Exceedingly Mundane

This week’s topic: After the Honeymoon

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

Good question! I don’t think I have ever fallen “out of love” with an author. I do have a couple of authors that I used to read years ago that I just do not read any more. It’s not so much that I read a book that I didn’t enjoy, but more that my tastes have changed, and my reading has “evolved” a bit. I used to read a lot of Danielle Steele years ago, and my mom read her also. I loved buying a paperback of hers, so I could read it and then share it with my mom. I also used to really love Barbara Delinsky, and while I would still read her now, I just don’t ever think to check for her books at the library. I have so many other authors that I’ve discovered now to read, and many more I want to try, as well as new genres that I’ve found that I enjoy. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by an author I liked, and the book was so bad that I swore off them. I have done that with a new author, though. I read one Joyce Carol Oates book a year or so ago and hated it. I won’t read her ever again.

Happy Reading!

I posted a “Question of the Day” last week, about telephone etiquette. For whatever reason, my husband decided to do his once or twice yearly quick perusal of my blog (no, he doesn’t read it regularly. He might read it four or five times a year, I’m just being snarky this morning!) and he latched onto that post. He proceeded to tell me that was a great question, and that I should do a follow-up question. Since Tim always has great ideas, I had to ask his follow-up question! 🙂

So, let’s say someone calls your house or cell phone after hours. It might be later at night than you would normally answer the phone, or earlier in the morning. You answer, or you see on caller id it’s someone you know, maybe a family member or friend, so you answer the phone. But — you were asleep! Do you be straightforward and say “hey, I was asleep, you woke me up!” or do you immediately lie and act like you were awake or it was ok or whatever?

Tim is always the “I was awake, it’s fine” kind of answer. Me, I’m not so sweet. It’s not that I want people to feel bad, but I am a girl who loves my sleep. If I’m asleep and the phone wakes me up, I’m usually pretty grumpy. Even if I wasn’t, I’m usually too sleepy to put together cohesive thoughts and fabricate a lie. I won’t jump out and scream “good grief, you woke me up!”, but I will admit it if someone asks. Tim won’t however. It’s funny, though, because people can usually tell. They usually call him on it and say “you WERE asleep, I can tell!”.

So, how about you? If some one calls you while you’re asleep, just to chat or ask a question, not an emergency, do you tell them you were asleep? Do you automatically lie and say “it’s ok, I was awake”. Or do you care?! 🙂

Thanks Tim, for stopping by my blog, reading it and giving me a Question of the Day! I love you, sweetheart!

Lynne tagged me a few days ago with this fun meme about blogging. Her post is here 🙂 Thanks Lynne!!!

How long have you been blogging? A little over three years – I just had my 3 year “blog-aversary” on February 3.

What inspired you to start your blog, and who are your mentors? We had our website set up and running for about 6 months. We had forums where I could post and ask questions (trivia, talk about movies, tv shows, girlie stuff, etc), we have a section for storing recipes, a section for posting reviews like book reviews, a photo gallery for sharing photos, and even a journal section where I could write journal entries, like an online diary. But– it is all very compartmentalized. I wanted a free-form way of doing all of this. I wanted a way it could be just for me, not for the entire website. And I wanted to try something different. I got to surfing around and found out about the concept of a blog. The rest is history 🙂 Oh, and no mentors really. Although I had found a couple of blogs I liked and sort of knew what I wanted to do with mine.

Are you trying to make money online, or are you doing it just for fun? Just for fun. We do have an Amazon Associates thing setup, but that’s mostly at the main site. I do have it on my sidebar, but I don’t think anyone has ever used it! I don’t do a pay per post thing and won’t be headed in that direction in the future.

What three things do you love about being online? Being online – everything is at my fingertips. I can check the weather, our bank balance, pay bills, look up movie actors, song lyrics, read cooking forums, find recipes, look up people’s thoughts on books, order library books, get movies from Netflix, etc. Anything and everything. When my computer is down or our Internet is out, I’m totally and completely helpless. Dead in the water 😀

Chat and IM? I used to, but not much anymore. Mostly email.

Tag I won’t tag anyone specifically, but please feel free to play along. Let me know if you do, so I can come check out your answers! 😀

It’s Monday, so that means it’s time to plan and post the weekly menu. Such as it is 🙂 Head on over to Laura’s blog over at OrgJunkie for lots more menu ideas and even recipes. Thanks to Laura for hosting this every week!

