NaBloPoMo - Dream house

The question for today is

Would you buy your dream house if the price was right, but you also were told it was inhabited by ghosts?

This question makes no sense for me, because "not haunted" is one of my top ten criteria for dream house. Right along with (in no particular order):

• Not near a cemetery



No. Freaking. Way.

• Not built on an ancient Indian burial ground
• Not infested with snakes
• Not lacking central air
• Not having well water
• Not without an available cable connection
• Not split level
• Not too far away to shops and businesses
• Not on too much land to shovel/rake

So, no, regardless of price, I would not buy a house that was haunted - because it's not my dream house.

It's more like a nightmare.

NaBloPoMo - Favorite place to blog

I occasionally blog at work. I find it relaxing to step outside the craziness on my desk and take some time to focus on writing.

When I'm home, I'll blog anywhere. The sofa, my bed, the deck. The one thing I don't like is a lot of noise distracting me. Mostly my home is quiet, and I can go anywhere and find enough peace to crank out a little inspiration.

When I hit a blogging wall, I usually turn on the TV, or get out of the house to distract myself. Going to the gym, or a walk, or just a drive will clear my head enough and get me back on track.

Of course, then I'm not near my netbook. That's when I start sending emails to myself on my phone with blog ideas.

NaBloPoMo - Favorite quote

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love a good quote. I speak in quotes often, and can come up with something that applies to just about any situation.

My inspiration for quotes? Maya Angelou, Marilyn Monroe, Sex and the City, George Carlin, Disney, and movies - to name a few.

I have two favorites (actually, I have more than that, but I'm picking two)...

"There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~ Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Why is that my favorite? After my divorce, I decided I needed to do take the gagillion framed photos of me and X off the walls. Replacing the pictures was easier than removing the hardware and spackling and painting, so I headed to a booth at a local craft fair, in search of replacement art.

I found this quote on a painted wooden plaque. I hung it in the hall, where I see it every morning when I leave my bedroom.

Most of us don't give ourselves enough credit for being brave, strong, or smart. I was one of those people - and this quote reminds me I deserve more credit.

My other favorite quote?

"Here's all you need to know about men and women: Women are crazy, men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid." ~ When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops by George Carlin

Why is that my favorite? I've been divorced and dating for nearly four years, and I haven't found a more accurate way to describe the relationship between men and women.

Seriously.

Guess my number

From Shush Shoes Facebook Page

No, not that number. The number I want you to guess is way more embarrassing.

I switched my shoe wardrobe from spring/summer to fall/winter the other day. Yes, I have so many pairs of shoes that I have to box/store half the collection just to keep it manageable.

Which got me wondering how many pairs I actually have; so, while I was moving stuff around, I counted.

The number is a little embarrassing, really. Almost too painful to write.

So, I'm going to let you do the writing. Leave a comment for me below with your guess for the number of shoes I own. I'm talking an all-in number - dress shoes, work shoes, event shoes, slippers, flip-flops, sneakers. Everything.

The person whose guess is closest to the actual count will win this lovely Sephora makeup bag filled with goodies I've collected from shopping at Sephora.com, and also Birchbox.com.*

Comment whenever you like, but to be eligible for the contest, you must comment before noon on Friday, September 21. Comment as many times as you like, but only your first guess will be counted for the contest. Make sure you either sign in with contact information, or check back to see if you won so you can get in touch with me.

*Please note the Sephora makeup bag was free with my last online purchase. Online purchases from Sephora also yield a crap-ton of samples, and Birchbox is a service to which I have a paid description. So the samples were either paid for by me, or free to me as a result of a purchase. Neither Sephora nor Birchbox paid me to mention them in this post. I just like their stuff and have a whole lot of it laying around. 

Who, me?

I puffy-pink heart Baking Suit for many, many reasons. Her love of shoes, her sunny way of looking at life, her WTF feature, and the fact that she always brings me baked goods are just a few of my favorite things about this fabulous lady.

One of her favorite bloggers gave her an award....which she has passed on to me. I'm not sure why - but I certainly appreciate the thought!

As a recipient, I agree to:

1. Thank the blogger who gave it to me, and share a link back to her awarding blog. {Done}
2. Name five fabulous moments in my life.
3. Name five things that I love.
4. Name five things that I hate.
5. Pass the award on to five deserving bloggers.

