The Cliff Notes of my Life

Because People magazine and the Enquirer don't think I'm newsworthy, I'm giving everybody the option of getting to know how I got where I am today.

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Wow...good deal!

Hey, I just got a coupon from CafePress...pretty good deal, but it ends September 1 (Saturday). Here's the details:

Coupon Code: FALLTEE2007

Offer: Save $15 when you purchase $75 or more on CafePress.com through 09/01/07*. Purchase price not inclusive of tax and shipping.

*Excludes button, magnet or mini-button orders (singles or multi-packs), bulk orders, taxes and shipping fees. Cannot be combined with any other offers, discounts or coupons. Valid through September 1, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

Here's the link for BrainLint.Net

Or, you can just browse CafePress.



I've also hand picked some Halloween Tees at HalloweenTees. Some of these are from CafePress, some from Zazzle.

Happy Shopping!

Wow...37 ?!?!?

Well, I have to say that "Heather Fest 2007" was a success. I slept in until 8:30 (yes, it's sad to say that I consider that 'sleeping in'), didn't change one diaper and showered in peace. Then I went off (in my hubby's Jeep Commander - no car seats) and went shopping. Bought some stuff at Target. Wanna see? Here's what I got: Just some boring old stuff...shoes (only 1 pair), notebooks (they were 10 for $1...couldn't pass them up), some CD's (see below), make up...and that's it.

Then I headed to Barnes and Noble. Got some coffee (my favorite...Iced Caramel Macchiato) and started to browse. By this time I was really totally immersed in the fact that it was so QUIET. And I didn't have to tell anybody to stop touching things, or use their inside voices. Nice. So, I bought some books. One really cool one that's a photo history of Carnegie. (bought that for the hubby). Stopped and bought an MP3 player for myself (which I did not have yet). Here's the one that I got:

SanDisk 1GB Sansa Express MP3 Player The 1 GB Sansa Express MP3 Player from SanDisk provides high-quality digital music playback. With its microSDTM slot, you can expand its storage capacity. The player offers 15 hours of continuous playback with its rechargeable lithium polymer battery. In addition, the Sansa Express player features a FM tuner with many preset stations and a built-in microphone to record your voice. The bright, 4-line OLED display and simple to use controls adds to your visual experience and offers easy navigation through the menus. The MP3 player supports MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV and Audible formats and provides USB 2.0 interface for easy transfer of files. Speak your style with Sansa Express MP3 Player the fusion of music, FM radio and voice recorder into one compact player!

I really like it. Now, of course, I'm wishing that I would have gotten 2 Gigs, but oh well. I'm having a ton of fun on Rhapsody filling it up with music. I have very scattered musical tastes. It's nice to have them all in one place. And Rhapsody seems to have pretty much all the stuff that I'm looking for. There were a few songs that I couldn't find (or had to pay extra for), but I pretty much got what I wanted. And I liked that when I got to 1 artist, there were similar artists listed on the side, so I could just bop right along. Anyway, if you want to try it, you can go here:



So, anyway, back to my day...I went to lunch and had a beer at the bar, then I decided to take the plunge. I went to the pet store and bought the kids their first pet. His name is Mackie and he is a beta fish. Baby steps. After I got home we had birthday cookie-cake and Tony made me dinner. I got to lay on the couch and read while he took the girls for a walk and gave them a bath. Sure was nice. I'm still a little in the 'relax' mode, though. Haven't paid too much attention to any sort of actual work that I'm supposed to be doing. But I have been cleaning the house :)

OK, all for now. Have a great weekend. And don't forget to go to the Shirts-N-At blog tomorrow to see the shirt of the week.

How bar owners could 'ice' the 10 percent drink tax

Wow...government should know that bar owners know how to jump thru loopholes. This is genius!!! Hey...95% of politicians are bad tippers...they deserve this!!! I love, love, love this!!! Seeing that I will be a bar owner in the near future, this just makes me happy. Damn taxes. Yes, we need to have bus service. But get the money someplace else. Here's the link to the story from this morning's Post Gazette

A new contest at Zazzle

Well, Zazzle is running a new contest. It's all about fake mascots (see here). I've created an entry. Go and check it out, give it some stars, leave a comment there. You'll have to have an account with Zazzle, but it's way easy to sign up...and if you uncheck the box, they won't send you a bunch of e-mail.

