I guess The Truth was Out There.

O Tetris! My Tetris!

2010-09-19T11:43:00.003-05:00

I was playing Tetris today on a really old school Nintendo Game Boy. Not the huge gray old school ones, but the ones just before Game Boy Color came out. BTW, I have one of those :) I got Donkey Kong Country for Christmas one year and had the game beat by New Years.

The thing with Tetris is that I'm always waiting for the long cube. The skinny, long four cube one (I think the technical term is the "I shape"). I seem to get myself into a Tetris rut and the only way to knock out four rows to get more points is all up the skinny, tall one. I'm naming this few and far between block "Skinny B!*@#"...because truly, that is what it is.

My favorite block is the one that can go in all directions - the "T Shape." This one is the best!!! Seriously, I can use it anywhere. Whenever I'm in trouble and the "T" is on deck, I know it will hit one out of the park for me. I see good things for "Mr. T."

Now, the "O Shape" seems to come at all the wrong times. Like when I just placed Skinny B!*@# somewhere because I had no place else to put it, then all of sudden "Oprah" comes sailing down WAY too fast and I'm out of luck. Thus, a difficult situation has occurred and now my whole game is screwed up. Oprah...this is the only time when I'm not a big fan. You may take up a lot of space, and you really do change people's lives, but you're giving me one helluva run for survival.

The "Z, S, J, and L" shapes give me trouble too. Whenever I need the "Z" I get the "S" - and vice versa. Same goes for the "J" and the "L." It's like when I'm watching "Saved by the Bell" and I really want to watch Zach, but Screech comes in with a doofy look on his face. Or when I'm looking for comic relief and I actually prefer Screech to be on tv, but Zach Morris starts one of his monologues. And with J. Lo...I like her music, but "Gigli," really? Really????

Tetris is like life. You get what you get. Sometimes a fastball, sometimes a slider. Sometimes Screech and Jennifer Lopez are slamming you with their bricks, and Oprah and Zach are nowhere in sight. You want to "Pity the fool" more times than not, but the Skinny B!*@# always squeezes her way in and either makes your life a living hell, or saves you.

HairS cut

2010-08-26T18:06:00.007-05:00

Why is it called a haircut? Most people get hairs cut from their head...not just one hair.

Do you like my hairdo? How does my hair look? I'm going to pull my hair up in a ponytail.

Why not hairs?

Your hair is all over the bathroom floor! Pick out your long hair in the sink, gross!

Again, why not hairs??

People do say: I have a few stubborn hairs here.

But they don't say: I just got my hairS cut.

Well, I got my hairS cut last Thursday.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP!!!

Since I was so curious about the subject of hair vs. hairs, I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, "The word hair is usually used without article in singular number when it refers to all the hairs on one's head in general. But if it refers to a single hair, it takes the indefinite article (a hair), or if it refers to more than one hair, a few hairs, then it takes the plural form without an article, and needs a plural verb."

There you have it. I love you Wikipedia. But I also like saying "I just got my hairs cut."

Especially when I say it with a hillbilly twang. Yee haw!

Wednesday Musings: Take Twelve

2010-08-25T17:21:00.004-05:00

On the first day of Musings my true love sent to me...a severely asleep left leg.
(if you sing it right, it works, so...sing it right)

On the second day of Musings my true love sent to me...two choc.chip cookies.
(for lunch - yum!)

On the third day of Musings my true love sent to me...three cute kids.
(not mine. definitely not mine. My mom is watching my new baby nephew Alec, plus the regular Billy and Caitlyn. Yay for my sis-in-law getting a job)

On the fourth day of Musings my true love sent to me...four yawns at work.
(I'm so frickin' tired in the morning, it's unbelievable, since I go to bed at 9:30)

On the fifth day of Musings my true love sent to me...FIVE STRETCHED FINGERS!!!
(we stretch before work to limber up our limbs for all the assembling we do. Technically it's ten fingers that are stretched, but whatever)

On the sixth day of Musings my true love sent to me...six movies a watchin'.
(last Saturday, I spent my day in front of the TV watching movies ranging from Severance to Moonlight Mile)

On the seventh day of Musings my true love sent to me...seven bird poop droppings.
(a little redundant, but why are they pooping and dropping their droppings on my car? Thank goodness my car is white)

On the eighth day of Musings my true love sent to me...eight non-suitors wooing.
("true love"....not yet. I wish I had eight. At the wedding I had one guy who tried to woo me, but that didn't work out so well. He was really drunk)

On the ninth day of Musings my true love sent to me...nine ounces hurting.
(I really like Coke. I do. I love it, but after about 9oz of the stuff, I'm ready for my relationship with the cola to back off. At least until the next day)

On the tenth day of Musings my true love sent to me...ten minutes of resting.
(that's what I get at work. A break at lunch and then a 10 minute break to recoup. I like it)

On the eleventh day of Musings my true love sent to me...eleven days to bday.
(then I'll be 23. September 5th!!!)

On the twelfth day of Musings my true love sent to me...twelve safe eggs to eat.
(salmonella, gross. Not in my house! Plus, chickens are nasty. But I do love their eggs. Be safe everyone!)

So that was a little cheesy, and really challenging to think of stuff. Really challenging...especially when I can smell the bacon upstairs and when I've been holding in my pee for about ten minutes. That can't be good for my kidney.

And to clear up the Coke part. Coca Cola. Not cocaine. After I re-read it, the ounces might confuse people, but I capitalized the C in Coke.

**I Don't Know Why I Laugh Sometimes is a drug free blog**

OMG...MIA

2010-08-21T08:45:00.009-05:00

I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I haven't posted in almost 20 days. I feel really bad, but I've also been really busy.

I checked my phone this morning and I saw that I had a comment on my last blog. One of my followers was checking up on me. So of course, I had to blog right away. It means a lot to me that my followers are still thinking about me even though my blogging days have gone from everyday to once or twice every month. Seriously, if I had wireless in my house, I would still be blogging almost every single day, and that's a Kinsey Promise.

So what have I been up to??? Let me tell you.

My best friend Andrea got married on August 14th, so that whole was full of things for me to do :)

Speaking of that week (wow, my transitions are a little rusty) I got offered a job!! WOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I was on the computer looking for jobs, as usual, on Friday the 7th. I noticed that a temp agency was looking to place someone as an order assembler in Menomonie. I emailed the agency my resume and within 5 minutes - no joke, 5 minutes - they called me saying that they were interested. So I did an interview with them on the 10th, they called me the same day saying that the company wanted to do an interview with me. I had an interview with Big Dot of Happiness in Menomonie on Wednesday, and they wanted to hire me. Everything happened really fast and I was so happy that someone wanted to hire me...so happy!! Finally :)

Anyway, on Friday the 13th (cue eerie music) I drove into Eau Claire with the bride and the bridesmaids and we all got our nails done. Then we had rehearsal in this beautiful Catholic church. After, of course, we had the dinner. It was a dark and stormy night, and the dinner was at a park. Luckily, I left before the torrential rains came down.

On Saturday, the 14th, I woke up bright and early to get my hair done. Then we spent our morning and afternoon at the church getting ready and walking down the aisle - strictly wedding stuff :)

Bridesmaids and Andrea

I was the maid-of-honor, and very honored to be in Andrea's wedding. You see, we've been friends since kindergarten. I remember the first day of school when Andrea held tight to her mother's legs. Ever since that day or the day after, we've been really good friends.

Putting earrings in! My sister made Andrea's jewelry :)

The wedding was beautiful, Andrea looked gorgeous, and the entire bridal party looked stunning together.Me and Andrea

So on Sunday, after a night of drinking and dancing and partying like a rock star, I rode up with my parents to my sister's house for my goddaughter's 2nd birthday. Little Addie!!! She is such a cutie pie :) I took her outside for a little bit and as we were walking around the yard barefoot I stepped in some mud...or poop. Fearing that it was the latter, I sat down on the deck stairs and wiped off this brown substance with a leaf. But no worries, it was mud. Addie looked at me, bent down to grab some grass, and then proceeded to wipe off her little toes with it.

Addie and me (this summer)

We arrived back home around 10:00pm and with the new job on my brain, I barely got a wink of sleep before waking up at 6:30 the next day. Monday, the 16th, was my first day at Big Dot of Happiness, and boy was I tired. I pushed through it though, and had a pretty darn good day.

I had a pretty darn good week, for that matter. I work with wonderful people who are polite and friendly to give me a hand or answer a question I might have. Basically what I do is put together invitations and party supplies (like favor boxes, stickers, thank you cards, candle favor tins, and other party favor things...I've been doing favor boxes all week just to get used to everything). You can check out their website if you're curious about the company.

All week I've been coming home from work, putting my feet up, and going to bed around 9:00. I think I've gotten used to waking up and working from 9-5 now, so bring on next week!

MIA...yes, but you see that I've had one helluva month so far. I'll try to keep up as best as I can with all of your blogs and writing on my own. Again, I apologize for not keeping you all in the loop.

And before I forget, I got my haircut on Thursday. I'll post of picture of that next week.