Here we go....

Five Fabulous Moments
* Signing paperwork to purchase my house on my own
* Buying my own car (without a husband or a dad cosigning)
* Hosting a rather successful fundraiser
* Earning my CPCU Designation.
* The moment I realized I had an awful lot to live for, and I could do this on my own.

Five Things I Love (Like Baking Suit, my list does not include family, friends, or kitties, which are all givens)
* Chocolate
* Derek Jeter
* Sushi
* Shemar Moore
* Shopping

Five Things I Hate
* Ignorance
* Cooked Carrots
* Animal Cruelty
* Bigotry or discrimination of any kind
* Spelling and grammatical errors

Five Deserving Bloggers (To whom I'm passing on this award)
* Amanda
* DerryX
* Angela
* Stephanie
* Girl's Got Shine
(I spend a lot of time at timesunion.com/blogs when I should be working!)

Thirty Days of Me: Day Thirty

The challenge for day thirty.... A photograph of yourself today and three good things that happened in the last thirty days.

The best thing that happened in the last thirty days was my birthday party. As a member of the Cornerstone Group, which handles all the fundraising for Girls Inc., I participated in a challenge to host a mini-fundraising event in July. I chose to host a charity birthday party.

Several of my friends donated items from their businesses, including:

Stella & Dot
Madison Handbags
Thirty One
Ambiance Florals & Events
Partylite
Avon
Mr. Subb

A lot of my friends joined together and helped me celebrate by coming to my party, and/or making a donation to Girls Inc. as their gift to me. Baking Suit helped me a ton, and deserves a lot of thanks, and credit, as does my friend who helped me get a food donation (She's got an in with the food broker).

What else happened this month?

I freaking love these shoes. Thanks again, Baking Suit.

Well, there was the actual birthday, which I spent with wonderful company. We went on a boat ride, had a wonderful dinner, and I got a nice surprise. I also got some fabulous presents from friends and family, in addition to the donations.

I went on vacation. I spent my vacation raising a bunch of money for Girls Inc. ($588 thankyouverymuch!), attending smAlbany (and being interviewed about the experience), and waking up to a play-doh breakfast prepared by my favorite two-year-old. I spent some time with my Little, and visited the Vanderbuilt Mansion in Hyde Park. I even had a milkshake from Dairy Queen!

It wasn't a romantic vacation on a beach in Mexico - and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

In the last 35 years, science has given us things like cell phones, digital music, and cloning.
But this stuff still smells as bad as it did in 1977. What the hell?

I'm skipping the photograph of myself. You've gotten plenty of those over the last 30 days, and the pictures from my vacation are much more fun to look at, anyway.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Twenty Nine

The challenge for day twenty nine.... Something you never get tired of doing.

You know where I was going with this, don't you? But this is a family blog (sorta). So....

This. Blogging is something I never get tired of doing. I love to write, I love to share, and even though I'm not terribly successful - I'm satisfied with what I've done so far.

This is also not the only blog I author. So when you notice a lag in posts here - it's usually because my attention is focused elsewhere. It never means I've stopped writing.

I don't expect that will ever be the case.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Twenty Eight

The challenge for day twenty eight.... Your favorite movie.

No man is a failure, who has friends.

This isn't easy. I love a lot of movies, for a lot of reasons.

I love anything by Kevin Smith because his dialogue is smart, funny, and relatable.

I love Sex and the City (the first movie) because it really helped me through a difficult time, by teaching me that friends really can help you get through anything.

But the movie I love the most? Probably It's a Wonderful Life. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I watch it, or with how many different people; on the big screen, or on my teeny, tiny television at home. Every time I see the movie, it brings back fond memories, of decorating my tree, while the dog slept in the corner.

It reminds me that no matter how bad things seem, you never really know when life will turn around and get better. The catch is - you have to hold on.

And it reminds me that no matter what - if you have friends who love you, you really are as rich as you'll ever need to be.

     And literally every time I watch the end....I cry happy tears.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Twenty Seven

The challenge for day twenty seven.... Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs.

I don't have an iPod anymore; I never bothered to replace the one that was stolen three years ago. I don't really listen to music that often.

