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Weekend

Matt and I worked all weekend. Which sounds boring, but sadly, we like work, so it really wasn't. Honsetly, we did do a few other things. We walked probably about 15 miles total. We watched Trading Spaces 100 Grand as well as Alias. Both were fab-u-lous. We went to Target to buy TP and paper towels, but on two separate occasions. Hehe. And we ran some other miscellaneous errands like that.

We also tried to make butter toffee (link below) but that was a pretty big bust. Once I get a bit more butter, I'm determined to try it again. I want to get this right!!

I'm off again! I have to work and clean and run errands. It's very exhasting being me.

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Games You Play With Your Dog

We like to let may go to sleep (this is easy because she sleeps almost constantly) and then put a bit of fragrant food (she loves bread) right under her nose. It's quite amusing for us to see her wake up to the smell of her favorite food. Almost indescribably amusing and funny. Plus, she gets a nibble.

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Baseball Schmaseball

Can someone tell me who watches baseball on TV anymore? I know plenty of people who enjoy taking in a game on a nice summer afternoon, but watching it on TV? Is there anything more boring? Well, probably yes, but who can really count grass growing or paint drying?

Having said that, the powers that be are usually considerate enough to hold baseball games during non-prime-time TV hours. So while they may pre-empt Judge Judy or As the World Turns, nothing of any real viewing importance is lost.

But for some reason which remains a mystery to me, right when some of the best fall TV is coming on, baseball suddenly gets moved to prime time. Now I understand that these are “playoffs” and the “world series” and therefore theoretically 100 times more important than regular baseball, but 100×0 still = 0.

So I've Got A Few Suggestions for Baseball:
1. Limit the World Series to ONE game. We don't need a series. One game is painful enough. And maybe sudden death would be good. First team to score a point wins. That would take a few hours anyhow.
2. Let them play in the rain. If they melt, so be it, but I'll tell you a bitta slippin and sliding and butter-fingering balls, would surely liven up the game.
3. Next time those wussy career-whiners go on strike, disband the league and let 'em work go work at McDonald's.

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Catalogs

I absolutely love catalogs. It's like shopping, but you don't have to deal with annoying sales people who hover. You don't have to feel weird about browsing for hours and not buying anything and their an awesome place to get ideas for stuff you want to make.

I've gotten a couple of new catalogs recently. I think my favorite is Oriental Trading Company. It's filled with cheap stuff you can buy in bulk. A lot of it is chincy party favor sort of stuff, but man, if you're looking for good theme decorations (Tiki, Halloween, Jungle) it's definitely the place to go. I also got a really great beading catalog. It's got tons of neat beads you can't find just anywhere and other good findings.

And the best thing about catalogs … they're free!!

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Paint Fumes

This evening, I made the mistake of spray painting some Alotid and AOL tins in our sunroom. I know it sounds like a bad idea to begin with, but I opened all the windows and turned on the fan. But no. That stuff means business.

Two hours later and that stuff is only now gone. Blech. On the plus side, I've got perfectly silver tins, no junky logos on 'em.

I've had a good day today. I'm feeling much better and I've gotten tons accomplished. I like days like that.

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Matt's Weekly Rant

Students in England will no longer “fail” national standardized tests under new guidelines issued by the government, reports the Lincolnshire Echo. They will instead get an “N” grade for “nearly.”

People who grade tests have also been instructed to stop marking math questions as right or wrong, but instead use the terms “creditworthy” or “not creditworthy.”

The new guidelines come from the government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. They cover English, math and science exams taken by 7-, 11- and 14-year-olds in all state schools and some private schools.

Matt’s Rant
The grade of N (nearly) blows my mind. What if you get 4% correct. Do we call that nearly? Should you go home with the impression that you nearly passed if you failed to get a single question right.

I think the moron who came up with this plan mush have received an nearly in vocabulary. Maybe he got a nearly in math. That would explain why they will now mark math questions creditworthy or not creditworthy. You know, for all the partial credit you can get for 5+4=8, or does it equal 10. Is that creditworthy or is that nearly?

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Just One More Nice Weekend Please

All summer we had the best weekends ever. It didn’t matter if it rained or stormed during the week, it was always beautiful on the weekend. Now I have to admit, we didn’t always take advantage of these weekends. I think we even started to take them for granted. Now it’s fall and the weekends are cold, overcast and rainy. I just hope for one more nice weekend, doesn’t even have to be warm, so I we can one last bit of outdoor fun before the WI winters drive us deep indoors.

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A Lazy Weekend

Matt and I have had a very lazy weekend thus far. It's pretty cold out and so we've been staying close to home. I've been very crafty lately. Matt thinks I'm insane.

We did run a bunch of errands this morning though and we tried out a new restaurant for dinner. Sadly, it wasn't that great. It's called the Sushi Box and they had OK sushi. Their crunchy shrimp rolls weren't crunchy enough, but they were really well priced. We decided we'd probably go back for the sushi, but not for their entrees. They were very bland. The other highlight was that I got to try a Japanese beverage called Yogloo. It looked like strawberry flavored skim milk, but it tasted a lot better. They had other flavors too including mango.

Then Matt and I had a nice time watching some TV. Parenthood is such a funny movie!

OK. Bedtime.

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Guilty Pleasures

I don't do much in the ways of boozing and smoking. But I do have my guilty little pleasures. Most of them relate to the “boob tube.”

I don't really watch TV very often, but I like having the noise on and I listen to it fairly frequently. It helps to keep my mind flowing while I work. I actually work faster while I listen to TV. Especially if I'm programming.

So all this TV-listening is where my guilty pleasures arise from. Murder, She Wrote is undeniably more suited to the 60+ set, but I love watching it. In fact, it's what I watch while I work out. I remember watching it with my family on Sundays many years ago. Perhaps that's why I like it still.

Another guilty show that I might explain away as merely channel surfing, should someone walk in is 7th Heaven. It's sappy. It irritates me and I watch it anyhow. A little insult/poke fun track runs in my mind while I watch it. That goes double when I watch another guilty pleasure, the tween TV on The-N. Degrassi, the next generation and other tween junk. The acting is attrocious, but it amuses me.

My last guilty pleasure would be any made-for-TV movie about European royals. They're so fascinating and scandalous. I might even consider myself a minor Royal Watcher. This, of course, started with His Royal Hotness, Prince William. But really, I find all the royals fascinating.

Well, now my secrets are out. I guess I'll survive.

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I Missed It!!

I can't believe it. I missed the season premiere of Gilmore Girls! As it's one of the only shows I watch regularly, I've been looking forward to it. But I forgot to tape it when we left to go have drinks with friends, and we didn't get home 'til late. Boo! Hiss!

Oh well. It's not that bad. I'll nab it of Kazaa in a week. Speaking of which, I noticed they're putting Smallville on DVD. What's up with that??? Gilmore Girls has been on longer! I want it on DVD. I don't know how the industry can bitch about people downloading TV shows when they won't even put them on DVD for us to buy like good little consumers. Seriously. You can't have it both ways!!

Wow. I'm so tired. Good night.