De'ja Favre??

2010-08-04T10:53:00.005-05:00

Yes, again I find myself staring at a newspaper filled with Brett Favre's sad, old face. Excuse me, ma'am, what year is it? Ohh, thank you, 2010, not 2008. I feel like I'm reliving my summers over and over, since this story about Favre hasn't changed.

Seriously, he needs to retire and stay retired. He should not, I repeat, he should NOT, say he's going to retire, miss training camp (on purpose...I honestly think that's what he's doing) and then make a public announcement saying, "I'M BAAAAACK!!!"

Now, to clear up how I feel about Favre, (if I'm hard to read, already) I should tell you my history with him. Back when he was playing with the Packers, I loved him. I wanted to marry him, or at least have his babies, so my babies could grow up and play professional football and make their mother lots of money. Needless to say, he was like a god in Wisconsin. Then he said he was retiring (the first time, not to be confused with the second or the third), and I cried. I cried over a professional football player.

After he said he was returning, I was all happy again, but a little peeved. When the Packers didn't really have a place for him, I understood the position they were in. Then I grew to love Aaron Rodgers and now I want to have his babies. Brett Favre played for the Jets, and it didn't bother me, because well, the Packers and the Jets never played each other.

Then, Favre called it quits again, but later caught the eyes of the Purple People Eaters - the Vikings...ick. Excuse me while I throw up. And that's how Favre became a Viking. I was spitting angry!!!!!!! I almost cried again, for why would Brett do such a thing? In the name of FOOTBALL, why would Favre (a once beloved Packer, turn away from the team that gave him life, the team that made him great, and become a Viking? Why? Why?) So after I grieved for his ignorance to all of Wisconsin, I began to dislike Favre.

Sure, he played one helluva season with the Vikes, but stick a fork in him-he's done.

Well, for now at least.

But just think, the Packers are really gaining ground here. They had a pretty good season last year, and with Favre out of the picture for the Vikings, I'm expecting great things for Rodgers' and company.

And Brett or Aaron, if you're reading this, I guess...ya know...if you're up to it, that "baby offer" will never expire :)

Wednesday Musings: Take Eleven

2010-07-28T18:39:00.004-05:00

My new favorite shows are The Closer, Rizzoli and Isles, and Hot in Cleveland. Granted, The Closer isn't a "new" series, but it's the first I've watched it...and let me tell you, "It's Kinsey Approved!"

I applied for an administrative assistant position for a chiropractic office last Sunday, and last Monday they called me, but I was asleep (as it was 9 am and I had no reason to start my day early), so my niece picked up the phone and told them that I was asleep. She took the message like a young Pam Beasley and when I woke up about 15 minutes later I returned the call. The secretary answered and had no idea that I was called, but said she would find out who called me and then have them call me back. I waited and waited and waited and waited. I waited for a couple more days and then I called them back, thinking that they were probably really busy. So I explained to this dude on the phone who I was and asked them what the situation was on my call back, he said he would figure it out and have someone call me. Well, no one called me back and I don't care if they hired someone else, but at least have the decency to tell me. GOSH!

That was a long musing, but I had to get it out there. I feel better now.

I got caught in a storm again. Just my luck, right? I went to River Falls to visit a friend and I had just left her place when it started to rain cats and dogs. I made it about 5 miles down the road when I had to turn back after getting a call from my mom and then my friend saying the sirens were going off. So I stayed in River Falls for another hour waiting for the storm to pass. Is God trying to send me some sort of message via storms??

I got a new phone!! It's a Palm Pre Plus, and it rocks! It totally rocks! I'm in love with it. I thought about doing a blog from it, but it would take me a really long time, so I'm not going to. Maybe someday...when I master, of course, the little keypad of abc's.

On the way to see Ramona and Beezus with my niece who takes messages for me while I'm sleeping, I told Caitlyn that I'm like Beezus and she's like Ramona - since she doesn't have a big sister, only and older brother, and I don't think he's the Selena Gomez type. But after the movie (which was really good!) I told her that I could be her "Aunt Bea" and she can still be Ramona. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Aunt Bea, is Aunt Beatrice, Ramona's mom's sister...even though I'm Caitlyn's dad's sister...man, this is falling apart in front of my eyes.

Here's a still from the movie. Aunt Bea, Beezus, Ramona, and Dorothy Quimby

I'm sitting downstairs with my hood up. It's that kind of night. Plus my hair is wet from swimming, and I don't want to freeze down here.

Why Facebook, Why?

2010-07-22T14:24:00.003-05:00

I haven't been on Facebook in awhile. The sparkle that was once in my eye for that special networking site has faded. I've been a Facebook member since high school, and I used to waste away my day looking at pictures, searching for new buttons that expressed who I am, and adding more information to an already jam-packed profile.

Now, as a 22 (almost 23 year old) the last thing I did was post pictures from this summer. I had to...you see, my newest nephew was born on the 17th, and I had the Facebook urge to show my friends and relatives his cute, little baby face. His name, if you would like to know is Alec Boyd Bodenburg. And I have a feeling I will love him just as much as I love Alec Baldwin.

The day he was born I traveled to the nearest computer to write in my status a congratulatory statement to my brother and his wife. My sister, Tyne, had already written one, and so had my brother (the father of Alec) - earlier in the morning after Alec was born. Then I realized that this information on my six hour old nephew had already gone viral!

Back in the day, when dinosaurs weren't able to chat with their prehistoric buddies via Facebook chat, since it was down (as it almost always is), they had to telephone people, send letters, walk to their neighbor's house to deliver news of any sort. Now, I can go on my laptop and type in a simple sentence and have hundreds of friends know instantly.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it seems like not long ago, we were a more connected society. And through physical contact we achieved this.

Likewise, I can go on Facebook and find out in about ten minutes of browsing, who is pregnant, who is single, who got laid-off, and who got drunk the weekend before. I can see who got a new tattoo, who scored the highest in the racing game, who would "rather be enjoying the nice weather instead of working," and who is putting their child down for a nap and will be back to Facebook shortly. This social network is more of a private network seen socially by anyone who is "friends" with someone else.

But this isn't all bad. On the contrary, word spreads fast on Facebook and you can learn a lot about someone or something that is going on. I agree that Facebook is a nice way to massively spread information and share good news - like my nephew, Alec.

But I also think that maybe we should step back a bit, and not share anything and everything that happens to us the moment it happens. I don't want to know about the hair clog in your sink drain. I don't need to know that (Pet name here) peed all over the carpet, and I definitely don't want to know when you woke up, went to bed, or when you are eating.

If you would send out a public announcement about an engagement, wedding, baby arrival, and/or change of address to your friends and family, then it is okay to post that on Facebook.

If you call up your mother every time you take a bite out of your sandwich...then I would think twice about letting your Facebook friends know, because, honestly, we don't care.

(I've been subject to writing useless Facebook status updates in the past...I think we all have)

The Pool

2010-07-15T20:14:00.003-05:00

No one floated a Baby Ruth in the pool today...darn. That would have added more excitement to my day at the pool with my two little nephews - Tate and Easton.

Let's begin with some poop instead then, real poop. Baby Easton's poop. Let me emphasize baby, since it was green - GREEN - and mushy. Very, very, very mushy. Why am I telling you this? Because, his fecal material, if you can even call it that, spread like a wildfire through his diaper and out of his diaper, and onto his pretty blue outfit - now with accents of green.

Luckily, this was the worst part of the whole day. And guess what, Aunt Kinsey didn't even think to bring another outfit. She's so smart. I'm talking about myself in the 3rd person, this needs to stop.

After I changed him and washed out his clothes the best I could with a bottle of water and baby wipes, Easton wore his Little Swimmers with style.

Tate was very easy to watch at the pool. All he did was jump in the pool, climb the ladder out, jump in, climb out, jump in, climb out, and jump in continuously for three hours. Easy as pie. No poop in Tate's pants, that's for sure.

At this public pool, the lifeguards whistle on the hour so the kids get a "safety break." Now this is a good idea. Tate came back for some water drinking and relaxation for ten minutes. He even told me, "If I wasn't sitting here for my break, then I'd be doing cannonballs right now."

We all had a snack - Tate had a corndog, Easton and I shared Dippin' Dots with Tate after he scarfed down his corndoggie. Then it was back to swimming and a Little Swimmer change for Easton. He was sagging a bit.

Easton enjoyed the water for a little bit longer then I tried to feed him his bottle, but he fell asleep in about five minutes. So I sat with him as he slept. That was about it for our pool day.

When I read this to Tate before I posted it, he wanted to add a little more, so this is what he told me to type:

Tate and another boy and Alex jumped the waves when everybody went in the water. - Spoken from the mouths of babes ;)

It was the perfect day to go to the pool and spend time with my Minnesota nephews (even though Tate has enough good sense to wear a Brewers shirt today).

Wednesday Musings: Take Ten

2010-07-14T23:41:00.003-05:00

Twenty minutes and this is no longer a Wednesday Musings, but a Thursday Mistakes.

