Crazy is normal for me

Lots of stuff floating around in my head recently - some of those items, in no particular order:

1. A House of Our Own: we put an offer on a house. Offer was accepted. Loan application well on its way. Closing date set.
OhgawdIfeellikeI'mgoingtovomit

2. My cousin's send-off party is Saturday. He's going to join the ranks of the United States Marine Corps. Military service is common in our family, but hasn't come up in our generation. He's the first. My little cousin...well, not so little anymore. I don't think my brain can process this properly. He's old enough? Seriously?! It seems like just yesterday we were watching Barney together.
Againwiththevommyfeeling


Here he is with his sister in '96 or so. I'd show you a pic of him now, but he'd probably stop speaking to me if he knew I posted it on my blog. So, I'm using my favorite one of them as kids. Muhahahaha!

3. I had a very rare snowball of anxiety clobber me a couple weeks ago that I couldn't shake before bed (oddly, not related to either of the items mentioned above).

Lesstalkylessvommyplease

* * * * *

I have this weird thing going on with a few of my toes. After ruling out poor shoe choice and bug bites, I turned to my trusty intarwebz to see what this could be. It left me with more questions than answers. ShankRabbit is convinced I have "the gout" (said in a very crotchety, old-man voice). Thanks for making me feel SO much younger, dear husband.

I'm convinced my second toes are protesting any and all shoes. They are the longest of the bunch - why do they have to be scrunched while the other toes get ample space to move around? Equal rights for ALL TOES!

...

...

Wow. I started this post talking about my moments of crazy and end with anthropomorphizing my toes.

This would be a good place to stop before any more crazy comes out.

(Let's hope the next month brings better topics of discussion)

FAIL

Our family is entertaining the idea of going on vacation this year...to somewhere other than our usual destinations. I spent a good portion of my day looking at possible vacation rentals. This required A LOT of website visiting.

Here's a hint to anyone selling their vacation rental (heck, selling ANYTHING) online - if your website sucks, you suck.

...

Ok, not really. But understand that it is 2009 and there is no excuse for having a website that looks like it was created at the dawn of the internet.

Example (name of town edited out of courtesy. I'm sure it's a great place...they just have dolts advertising it):


Figure 1


Figure 2


There are just so many things wrong with this site (the background...my god, the background!), I am not sure I'd have enough space to detail it all. Let's talk about a few of my favorite parts, shall we?

Figure 1
* "Spring Fling Deal" - I think the color combination just made me throw up a little in my mouth

* "Less, less fog, less crowded!" - Not just less fog, but LESS less fog. Fog is practically non-existent here. Alert the media!

Figure 2
* Look at the very right side of the picture. See where my scroll bar is positioned? This home page was by far the L O N G E S T I have ever encountered.

* "Sshhhh...'[town] Best Kept Secret!" - first you tell me to be quiet and then you yell? Make up your mind!

* "not to winding" - just....UGH! ((facepalm))


Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for letting me share this eyesore with you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Dear Mr. Clean,

How are you? I am sorry I haven't paid your Magic Eraser product much attention. We had a great run of me using it at every opportunity, but then life happened. I kept forgetting to buy more, so I used what I had on hand - cleanser and paper towels. Out of sight, out of mind.

I was then seduced by other "eco-friendly" options and thought they would clean anything and everything. Our first few dates were great...but then, as with any relationship, I got to know the REAL product (though I'm still a fan of baking soda for scrubbing the sink. Sorry).

My Rowenta "wouldn't-have-spent-this-much-if-it-wasn't-for-a-gift-certificate" iron was in serious trouble. It had terrible buildup that wouldn't come off. When ironing an article of clothing, it would stick to said spot. I took a picture of it for your reference:



Clothes don't iron themselves, so I had to find a solution. I checked the trusty intarwebz and someone mentioned using the Magic Eraser. So, I went to work.

A lot of elbow grease and 20 minutes later, I was impressed. Your product went above and beyond, Mr. Clean. Not only did it remove ALL of the residue, but there were no scratches or marks left behind. It's like it was never there in the first place.




I'm so sorry I didn't turn to you sooner. I'll never let it happen again.

Hoping you forgive me,

Isabella

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1. The "Before" photo mysteriously disappeared. Obviously, this one is doctored. The cows are in the correct placement of where the actual buildup was.
I would also like to state for the record that I do not condone ironing cows.

2. I was not given any sort of compensation for this review. I just tell it like it is.

Duct Tape

Today's post was inspired by receiving an "honorable mention" prize at Suburban Scrawl - a blue, green and white duct tape wallet, handcrafted by Melisa's son.

Funny that I would win this when just this past weekend, ShankRabbit's silver duct tape wallet (from Uncommon Goods, as seen here in all its new glory) bit the dust.



August 2005 - April 2009

Well, I wanted to see what things people have made with duct tape. You can purchase fashionable purses, guitar straps...or make your own dress/suit and submit it to a contest called "Stuck at Prom," sponsored by Duck brand duct tape.
You and your date make your prom attire out of duct tape and you could win a $5,000 scholarship (wow...where was this when I was in high school?!). If you click on the link you will see past entries - some basic, some super-intricate.

I'm thoroughly impressed...though I wonder how you'd manage in an outfit that has no ventilation whatsoever. Maybe they brought a change of clothes.

Twitter me this...

I have a few things I wanted to write about today, but that was eclipsed by what I just read on Twitter:



Twitter is "stressing out a bit right now?"

I'm sorry you're stressed out, Twitter. You know what, take a break today - put your 01100110011001010110010101110100* up, grab a cup of tea and relax. I know being a social networking service is one tough job.


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* - binary for "feet"...at least I think so.