When I do - it's usually Pandora. So when I put my homemade Pandora station on, these are the first 10 songs that played:

You Don't Belong - Daughtry
The Way I Are - Timbaland
By the Way - Hinder
Piece of Me - Britney Spears
I'll Be - Edwin McCain
Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band
Pop - NSync
L.O.V.E - Ashlee Simpson
Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season - Jimmy Buffet
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

What?

Thirty Days of Me: Day Twenty One

The challenge for day twenty one.... A photo of something that makes you happy.

Well, this should have gone up Sunday, July 22. Shucks. I got distracted.

Kitties make me happy. My kitties in particular. When they're sleeping, they really make me happy. It means they're happy and content - and not throwing up on my quilt.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Eighteen

The challenge for day eighteen.... Something you crave a lot.

Well, that's a loaded question.

In no particular order...

Sushi
Chocolate
Caffeine
New Shoes
Mexican (ummm...food)
Sun
Peanut Butter

....and occasionally, now I crave exercise. I blame Baking Suit.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Seventeen

The challenge for day seventeen.... Your celebrity crush.

Hardly a challenge.

Always my number one.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Fifteen

The challenge for day fifteen.... Something you don't leave your house without.

I don't ever leave my house without my phone. If I accidentally did - I'd turn around and go back for her. Seriously. I've been late to work for that very reason.

Everything is on my phone. My contacts, including mailing addresses; my shopping list; my journal; notes to myself; my to-do list; facebook and twitter (not just for me, but for clients as well); my calorie counter; my camera; pictures; videos.

I access my bank account, various email accounts, and my favorite web sites. I use the phone to find directions, pay bills, calculate tips, and find movies (and buy tickets). I've used the phone to shop for shoes, and look at online dating sites - so, I've also shopped for men. You can probably guess which works out better for me.


As I understand it - I can even use this little thing to make phone calls!

Why would I ever leave home without all that in the palm of my hand?

Thirty Days of Me: Day Fourteen

The challenge for day fourteen.... A TV show you're to which you're currently addicted.

There are several. I love Criminal Minds, Bones, Rizzoli & Isles. I can't get enough of a good crime drama.

My classic favorites are Friends, Charmed, and of course - Sex and the City.

But the one show I love, and can't get enough of, past or present?

Bazinga!

Thirty Days of Me: Day Thirteen

The challenge for day thirteen.... Your favorite musician and why.

I basically listen to whatever is on the radio. My CD "collection" is a handful of CDs that were in my car when the rest moved in with X, and a few mixed CDs given to me by friends (which are mostly what I listen to when the radio isn't cooperating). I don't have a music player.

But if I look at my collection, I guess I'd have to say my favorite is Bon Jovi. I know, I know, people don't like them that much, and I'm dating myself. Whatever.


I've liked their music for over twenty years a long time. Older songs bring back (mostly) happy memories; newer songs are uplifting and meaningful to me and my life now. Unlike other bands of their time, Bon Jovi has grown (musically, at least). They don't just keep releasing live CDs, or greatest hits - they write new music, and lyrics that matter to an aging generation of fans.

Plus, Jon Bon Jovi has been with the same woman since he was in high school. If that's not worth some loyalty, I don't know what is.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Eleven

The challenge for day eleven... What's in your makeup bag?

"There is no such thing as natural beauty."
Truvie, Steel Magnolias

First, it's important to note: I don't only have one makeup bag. How much makeup I'll need depends on how long I think I'm going to be away from the house. For the purposes of this post, I'm focusing on what is in the makeup bag I take with me everyday.

• Eyeliner (2 colors)
• Eye Primer
• Eye Shadow (for touchups only, not my base colors)
• Blush
• Finishing Powder
• Brushes to apply it all

Thirty Days of Me: Day Ten

The challenge for day ten.... A photo of your favorite place to eat.

If they serve this - I'm there.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Nine

The challenge for day nine.... A photo of the last item you purchased.

Steve Madden
Purchased here.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Eight

The challenge for day eight.... A song and photo to match your mood.

The song is... Stronger by Kelly Clarkson. Because that's how I feel - stronger, happier, and hopeful.

As for a picture....

What's stronger, happier, or more hopeful than rainbows and fireworks? Not a thing.

Thirty Days of Me: Day Six

The challenge for day six.... Photo of an animal you'd like to keep as a pet.

I mean really - could he be any cuter?