I drove my mom's boat...I mean Buick all the way to St. Francis, MN to visit my brother and his family. I drove through a storm (tornado like), almost hydroplaned, screamed after the radio told me that a tornado has been spotted, and then drove like a short old woman who has to sit really close to the steering wheel to see out the windshield about 20 minutes after "the storm" passed.

Despicable Me is really funny.

Why is the Northern Wisconsin State Fair called the Northern Wisconsin State Fair? It's in Chippewa Falls, WI...and that isn't in Northern Wisconsin - it's 20 some minutes from my house.

My brother gave me a Spiderman blanket to sleep with tonight. I'm almost too excited to fall asleep.

Blogger thinks Spiderman is spelled wrong, because it's showing red squiggly lines underneath it. Doesn't blogger know who Spiderman is? I mean, he's no Batman, but come on.

My nephew, Tate, was watching Ghost Hunters on Syfy tonight. He's not even eight yet and he's watching Ghost Hunters...alone...in his basement. He is so BRAVE!!!

I laid in a hammock tonight, and I really, really, really, really want one. Maybe when I'm older.

Why did Casey Schuler have to Die???

2010-07-09T15:05:00.003-05:00

All hands on deck! Let's kill that little monkey from Outbreak. His virus just killed Kevin Spacey's character.

Bummer...too late, if only I posted this sooner.

Anywho, if I'm not a slacker in the blogging world than my name is Fraulein Sausage Fingers.

I almost hate myself for not posting all week, then I think, "Hey, I've been enjoying the sunshine and the pool, and this is summer and I don't really like sitting in the cold basement anyway (since we don't have wireless, I have to plug my computer in downstairs)."

So let me do a quick review with you all:

I almost died three times this week. Yup...three.

First almost deadly occurrence: 4th of July - A rocket firework that is supposed to shoot thirty feet in the air didn't. The stick that was holding it upright burned off, my dad tried to stomp it out, but he couldn't, so he ran, my brother ran, my nephew almost ran, and we all watched as it shot off at us. Okay, so it wasn't as "deadly" as I thought, and if I was outside and really close to it I might have burned myself. This one was a stretch. What can I say...I'm an exaggerater.

Second occurrence: Yesterday - in the parking lot of WalMart. Let me paint the picture for you. My mom drove around the parking lot with my older sister, Kyrstin, in the front seat. I sat in the back behind my mom. "There's a spot!" someone shouted. Yay, we all thought to ourselves, nice and close. So my mom drove down the lane, but had to back up. She put the car in PARK. Then my sister says, "That car is backing up, it's going to hit us!" I look to my left and a jeep/suv/bigger than our vehicle is backing up towards us as my mom is trying to figure out why our car isn't backing up. Kyrstin starts banging on her window with her fist (thinking the idiot who is backing up will hear her), my mom doesn't realize the car is still in PARK, so she is wondering what the heck is wrong with the car, I'm just staring as the back of the green vehicle approaches us (I don't know why I didn't go into panic mode), all the while Kyrstin is still SCREAMING and still BANGING on the window!!!! Finally my mom lays on the horn. The green vehicle stops, we finally pull forward as my mom shifts into DRIVE, and then we all laughed for about five minutes straight.

Third and final occurrence: Aldi - it's the first time I've ever been in that store, and I come home and I get sick. I now have a stuffy nose and an off and on sore throat. I should've never went to the bathroom there...they had no soap. Ick. I will never set foot in that store again (at least not the Eau Claire one).

Alright, fine, so I never really ever came close to dying in those stories...but I could have. I now know what Kevin Spacey's character went through - poor guy.

A New Lady??

2010-07-02T12:49:00.005-05:00

Now this really irks me. I was watching tv the other day, as I had nothing better to do - I applied for a job, ate lunch, went swimming, got my tan on, wrestled with the kiddos - ya know...everyday stuff, and the Orbit Gum commercial came on.

Oh how excited I was. These commercials are great! "Who are you calling a cootie queen, you LINT licKER?" Joy!

So as I sat on the couch thinking of my future days as a wealthy person, the blonde in the commercial was not the blonde I was used to seeing.

What in the world? I looked around the living and saw my niece, Addie, running around with my mom's hair pick screaming, "Mine, Aaaddie, mine, mine, mama, mine." Surely, Addie was not to be bothered with my dilemma.

Then I thought, maybe I saw her wrong. So I rewound the commercial (thanks to the almighty DVR) and watched the commercial again. This time, though, about a foot away from the tv - I was not to be fooled. I prayed a quick prayer before pushing Play.

To my disappointment, I was proved wrong. The commercial gods did a number on me and switched the Orbit Gum Lady with a poser gum actress. And I know they tried to trick me by finding a "look-a-like," but I think I would have been happier if they switched the original and awesome Orbit Lady with an old red-headed woman. Don't try to fool me commercial people (some may call you advertisers, but I call you adverTEASERS). We are not as dumb as you may think. I do not approve.

Do you hear me? Kinsey Bodenburg does not approve. Please bring back the original Orbit Lady. I mean really, "What the french toast?"

Stone Hands, Monsters, and Baseball

2010-06-25T10:29:00.007-05:00

On the two-hour trip to watch my nephew, Tate play baseball, I sat between an almost two year old squawk box and a five year old that talks until your ear falls off.

Here are some highlights from the trip...

- I told a "scary" story about a brother and sister that thought Frankenstein was in their attic.

- Connor turned my hands into stone hands and ice hands.

- At one point all three of us were reading magazines. Fitness for me, Playmobile for Connor, and Fisher Price for Addie.

- After a drive-thru run at McDonalds, Connor plugged his nose and said, "It SMELLS!!" He was referring to my cheeseburger. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't eat it. He told me to throw it out the window, because it smelled so bad.

- Later Connor asked us what monsters we wanted to be. He was the Headless Horseman, Addie was a witch, I was a vampire, Grandma was a mummy, and Grandpa was a zombie.

- On the way home we played the no talking game. The silence lasted for about ten minutes, then Connor whispered to me, "When is it over?"

The baseball game: Tate did a wonderful job playing ball. It was his last game of the season, so he received a medal too! He looked pretty proud. I watched him play catcher and complete two outs, hit the ball and run the bases, and play defense in the field. Pretty basic baseball stuff ;) I've watched a lot of kids play baseball in my years, and I have to say that Tate is a pretty good ballplayer. He listens to his coaches and really pays attention to the game.

Tate batting

Me and my little nephew Easton (I think he's going to be a ballplayer too)

It was like a Beach Boys song

2010-06-23T10:52:00.003-05:00

I played sand volleyball last night. A friend of ours needed two players to fill in and luckily both my sister Kyrstin and I were able to help out. We played three games and had a lot of fun.

Oh the joys of sand volleyball...the list is endless:

1. You can sport a nice tan or work on one.

2. Beer...need I say more? (I just drank water though)

3. The competition is always fun.

4. Taking your frustrations out on the volleyball.

5. Diving for a ball just feels really good.

Okay, so the list is not "endless."

So last night as we played this team of middle aged people, I noticed this lady in a pink shirt who would only use one arm to hit the ball. There was nothing wrong with her other arm, she just used the one arm to bump the ball. Oddly enough, the ball would go over almost every time. I couldn't help but laugh when she successfully got the ball over the net with this one-arm technique.

Then it started to frustrate me when the other team, as poor as their volleyball skills were, would score on us. I mean, our team consisted of four previous Elk Mound High School Volleyball teammates and two guys who actually knew how to hit the ball. Hmmmph! We should've killed them with our awesome talent ;)

We did end up winning all three games and I think we beat them by a pretty good margin each time, so that made me feel good about myself. But if I hit like One-Arm Pinkerbell, my hits would've went sailing left or right into the other court, since I was properly trained to hit a volleyball the right way.

Let me end on this note: Although I had a great time playing, I didn't appreciate the sand in my face, hair, crevices, and holes. And get your head out of the gutter - EAR holes .

Just Keep Swimming

2010-06-22T11:07:00.004-05:00

Today is the first day that we are using our pool this year. We've had some pretty crappy weather up to this point. Also, we had to put in a new liner, since ours has weathered for about 20 years.

It's supposed to be 88 degrees and sunny! Yes!!! HOT WEATHER! I love it.

I remember as a kid swimming with my brothers and sisters. Oftentimes, we would set up a volleyball net and have friends over to play. Then we got a slide. That was a very exciting time for us.

We found that we would slide down faster if we put my kickboard under us as we went down the slide. Surprisingly, no one got hurt.

When I was really young, I remember being thrown into the pool by my older brothers - Blake more than Boyd. This resulted in time-outs for Blake, and me crying (of course!).

Luckily for me, I grew up with two pools to play in. My neighbor, Dusty, also had a pool. Dusty and I spent most of our summer afternoons in the pool playing "Shark" with his older brother Derek. Then Dusty and I would get tired of swimming, so we would build forts on the deck out of lawn chairs, towels, and pool toys. That was my favorite.

As far back as I can remember, swimming has always meant summer to me. It's sad that I've grown away from being thrown in the pool and playing "Shark" with Dusty, but we all have to grow up...that doesn't mean I have to stop from forever playing those games though - I have young nieces and nephews!