Randy the Safety Raccoon
by
hdowney

Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

So, go and check it out! Check out the other contest entries, too. They are always extremely creative!

Slacking...it happens.

OK, I have to just admit that I've been slacking on the blog. I'm full of excuses. Here are some:

• The kids wouldn't let me
• I had too much work to do
• My brain is going crazy because we are going to buy a bar (not exactly sure which one...or how)
• My house is a mess (although, I must note, I haven't really cleaned it...but when the house is a mess my brain doesn't think very clearly)

I could go on and on, but I won't

I will, however say this: Becca has been going to a summer program at her pre-school. (Ewing Hills in Collier Township---GREAT SCHOOL!) This is the second of two summer sessions, each lasting two weeks, five days a week. I must say, it's like a job driving her to and from school every day. I can't wait until Saturday! Granted, sometimes we carpool in the neighborhood. But there are only two of us with cars big enough for all the little chicks. And our friends both work, so I've done most of the driving (not complaining about that at all...once I'm in the car the chickies are quite entertaining!) So, I guess my point is that I'm glad that Becca will be riding on the bus once Kindergarten comes.

Another slightly notable event that is coming soon...my birthday. Now, I don't like all the fanfare and hoo-ha for my birthday. Not at all. But I do like my one tradition that I've had for the past four years (maybe even more). I get the day to myself. I call it "Heather Fest" (as opposed to the Mother's Day "Mom Fest" - which includes the family). I get to sleep in, then I get slightly prettied up (meaning I do my hair and make up) and head out to shop. Now, I don't go out and spend a ton of money. But I get my coffee and BROWSE. This year I might even go to Barnes & Noble and flip thru some books. By myself. No kids. And if there are screaming kids in the bookstore, I may duct tape their mouths. I will eat lunch by myself and have a glass of wine. I will not be social. No fake conversations, no fake smiles. This day will be mine, and mine alone.....well, until I come home later in the evening and the family sings :)

So, as I depart, I leave you with this...which just made me laugh hysterically. What a bunch of bullshit.

http://www.myheritage.com

Anti Steely McBeam Merchandise

OK, because everybody really, really, really hates this whole mascot thing (except maybe for people who aren't Pittsburgh fans...but screw them!), I've created some products that show our hate of our mascot. Maybe the Rooney's will get the big honkin' hint.

Go here to check it out. Here are some examples:

We all need to show how much we just hate the idea of this damn mascot!!!

End Steely McBeam

For all that is righteous and holy in this world, click to petition the end of Steely McBeam as mascot for our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Some General Stuff

OK, here are just a few things. First of all...when, exactly, did I become a grown up? All kinds of responsibility, cleaning toilets, caring for kids and falling asleep on the couch at 9:00 (like my mother). I'm sure it was a slow and gradual process. But I was a bartender until I had kids (in 2003), and I was a late-nighter. I'd be eating eggs at Denny's at 2:00 in the morning on a Wednesday. Now, the only reason I'm up at 2:00 am is to fill up a bottle (of milk). Although I love my kids and love being a mom, every once in a while I miss the 25 year old me. (Which, if I had to pick an age to stay forever--that would be it. But only if I could still have my kids...but that's an entirely different post. Anyway, took the family to one of my favorite places last week...Sarris candy. My four year old nearly passed out when she saw all of the stuffed animals. (She has a strange stuffed animal addiction). Of course, the chocolate is yummy....(mmm...peanut butter melt-aways) but they also have a nice selection of candies from when I was little. For example, we bought some 'flying saucers' (like communion wafers with little balls of sugar inside), candy dots on paper (you always end up eating some paper!) and gold rush gum. So, it was fun. There was a great crossing guard outside. Guess he's been there forever. The hubby bought him some chocolate, and the kids gave him big smiles. They also have an ice cream shop at the store, but we went right after lunch. If you're interested in going (can't believe you haven't been there!), here are the directions. OK, just had to share! If you go, have a great time...and tell them you read about them on my blog!