Surprise!

2010-06-21T08:41:00.003-05:00

I decided to wake up early this morning. Well, I didn't really "decide" to, but I couldn't fall back asleep. It was 6:30 AM.

This is early for me.

So I tossed and turned for a twenty minutes or so and then finally decided that falling back asleep and sleeping until 10:00 AM was a lost cause.

After a thinking about what my plans were going to be for the rest of the day...since I now have the WHOLE day to do things, I got out of bed, made my bed (this is also a first in a long time), and went upstairs.

The first person I saw - my mom. "What are you doing up so early?" she said.

I told her my dilemma about not being able to fall back asleep. Her conclusion: "You're finally on a normal sleep schedule."

The next person I saw - my sister-in-law. She gave me a funny look- "You're up early."

"Yep," I said.

My niece Caitlyn and my nephew Billy were the only ones not to give me grief this morning.

I decided to start my day early. I know this is really out of character for me, but in the realm of things, this is not the weirdest thing that I've done.

Then I went on my run, came back and stretched and stuff, saw my sister - "Did you already run?" she asked me.

I sat on the floor with my shirt pooled with sweat and my hair looking like I dunked my head in water, and thought to myself No, this is what I look like when I wake up in the morning. "Yeah," I said. (Kyrstin was pretty groggy this morning, so I felt my sarcasm would only make her crabby)

After my shower I went back downstairs and my nephew Connor screamed, because I was in a towel. Little does he know that he will soon love ladies in only towels. (Just not his relatives).

I ran into my dad and he said, "Super Kinsey's awake."

Yes, yes, yes, Super Kinsey is awake and ready to take on whatever this Monday is going to bring her.

"Tell it to me in Star Wars"

2010-06-16T13:13:00.007-05:00

I asked my five year old nephew, Connor, what I should blog about today.
Connor: "Star Wars."

Me: "What about Star Wars?"

Connor: "It's AWESOME!!"

So in honor of Connor, that is all I'm saying about Star Wars in this blog post. I agree that it is awesome, and I don't want to ruin a good thing by talking anymore about it.

Instead, I'll show you all pictures from my wonderful Brewers weekend! Enjoy :)The whole family

Courtesy of my sister-in-law, April, is me with my Farfrompuken sticker.
Also, the necklace I'm wearing was made by sister, Tyne.

Tailgating

"Juuuust a bit outside!"

2010-06-10T13:57:00.005-05:00

I know that's a quote from Major League, but it's all things baseball to me.

Here's the shirt I made for the Brewers game on Saturday. I decorated it with fabric paint. The logos are from 1970 to present. I hand drew them all...outside...while getting a tan (burn, actually, but now it's a tan).

Front

Back

Wednesday Musings: Take Niner

2010-06-09T11:40:00.006-05:00

A Salute to Wednesday Musings: Take Nine...here is a quote.
"Two, four, niner, five, six, seven."
"I can't hear you, you're trailing off and did I catch a niner in there?" - Tommy Boy

I was watching The View this morning and I could NEVER be a guest co-host. Too much interrupting.

On the same note: I think Joy Behar's hair is getting bigger every year.

It's full of secrets...

I made my own shirt for the Brewers game on Saturday! It's really awesome, if I do say so myself. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow.

Last night I taught my almost 2 year old niece how to "pound it." Our fists explode and everything.

My five year old nephew plays T-Ball and he constantly wants to be the one who gets the ball. At his game on Monday, he was playing shortstop and was cheering for the other team to "HIT THE BALL!" over and over. Then he went up to his teammate and asked him "Do you know any Star Wars people?" Needless to say, I laughed throughout the entire game.

My sister, Tyne, did a giveaway last week for one of her necklaces. Now she is taking orders. If you would like her to make you one or buy one that is custom made, drop by at TyneBoden Necklaces. She made one for me. It's a wishbone one and it's really cool!!

In movie news: I'm seeing Sex and the City 2 tomorrow with my sisters. I'm taking my oldest nephew to The Karate Kid sometime next week. And last, but definitely not least, I'll be seeing Toy Story 3 the week it comes out!!!

It's weird that all the movies I'm about to see are remakes or sequels.

Have a happy Wednesday!

It's on Playboy Radio, Sirius XM

2010-06-08T10:05:00.002-05:00

I was baffled to hear that some Playboy Bunnies actually have a talk show on the radio. I guess anyone can get a radio show these days. Where do I sign up?

Seriously, these girls were about as smart as their plastic boobies. I was on the road with my best friend Andrea and her fiance Jeremy. He recently bought her an awesome new car. So as we were driving, Jeremy turned on Playboy Radio. At first Andrea and I couldn't stop laughing and making fun of the ladies.

They were talking about how big or small their heads were. Really??? Really??? Then one lady dropped the word "cranium" into her sentence. I think she did this so her listeners would think she had some sort of brain in her large head. Or was she the one with the small head?

One of the other ladies thought she said "cranial" - this was probably the first time she heard the word. After about 2 minutes of gabbing back and forth about her large "cranial" the first lady (haha, not Mrs. Obama) corrected the other Past Her Prime Playboy by saying that it was "cranium" and not "cranial."

Oh, how they thought that was funny. Andrea and I laughed too, and then sighed with relief that we are not those women.

Later in the show they were giving away panties.

Their own panties.

The panties that they were wearing.

Scandalous.

So there the three of us sat listening to them pull down their pants and describe to the listeners what their panties looked like.

One pantie had a string hanging from it. The lady said that this pantie was five years old and the string represents the wear from it.

EWW! Throw those away! If you've been keeping and wearing underwear for five years...it's time to go to Vickie's Secret and buy some more!

A lot more things of little substance were said, and soon we arrived at our destination.

My conclusion: I feel A LOT better about myself after listening to those Booby Bunnies talk about, well, underwear.

Avatar

2010-06-02T18:46:00.003-05:00

Not the movie. Sorry, I haven't seen it. I really shouldn't be apologizing, but I feel the need to since it seems like I'm the only person in the world who hasn't seen it.

I can never get to the point of my post fast enough...

I was creating a Guitar Hero avatar "Rock Star" and realized that no one would create an avatar that looked just like them. I mean, mine has the same hair color as me, but that's about it.

I guess that's the reason why people want to make avatars, so that they can "live" through them in some way, or in my case party like a rock star with one.

If people are overweight, they make a skinnier avatar. If people are tattooless, then they put a tattoo on their avatar's arm. I did. A spiderweb tattoo. It's pretty bomb.

Short people make themselves taller, blondes become brunette and vice versa, and some avatars look a ton sluttier or muscular than the avatar creator.

Why don't we want to be ourselves?

My answer...because the real Kinsey would hardly be a rock star in the real world, so my avatar "Kins" will have to rock out for me.

Disconnected and still alive

2010-06-01T21:55:00.002-05:00

I'm surprised I still know how to blog. Ever since I moved back home I barely keep my cell phone on (because I sleep in the basement and it eats up my battery), I'm hardly ever on the computer, and my ears aren't plugged into any iPod.

I'm disconnected and still alive. Amazing, isn't it?

When I was in school I was almost always on the computer or checking my cell phone. I had a soundtrack for my walk to and from classes.

Which do I prefer?

That's a hard one.

"That's what she said!" Hahahahahaha!!!!!

But really though, I like being unplugged from all the technology around me. On the other hand, I'm not completely "unplugged" - I've been playing Guitar Hero on my Wii :) So, I guess I'm unplugged in the wireless sense, but not in the technological sense.

I also miss reading all the blogs and blogging myself.

So, I'm a little bit halfsies on this one. I like keeping up with my facebook friends, talking/texting on my cell, downloading music, and watching hilarious youtube videos, but it's summer now. I spend most of my days outdoors and keeping busy.

Is anyone else struggling with the balance of summer-time and blogging-time??

Top Ten Signs That You've Been Impatiently Waiting for Summer

2010-05-27T16:20:00.004-05:00

1. You agreed that it was swim-suit season in February, and have been swimming in hotel pools since.

2. That you just go to the tanning bed to feel the warmth.

3. You've been wearing flip flips since last summer ended.

4. You grill all year round...even when the big snowstorm came through.

5. Your office is plastered with pictures of Hawaii beaches and palm trees.

6. You listen to The Beach Boys and/or Kenny Chesney everyday.

7. You think proper attire for Casual Friday is a bikini with a towel wrapped around your waist.

8. You sip margaritas with a beach hat on while watching Oprah in the afternoon.

9. You don't mind it when your kids track in sand from outside, because you like the feeling of it between your toes.

10. You have or are thinking about packing up and leaving for the Middle East just so you can get some sun.

Summer is nearing and the temperatures are up in Wisconsin!!! Have a happy weekend! I won't be updating until Monday since I'm moving my sister and her family. (Sorry I've been slack this week. It's been really hard to find the time to blog and read all of your blogs). I promise that I will be more on track next week.

I just call her Fergie

2010-05-25T15:01:00.002-05:00

Today I was baking cookies and my mom came in the kitchen. This is how our conversation went:

Mom: "Did you hear the latest about Fergie? Princess Fergie...whatever she's being called."

Kinsey: "I just call her Fergie."

Mom: "Not the singer Fergie."

Both of us: "HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Kinsey: (thinking) I feel stupid. "I thought you meant the singer. You mean Wales Fergie or wherever she is from???"

Mom: "England, yeah. She is having people pay to see Prince Andrew for like $10,000.00!"

Kinsey: "That's a pretty good idea."

Mom: "No, Kinsey, that's really bad."

Kinsey: "Oh, haha...I just call her Fergie."

Both of us: (more laughs)

I sort of felt like the dumb girls off the street when Jay Leno does his segment "Jaywalking."

Shame On You!

2010-05-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

High school sports. Ahhhh, those were the good ole days, right? Eh, I suppose.

Don't get me wrong, I love sports. I LOVE athletics! I really do, but sometimes the politics or something else got in the way of the game.

Let's take a look at my junior year of volleyball. That year, the coach's daughter was a freshman. She was a great athlete and so were a couple of her freshmen friends, but they weren't quite ready for the varsity level - or at least that's what the varsity team thought. Our coach felt different. Needless to say, the coach's daughter and her friends played varsity with us.

After we voiced our opinions on the matter of the younger girls' little experience, we had a "meeting" after one of our away games in our high school locker room. Here, our coach yelled at us. We took it in stride and some of the girls cried and some talked about it and some (me) just sat and took it all in. At one point, my friend Hayley accidentally knocked a table over and us girls giggled about it (because it was funny...and really late at night). Our coach thought we weren't taking the meeting seriously and stormed out. When she came back she yelled at us some more and said, "SHAME ON YOU!" This is an example of politics getting in the way of my love for volleyball.

I'm not saying that my coach was mean or anything, because she was a very good coach. At the time though, I just wanted to play the game without any drama.

Next came softball. Not so much politics in this sport, but other things. Like the year I was in a "slump" with another girl. Our coach moved us down in the batting order, instead of giving us a chance to hit. We never got to practice improving out hitting game during practice...so how were we supposed to get better? Magic? I don't think so. To top it off, my coach printed off an article on hitting slumps and handed them out before a game, where she announced that me and this other girl were both struggling and should really take this article seriously.

If Derek Jeter can go 0-a lot, then so can I. DJ and I had a slump going on at the same time. Except, he was still getting paid thousands and thousands of dollars and I was, well, wasn't.

Another softball moment. It was a windy day one game. I played center field. I had about three or four hits out to me one inning, and the wind would take the ball a lot further than expected. Naturally, because of this wind thing, I couldn't get to the ball in time. So my coach yells from the dugout, "KINSEY! CATCH THE BALL!!!"

I thought to myself, you come out here and try and catch the ball. It's not as easy as it looks. I have a lot of field to cover on top of this frickin' wind blowing the ball every which way. Does it look like I'm trying not to catch the ball??.

So anyway, this post probably sounds like a rant, but I loved high school sports...really, I did. It was just those few moments (which as I look back on them, have made me a better player) that weren't about the game so much as about politics or just about winning.

To me, that's not what sports are all about. It's about love for the game, diving for a ball on the gym floor, getting an ACE and celebrating in the middle of the court, hitting a double, throwing out the runner at home, and (as weird as this sounds) getting hit by a pitch and running down the line to first base where the assistant coach would say, "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever."

Then I would think, yeah, but that really hurt.

I'm Promoting My Sister

2010-05-20T06:30:00.003-05:00

My sister, Tyne, has always had an eye for fashion. Recently, she's taken up necklace making.

Tyne and me (a couple of years ago)

And she's really good at it! She made me a necklace for graduation and I love it.

Check out her website: http://tynebodennecklaces.blogspot.com/

You won't be disappointed.

P.S. I created her logo ;)

Wednesday Musings: Take Eight

2010-05-19T11:15:00.006-05:00

Have you ever felt needed so much that you want to scream? I had that feeling today, but now I'm okay :)

Slams the Door turned 22 yesterday. I wasn't able to provide her with a proper cake, so I took out a couple of Fudge Rounds and stuck two matches in them. I wasn't able to provide proper birthday candles either.

Slams the Door and her Fudge Round "Cake"

I dyed my hair yesterday. It's darker than my original hair color, but I reallyreallyreally like it :) I'll post a picture of it next week sometime.

I'm very independent, VERY independent. I don't know why either.

Did anyone see the season finale of House on Monday??? It was amazing!!! I think I'm in love with Hugh Laurie.

On Sunday, I went and saw A Nightmare on Elm Street in theaters. Wow, job well done my friends. I give that movie a standing ovation for recreating a classic horror film in good taste. (Sidenote: This was the first time I went and saw an actual "scary" movie in the theater. I was nervous that I was going to scream, but I didn't) I jumped and threw my hands in the air instead.

I want to lay down in the grass

2010-05-18T16:19:00.003-05:00

As I ran this afternoon in the hot sun of 72 degree Minnesota weather, I yearned to take a break and lay down in the soft green grass of a white house on the corner of 7th of Olmstead. How nice it would be to have a yard right now. My apartment "yard" is trimmed too short with sticks and weeds and empty beer cans. I do not yearn to lay in that grass.

So I ran to the beat of Katrina and the Waves, Carrie Underwood, and Foreigner until I reached the park. There I sat and watched the turtle and crane statues shoot water out of their mouths into the pool. I pulled out my pink earphones and listened to the water splash, the cars on the street, and the birds sing. If I had a penny with me, I would've tossed it in and made a wish.

Music Monday - Wrong Baby Wrong

2010-05-17T15:15:00.003-05:00

"Wrong Baby Wrong" by the lovely Martina McBride.

I've never participated in Music Monday before, but I couldn't really think of anything to write today, so I thought I'd let this song do it for me ;)

Babysitter's Club

2010-05-16T17:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I watched my nephew Connor, and niece Addie. We played Star Wars, ate pizza, went to the Castle park, treated ourselves to Coldstone ice cream, and ended the night with The Goonies.

Addie and Connor at the park

Connor, of course didn't want to watch the movie, but he did. And he, like Connor does, asked A LOT of questions.

"Who are those people? Who is that? Did they find the treasure yet? Why are they the Pepperelli's?" Is that a real dead body? How did they move that? Are they good guys? What are they trying to do? Why is that doing that?"

Addie added to the movie viewing experience with, "Uh oh" and "UP!"

I tried to answer Connor's questions, but he's hard to keep up with.

Who are those people? The Fratelli's
Who is that? The older brother
Did they find the treasure yet? Nope
Why are they the Pepperelli's? :) Not the Pepperelli's...the Fratelli's
Is that a real dead body? No, it's a fake one (I didn't want to scare him)
How did they move that? Magic (I wasn't really paying attention to that part of the movie)
Are they good guys? Yep
What are they trying to do? Make a lot of noise on the pipes, so people will hear them
Why is that doing that? Because they pounded on the pipes too hard
Can you turn this movie off? Yes

Connor got a little scared. He told me as he was putting on his pajamas: "I think I'm going to have bad dreams tonight." This coming from the same kid who loves Jurassic Park.

So we ended the night with Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb. If he had any bad dreams I'm blaming the talking sponge.

I'm on the hunt

2010-05-14T17:12:00.005-05:00

The hunt for a job, that is.

Why does it have to be so tough? Why does everyone require experience? I went to college and earned a degree. I put my sweat and tears into my education.

And a boat load of money.

A Titanic sized boat load of money.

If I would've known that every single job out there wants 5+ years of experience, I would've taken summer jobs at a newspaper or at a local magazine. Instead, I worked retail and food service...where I might add, I acquired excellent customer service skills. "Would you care to order any appetizers while you wait?"

I've been actively looking for a job for the past month. It's draining. But I'm staying as positive as I can. Something will turn up. It has to.

Is Bigger Better?

2010-05-13T17:00:00.001-05:00

Most of the time, yes.

I think everyone has different scales though. I was watching House Hunters this morning (and technically it was morning, because it was before noon) in my pjs and this lady thought the master bedroom was too small.

Ummm, not me. I thought the master bedroom was GINORMOUS! It was the size of my living room! (Which is pretty big, I think) What is she planning on putting in her room? An aquarium for Shamu?

But is bigger always better? Not with cell phones. These things are getting bigger every week! I want one that fits in my back pocket, not one that acts as a seat cushion when I sit down at a restaurant. And with the iPhone, I bet they have an app for that.

Someone and the Chocolate Factory

2010-05-12T22:05:00.003-05:00

I'm not a fan of the Willy Wonka movies. I never have been and I never will be. The old movie, from the 70's, was a little scary, and the Johnny Depp one freaked me out. I was more of a Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin viewer.

What are the Oompa Loompas anyway??? Little people with orange skin. That's what they are. I think they would be even more creepier if they were average sized. So thank you for making them small.

You're probably wondering why I'm blogging about Oompa Loompas. Well, for starters - I see that AT&T commercial with Gene Wilder singing "Pure Imagination" about ten times a day, and then I get that song stuck in my head for a good three hours.

Second, I almost hit a little orange skinned dude on my home today. They are EVERYWHERE!

Literally...

2010-05-11T21:52:00.004-05:00

My roommate and I were talking the other day about how her fiance uses the term "literally" wrong.

For example: He will say, "I'm so mad that I'm literally going to rip my head off and throw it at the door!"

Yeah...so she corrects him.

Well, my niece, Caitlyn, takes sayings to the "literal" degree. She's only 8 though ;) Like the other day (wow, I use "other day" a lot...but this was literally the "other day", the first "other day" was about 3 weeks ago) I was looking at The Philosopher's Handbook (part of the wonderful giveaway that I won from Sam over at Thoughts, Writings, Coffee...) and I said-

"This looks very interesting, but a little too heavy for me to read right at this moment."

My 8-year-old niece replies, "Can I hold it to see how heavy it is?"

I couldn't help but laugh. It was too sweet!

As you all know, I got a Wii for my college graduation. Yep, I'm a grown-up! I haven't bought any games yet, and my nephew (who is going to be 11 next month) left me this note this morning:

Property of
Billy Bodenburg
To Aunt Kinsey
you may borrow
the game until the
end of June at
the very most
amount of time.

(It was stuck in the Super Mario Bros. Wii game in the bathroom so I would see it right away)

It was a great start to my day. Plus, the game is pretty much amazing. After he got home from school we played it. He was Mario and I was Luigi. He also thought it was funny to pick me up and throw me (in the game, not in real life).

So I'd like to literally end this post by thanking Sam for the wonderful prizes. I've read 9 of the 50 Books You Must Read Before You Die (on the bookmark)...so only 41 more to go!

Oh, and go see Hot Tub Time Machine it was so funny that I literally laughed my head off...did I use that right?

Weekend Update

2010-05-10T12:01:00.004-05:00

Friday: Graduation day. My sister, Tyne, told me to scream "I'm graduating today" when I woke up...like Monica did on Friends for her wedding day - "I'm getting married today!" But she told me not to trip. I didn't trip, or scream it at 7:30 AM, but I did run and hug my roommate Codi, and I did tell her that we're graduating today. Just in case she didn't know ;)

Three of my siblings (Blake couldn't make it) and my parents

The ceremony went well. It was two hours long, and I'm glad it's over. My family all made it except for my brother and his wife, and my brother-in-law. Plus all my nieces and nephews didn't come since they were in school or too little to sit through a graduation ceremony, but everyone came for my little parTAY at my house back home.

I got a Wii from my folks, and money from my siblings. Tyne bought me a travel bag for all my bathroom stuff. I was very pleased with all my presents.

Saturday: We put on a baby shower for my sister-in-law April. Good food, good friends, and a lot of fun!!

I missed Betty White on SNL, but I DVRed it. Gotta watch it soon!

Sunday: Mother's Day!! We went to church and I got a graduation present from a friend of the family. As I opened the box (which obviously held a necklace), my nephew, Connor, in the backseat said, "I hope it's a Wii game!" It wasn't, naturally, it was a beautiful necklace.

We had brats on the grill and lots of other good food back at the house. Let's just say that I ate really well this weekend. It makes up for all the junk I've been eating in Winona.

It was a wonderful Kinsey Bodenburg/Sandra Bullock Weekend!!

It's Kinsey Bodenburg Weekend

2010-05-06T18:25:00.006-05:00

If Sandra Bullock can get a whole weekend devoted to her on the ABC Family channel, then so can I.

Don't get me wrong, I love Sandra Bullock. She's a great actress and she sounds like a wonderful person. I'm just saying that she probably wouldn't have gotten an entire weekend devoted to her on tv, if Jesse James never broke up with her.

Am I right or am I right?

And although I have never been married, or have even had a relationship long enough to celebrate a 3 or a 6 month anniversary...my boyfriend dumped me on Saturday...via text message. He makes me mad, so I'm not going to go into it any further. *ahem* jerk move *cough*

So let's celebrate Sandra Bullock and Kinsey Bodenburg Weekend!!!

Maybe I'll adopt a baby too - after I win an Oscar, obviously ;)

Wednesday Musings: Take Seven

2010-05-05T10:41:00.005-05:00

I fell asleep to the Syfy channel last night. The X-Files was on, and I love that show. MULDER!!! SCULLY!!!

A dude called me this morning about furthering my education. Seriously? I'm graduating on Friday and I don't think I'll be furthering my education for awhile. Hello? Freedom!

I'm pretty sure I ate my Erb's and Gerb's sandwich last night with my eyes closed. And I'm pretty sure I ate it all except for one bite which is now wrapped up in the fridge.

I went out for Heather's birthday last night. Which should explain the blind eating.

The "Job Switching" episode of I Love Lucy is on right now. It's probably one of my favorite episodes. That and "Vitameatavegamin."

I used to be able to recite Lucy's Vitameatavegamin commercial word for word when I was younger. "Hello friends. I'm your Vitameatavegamin girl..."

Slams the Door and I never got to finish our doubles tennis match. So it will forever be a tie between us.

I'm going to leave you with a clip from the I Love Lucy "Job Switching" episode. Have a happy Wednesday!

I'm in need of a good summer movie

2010-05-04T09:00:00.005-05:00

With graduation approaching fast, and me being bored out of my mind with nothing to do (should I be studying for my last final? nah, not yet)...I've been craving a feel-good summery type movie.

Like Stand by Me, or Now and Then, or Heavyweights.

Yes, Heavyweights. Great movie. I used to have a "thing" for chubby boys.

I'm not even joking. I thought they were so cute, and most of the chubby boys I knew were funny. Hello!!! Two-for-two!

My mom was worried that I was going to bring home a man with high cholesterol and on the brink of a heart attack. I haven't yet :)

So here's some of my favorite clips from these movies. Enjoy!

Stand by Me

Now and Then

Heavyweights

Light as a feather

2010-05-03T10:00:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite slumber party memories with my girl friends when I was younger was playing games like "Light as a feather, stiff as a board." We would pick our culprit (normally it was the smallest friend) and gather around her body. With two fingers from each hand under our skinny little pal, we listened as the person at the head of the body rubbed the soon-to-be levitated girl's temples tell a story ( a scary one). In the story, the person would die, and then all of us girls would chant "light as a feather, stiff as a board" over and over.

Then we would giggle and have to start over, because our laughing broke our concentration and that was obviously the reason why our lightweight friend wasn't levitating in my basement at 3:00 in the morning.

Other times we would sneak in the bathroom and try the Bloody Mary trick - which was probably one of the most exciting/funny, but scarier moments during our slumber parties. (We didn't get much sleep at these parties).

We would huddle in the bathroom and turn off the lights. Then we would say "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary" through our tightly clenched teeth and squinted eyes. Unfortunately, we never saw Bloody Mary. I don't know what was wrong with us as children, but the thrill of seeing a child serial killer intrigued us. I blame scary movies.

After the absence of a Mary's apparition in the mirror, we resorted to biting down on Lifesaver's Peppermints. Ya know, the white ones. They spark in your mouth. You have to have the lights off to get the whole effect. Try it.

Then there was the Ouija board. My friend Hayley had one, and after we watched Scary Movie 2 one night, we decided to converse with a dead person. By the way, I recently watched Scary Movie 2, and can easily understand all the references. It's too funny!

Anyway, we got out the obituary section of the newspaper and tried to contact some dead lady. It didn't work. It never worked.

So why did we keep trying? It seemed like almost every slumber party we had, we tried to levitate someone of summon Bloody Mary to rip one of our faces off. We were thrill seekers. Luckily, nothing ever happened...or did it?? (Cue the creepy music).

Tag...I'm it

2010-04-29T11:04:00.003-05:00

Ms. Bibi at From Misery to Happiness tagged me yesterday in a photo post thing. Here are the rules:

#1 Go to your photo files and select 8th photo folder

#2 Select the 8th photo in that folder

#3 Post that photo along with the story behind it

#4 Tag 8 friends to do the same

This is a picture of my brother (Boyd), his wife (April), my nephew (Connor), sister Kyrstin, and her husband (Nick). We all take a family trip down to Milwaukee (every year) to catch a Brewers game at Miller Park. Last year we tailgated (for the first time) before the game. It was a lot of fun, and we're doing it again this year!! I can't wait. So here is part of the family enjoying the game.

8 Friends to Tag
-I'm not going to tag anybody in particular. If you'd like to do this though, GO FOR IT! :)

Happy Thursday!

Song in my Head

2010-04-28T18:20:00.004-05:00

This is going to be short, because I'm in the library working on my group project, but I needed to get a post out to my fellow followers. I know, you're very welcome.

Okay, so you know how you connect songs, or people, or even phrases to a particular memory or something else? And then you get this chain of memories which means something special to you. I'm being vague, but I know you know what I mean.

I have the song "You were always on my mind" in my head and whenever I hear it I think of Practical Magic. Then that movie reminds me of how badly I wanted to be a witch when I was little. Which then reminds me of Hocus Pocus. Then that movie reminds me of my cat Pookie :( RIP little guy!! He died about seven or eight years ago, but he was the only pet I ever had.

I could go on and do a pseudo six degrees of Kevin Bacon sort of thing, but I won't.

So there it is...my pathetic little post.

Two Days and Counting

2010-04-27T15:41:00.004-05:00

Thursday is my last day of Pizza Hut. Will I miss it? Yes...and no. I'm going to list, and hopefully not bore you, with what I'll miss and what I won't.

What I'll Miss
1. My co-workers - I love working with people my age! I will miss them the most. I sound like Dorothy talking to the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz..."I think I'm going to miss you most of all."

2. The environment - sure I smell like grease and pizza after I get done with my shift, but I don't have to dress up in a buttoned shirt and sit at a desk all day. I get to wear sneakers, a t-shirt, and I get my exercise...not to mention my toned arms from all that pizza lifting.

3. Food - I barely buy groceries anymore. It's the life...except I'm getting kind of sick of pizza. I've been switching it up though - wings, pasta, pizza, potato wedges, etc...

4. The customers - well, some of them.

5. The tips - it makes my day when someone leaves me a generous tip. Thank you tippers everywhere.

What I won't miss
1. Closing - staying after midnight and cleaning is not my thing. Ugh, and I close a lot.

2. The crabby customers - the ones that don't appreciate you. Hello? I'm serving you food, don't mess with me.

3. The non-tippers - If someone brings you food and comes back to check on you for refills and other things...tip them. I don't care if it's just a dollar. Actually I do. Try to tip 10-15%.

4. The group of high schoolers who come in an hour before close and order water for drinks. I know they secretly want pop, but they're too cheap to order it. Oh, and they don't usually tip.

5. Returning to my table and telling them that the cooks forgot to make their pizza, but it's in now and that I'll take the pizza off of their bill. Then when I give them their bill they wonder why they have to pay for the food that came on time. Are you kidding me? It's $7.00! Would you rather I put the pizza back on the bill and have to pay the $20.00??? No, I didn't think so.

6. The customers who say they are ready to order and then argue about what they want - "What do you want?" "Whatever..." "Okay, we'll have the supreme." "Ugh, not the supreme..." Seriously? So I say, "I'll give you a couple minutes." But no, they are ready now...sure they are...

7. People who order salads and then barely eat any of it. Did you know I had to go in the back and make that salad?? Did you know that I feel like I fall so behind after making you your perfect salad that the rest of my night gets thrown off? Especially if it's really busy, don't ask me to make you a salad. Because you won't get it right away.

Thursday is approaching fast, and I'm happy to be done and moving on, but I'm going to miss working at The Hut. It's been, by far, my favorite job.

Overwhelmed

2010-04-26T16:29:00.006-05:00

I have one thing left to do before the semester ends, and I don't want to do it. That is why I'm blogging right now. I would rather tell you about my weekend and Monday, instead of my homework.

So Friday I went golfing with some friends. We played Best Shot, and it was a lot of fun. I'm not a golfer (this was my second time) but I hit a few good shots. This picture is my first "Best Shot!"

Me, Slams the Door, and Riley

That night my friend Andrea and her roommate Brooke came down to Winona to visit me. We all went out to the bars and then took a taxi to Wisconsin. While in Wisconsin, apparently this woman lifted up her female friend's shirt and started sucking on her ta-tas!!! I didn't see it happen...I was too busy dancing to the horrible karaoke singers. But GROSS!!!!

I worked on Saturday and then on Sunday. Now I have one more day of Pizza Hut left. It's on Thursday.

Today in my last Pilates class it smelled like feet. Sick. Like really smelly shoes. I felt like I was exercising in the 19 Kids and Counting's shoe closet. By the way, that's a lot of kids. I'm just saying.

So as I'm in the shell stretch position, I'm trying hard not to take deep breaths in and out and in and out. Then I thought it would be better to breathe than die, so I sucked it up and started breathing again. You would think I would have gotten used to the smell, but I didn't.

Well, there's my weekend and stinky Monday for you. Now I have to read through a bunch of Curling rules (yes, the sport), because that is what my group decided to make a website about. Curling. I know nothing about Curling and they use weird words like sheet, stone, skip, hack, hog line...what the heck did I get myself into??

Everyone has a Twin, and Mine Lives in Winona

2010-04-23T01:32:00.004-05:00

Everyone has a twin...or someone who looks just like them, right? That's the rumor I've heard.

Lucky for me, mine lives in Winona. Yep, she sure does. A guy I work with has a sister who he claims looks just like me. Even his daughter thinks I look like her aunt.

His family came into Pizza Hut one night and they all said that I resembled her. I kept thinking, "Yeah, right." The next time they came in I asked to see a picture of his sister. He pulled out his cell phone and believe it or not, it was like looking in a mirror.

OH MY GOSH!!! I have a twin. She looks just like me...not even joking. I seriously need to meet her in the flesh, and take a picture with her. It's crazy!!

So then a couple of days ago, I ran into this guy on campus that I know and he said, "I was out this weekend and I kept running into a girl that looked exactly like you."

My first thought was that he ran into my Pizza Hut co-worker's sister. I'm guessing that is who he ran into...unless I have another person who looks like me. What if I'm a triplet? What if there are more Kinsey look-a-likes out there? Freaky....haha, freaky Friday. (Okay, that "Freaky Friday" was lame, but whatever, I'm leaving it in)

May you all have a freaky Friday.

Wednesday Musings: Take Six

2010-04-21T14:09:00.004-05:00

I'm watching Away We Go and I love it. John Krasinski is such a cutie, and Maya Rudolph can do more than just SNL. I would buy this movie...it's that good.

I feel like I need to see a Brewers game really soon, or else I'm going to hurt someone. I hate not being able to watch their games on TV. I can watch all the Twins games I want though...yay *sarcastic*

My sister and her boyfriend gave me a Lego Ewok figure for my keychain. His name is Wicket, and I think I love him.

Since VideoLand is going out of business I bought three more DVDs: Fanboys, The Savages, and Sideways.

I've been actively applying for jobs and I got an email from a Dental Office in Woodbury saying that they are currently in the application review process, and they will be contacting "highly desirable candidates" for an initial phone interview in the next two weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

I am making fat people fatter

2010-04-20T19:42:00.004-05:00

It's true, it really is, and I want to stop it.

Here's my plan. I think that restaurants should close before 11:00 pm, because people shouldn't be eating after 8:00 pm anyway. It's not healthy.

Since I waitress, I am serving people large pan meat lovers pizza at midnight. I am making them FAT!!!

I need to write to Obama and have him pass a bill or whatever to close restaurants earlier.

We need to join the fight against obesity!!! I don't care if people get the munchies or need drunk food after bar close. We can leave Erbert's and Gerbert's and Jimmy Johns open, because when you eat it you're not compromising your arteries.

As an added bonus...I wouldn't have to work until 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday nights. Which will make me very happy.

Am I a Bad Driver??

2010-04-19T13:03:00.004-05:00

I never thought I was a bad driver until this year.

I've never gotten in a car accident...knock on wood, so therefore I must be a sensible driver in some way or another.

On Saturday night I was driving to my sister's house and I accidentally left my brights on while a car approached me - oops.

Yesterday I switched lanes without using my blinker. I also cut off the person right behind me when I did it - sorry.

Last night Slams the Door and I went to DQ. On the way back to our apartment I almost hit a bike rider - I didn't see her. Luckily, Slams the Door did. The female bike rider gave me the stink eye. My bad.

Does this make me a bad driver? Sort of.

I don't drive like this all the time. I think it comes and goes. We all have those moments, and mine just happened to me all in one weekend.

And when I have my little nieces and nephews in the car with me, I am 3x a better driver. I promise.

P.S. I don't text and drive, so there are worse drivers out there than me. I'm not that kind of stupid.

Miles for Matty 5K

2010-04-17T10:53:00.003-05:00

This morning I got up and ran a 5K after a long night of waitressing last night. I was so tired! I didn't get home until 1:15am and I didn't fall asleep until 3:00am. Then I woke up at 7:30am and ran 3.1 miles!! :)

The 5K run/walk benefits Matty's Place: Children's Advocacy Center in Winona.

"Matty's Place will strive to facilitate comprehensive, community based services for children in Southeastern Minnesota, ensuring their safety, permanency and well being, while supporting and strengthening their families. It will provide a neutral, child-friendly, home-like environment where a single, comprehensive investigative interview can take place with cases of alleged child abuse and neglect."

You can find more information here.

So that is what I ran for this morning.

And I ran the whole thing...despite my convincing thoughts of how relaxing and nice it would be to walk. But I didn't. I listened to my iPod and ran, and ran, and ran.

There was this one kid who ran without shoes on! Ummm, hello? That's disgusting and very dangerous. I've seen him run shoeless before in a 5K I ran two years ago in Winona. He's a cross-country runner. I know this because he runs with two other boys (one of which is his brother...I think they are twins) and one was wearing a CC shirt.

They beat me too. Surprise, surprise...

I did pretty well this morning. I ran it in 27:19, and for only running one mile this week and two miles last week, that's pretty darn good. I think I finished in the top twenty-five...I lost track of the number of people who passed me ;)

Barely Missing the Rain

2010-04-15T14:04:00.005-05:00

I don't mean "miss" the rain like I haven't seen it in awhile. I mean that I'm literally, "missing" the rain, or it's missing me.

Last night I drove to the library to print off a dozen pages of Nutrition homework. I would've printed it in my apartment but I'm out of ink.

Just as I was leaving the library and walking to my car it started to sprinkle. When I got in my car it started to downpour! Oddly enough, when I arrived at my apartment it stopped raining (in five minutes time).

I went to my room and started working on my homework and guess what happened. It started raining again. Weird.

This morning, Tennis was canceled due to rain, so no winner yet on the roommate vs. roommate game. As I got ready for my 11:00 o'clock class it was raining outside. I switched my flip flops for sneakers, because flip flops tend to flip up the water from the sidewalk and freckle the back of my legs and butt with mud drops and wet spots.

Lo and behold, I leave for class and the sun is shining. What in the world is going on??

Maybe the rain knows that my hair looks horrible after it's rained on, and it was doing me a favor. In that case, thank you rain god.

There once was a man from Nantucket...

2010-04-14T18:08:00.003-05:00

Fair warning! I'm going to vent to you all.

There is this girl that I work with. I shall call her Fartha.

Fartha likes to tell the manager that she wants more hours. Yet, I get a text from her about once a week asking me to cover her shift.

I text Fartha, "On."

Then I text her again, "No."

Fartha also wants to become a shift manager. Thank goodness I'm graduating in a couple of weeks and won't be around to see this nightmare come true, if it does.

Somehow, Fartha has become a driver for Pizza Hut. She is not a good driver for Pizza Hut. Maybe she'll get better. I think she should stick to waitressing.

Then again, I like not waitressing with her...so Fartha should drive more.

Nope, nope, I can't even convince myself to like her as a driver, because I have to pick up her slack and do a ton of dishes at the end of the night just to help the poor driver who has to drive with her.

It's a vicious cycle.

Thursday is my favorite night to waitress. Somehow, Fartha got my shift. "I am angry. I'm like a large tornado of anger, swirling about." - Kicking and Screaming name drop.

On top of which, guess what happened!

Fartha texts me this afternoon. She said that she has a wedding to go to on Saturday and forgot to take off of work.

I think, too bad.

She texts, "Can you switch your Friday night with my Saturday night and I'll find someone to cover your original Saturday night hours?"

I think, no.

You see, I have a baptism to go to on Sunday, and I just called my sister today and told her I will be leaving on Saturday night after 8 to drive two hours to her house instead of leaving really early on Sunday morning.

Plus, I didn't want to give up my Friday night. I make glorious tips on Fridays.

So I texted her "no."

Fartha hasn't texted me back. Oh well, not my problem.

You Probably Don't Even Want to Know...

2010-04-13T14:59:00.007-05:00

But I'm going to tell you anyway.

Ever since I learned how to text using T9, I've had some texting troubles. Like today for example, I tried to type "tied" and it typed in "thee." In what century does my phone think I'm in where I would use "thee" in everyday texting conversations??? Another one that bothers me is "on" and "no." When I try to write "Heather," my phone interprets her name as "heavier." That's not good.

I think I'm dehydrated. Actually, I know I'm dehydrated. My urine isn't a Country Time Lemonade color like my Nutrition Professor says it's supposed to be. TMI?? You betcha!

Erbert's and Gerbert's think my name is ODENBURGH, KINZ. I spelled it for them too. Come on people.

I refilled my Best Buddy at Kwik Trip yesterday with Diet Dr. Pepper. It didn't have the same effect on me as the Mountain Dew, thank God!!

Slams the Door and her doubles partner played me and my partner in Tennis Class today. We are tied 3 games to 3. Our Set will continue on Thursday. Who will be the winner?? Honestly, I don't even know.

This One Time in High School...

2010-04-12T17:06:00.003-05:00

A few posts back I mentioned that I was suspended from high school for two days. Not my proudest moment. You can find the little tidbit here: Terri Clark, I Wanna Do It All Too

So here's the story...

It was the annual FFA/SSS Lock-In at our high school. I was a senior hanging out with my guy friends, since none of my girl friends were able to attend. I blame those girls for my downfall.

The night was spent playing Halo in the Agriculture room, until Kory got mad at me for not being able to kill enough animated war lords, or whatever. I couldn't handle two toggles at once, give me a break! I grew up playing NES, Sega, and N64 - My Yoshi could do laps around you in Bowser's Castle, so stop yelling at me for running around in circles with my gun in the air!

Before I get too far with my story, let me describe the guys that walked the lonely hall with me to the principal's office at 5:00am :

Mitch - my boyfriend at the time. A junior.
Kyle - Senior. Mitch's cousin.
Gary - Senior. Strong football player.

We were all good students and we all have never been in trouble before. I belonged to SSS, as did Mitch. SSS stands for Students Supporting Students. Our group is about making good decisions to lead a healthy and happy life. I was the president. Ironic.

Kyle and Gary belonged to FFA. It used to stand for Future Farmers of America. Now I don't think it stands for anything, but you get the idea.

So the night progressed and I played Scrabble with Mr. Fred (the chaperon for the night and adviser for FFA), and a couple other students. The boys kept busy in the computer lab playing poker or something.

But then that got boring, so I joined the guys again and played online poker. Later, we moved to the gym and played half-court lightning, 3 pointer lightning, and then regular free-throw lightning. The gym emptied (since it was around 3:00am) and Kyle and I started a game of badminton. We volleyed the birdie back and forth when all of a sudden things got interesting.

This is where the story gets fuzzy...someone (either Gary or Scott-who you don't know about because he didn't take part) said, "Hey Kinsey, you know how to get above the locker rooms right? We should go up there."

"Sure!" I said without thinking. I mean, hello, I've been up for almost 24 hours. I'm past the point of making smart decisions. Did you know that someone who has stayed up as long as I have is almost as dangerous a driver as a drunk person?? Well, now you know.

So Mitch, Kyle, Gary, and I went to the laundry room and found the crawl space that leads above the girl's and boy's locker rooms. I've been up there before with some friends during high school (doing nothing but innocent things - HONESTLY! I swear. We were immature, but not stupid. My friends and I would go up there after school and talk about how we would leave a keepsake time box and fill it with our pictures and other memorabilia) so I knew how to enter.

It's a small opening in the ceiling, so Scott couldn't come up with us. The boys hoisted me up first and then Kyle, then Gary, then Mitch. I warned the boys to stay along the brick path and Kyle and I made it to the girl's side.

Then it happened. My heart stopped beating when I heard Gary say, "Oh shit!" That mixed with the sound of drywall breaking didn't mix well. Gary's foot went through the ceiling of the girl's locker room. Unfortunately, there were two girls in there screaming as they watched this gigantic foot hanging in front of them. Obviously, Gary didn't stay on the brick path.

I jumped down through the closet in the locker room. Kyle followed. Mitch escaped the way we entered, and Gary finally made it down. The piece of ceiling drywall hung there like a hangnail.

Gary quieted the screaming girls down, but it was too late. Students started pouring in the locker room. We panicked, but got them all out. What were we going to do??? I thought we could tape it back up with white athletic tape. We tried, and failed.

We decided that I needed to tell Mr. Fred what happened. We would lie instead of tell him we were up in the ceiling, because that would be much better and he will never find out. Ugh, boy were we wrong.

The worst part was our lie: "Ummm, Mr. Fred. I was in the locker room walking to the bathroom, and um, well, the ceiling, the ceiling just fell. Yeah, it just fell," I told my blank-faced teacher.

"Show me," he said.

So I did. I knew he didn't believe me. My stomach was in knots!!! After he excused me from the locker room I went off with Kyle and Gary to the computer lab. Mitch went to the gym.

Mr. Fred caught up with me in the hallway as I went to the bathroom (for real this time) and said, "Do you think I have stupid written on my forehead?"

"No," I whimpered then broke down and cried. Apparently Mitch told him the truth. Which is what we should've done in the first place. Then I told him the truth. Mr. Fred called my SSS adviser and then the principal.

Our principal had to come in at 5:00am and gave each of us two out of school suspensions. We also had to pay for the damages done to the girl's locker room ceiling, and do janitorial community service after school. It sucked. Big time.

The funny thing about it (besides the obvious funny incident of Gary's foot going through the ceiling) was that my SSS adviser mentioned to Kyle earlier that night that he reminded her of Bender from The Breakfast Club. Although it was Gary's foot that went through the ceiling and not Kyle's, the comparison was uncanny. If you've been living under a rock and aren't familiar with The Breakfast Club Bender falls through the ceiling. Now go watch the movie.

And when we walked down the quiet hallway, the four of us, we sort of felt like the group from The Breakfast Club. It was a little comforting.