Here’s what I’m looking at… as always, this is subject to change during the course of the week 🙄

Sunday – we had Chinese take-out, yummy!

Monday – Pork Chops in the crockpot (with that wonderful stand-by, low-fat cream of mushroom soup all over them!), butterbeans, rice or salad

Tuesday – Crockpot BBQ chicken, baked beans, mashed potatoes

Wednesday – Crispy Ginger Ale waffles, turkey bacon

Thursday – Valentines Day… Tim will grill us a steak and we’ll have baked potato and salad most likely 🙂

Friday – Tacos or maybe Black Bean Chili with cornbread. Then again, it could be a date night!

Saturday-Sunday – TBD

Well, what’s a girl to do when there’s no new questions posted over at Friday’s Feast? After all, I’ve been playing along over there for a couple of years now. So, I thought I’d babble a little about what’s going on with me, and incorporate that into a “Question of the Day”.

I’ve had a sore throat for the last couple of days. Some congestion and coughing, but nothing too serious. Not serious enough to go to the doctor for drugs. Just serious enough to bug me and for Tim and Beau to get tired of me being sickly and whiny. Yes, I’m whiny when I don’t feel well. 🙂 Anyway, I have been keeping up with most of the work around here, laundry, cleaning, some cooking and running errands. I think I’m going to take today and veg though. I did some yesterday. I sat down and watched some cooking shows I had on the DVR. I still have ALL of the Jane Austen movies from PBS on the DVR and I haven’t watched a single one. So, I’m hoping today to curl up on the couch and watch one. That’s not normal for me, though.

So, how about a “Question of the Day“, along these lines. Do you or your family ever plan or end up spending the day in your pajamas? This could be whether you’re sick, just needing a mental health day to yourself, or you plan a day to stay home and do family things together, in your PJ’s.

Oh, and just to clarify – I won’t be in my PJ’s. That seems to be something I cannot do. I will have to get a bath and get dressed. I also make the bed, every single day, 365 days a year. I won’t curl up in bed, or stay in my PJ’s all day, but I do hope to veg some on the couch later. 🙂

So – how about you? Do you ever take a day to just chill out and catch up on movies, books, reading, etc. Do you let everything else go? Do you only do this if you’re really sick or your kids are sick? Leave me a comment and let me know!

This week’s topic: But, Enough About Books

Okay, even I can’t read ALL the time, so I’m guessing that you folks might voluntarily shut the covers from time to time as well… What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

Well, that’s an easy one! I like lots of other things. I also read magazines and have way too many subscriptions. I watch a ton of television. You could even call me a TV junkie. 🙂 Normally, when the shows are all on, we might have 2 or 3 shows a night that we watch. We also love movies. We have been doing Netflix now for about 8 months and we’ve watched a ton of movies. Tim likes to go to the theater to see movies, which is fun, but the practical side of me prefers to stay home and rent them. Much cheaper, and my popcorn is healthier 🙂 I also love taking photos and playing with my camera. Needless to say, the computer sucks up a lot of my time. Blogging, reading blogs, browsing online shopping sites, playing games (lately, Text Twist), surfing cooking sites and gleaning recipes, etc. I do like to cook and bake, usually, but I go through phases with that. Beau gets a lot of my attention. We used to walk regularly, but Tim injured his knee and we haven’t been able to walk a lot. It’s starting to heal, we hope, so I’m hoping we get to walk with Beau more often. Beau loves to play out back, play ball, chase birds and squirrels and cats. When the weather is nice, I like to just sit outside with him and enjoy the sunshine.

There, that was a boring answer! 🙂

I’m recycling some old questions from the early years of my blog. You know, back when I only had 2 or 3 readers (Hello to my sisters!).

Today’s “Question of the Day” is all about telephone etiquette. With so many people carrying cell phones and being “available” with it 24×7, I think some people’s views of what’s acceptable with phones has changed. I know a lot of people have disconnected their home telephone and just use their cell. I know I see people, every single day, talking in every imaginable place in public – in their car, in the store, at a table in a restaurant, etc. So…

What time of day is too late to telephone someone? Or too early? Do you have a set time that you don’t usually telephone others before or after, or that you prefer that others don’t call you? Say, 8 AM and 10 PM? 6 AM and 11 PM? Or are you always open, always available? What if you’re at dinner with your family, do you still answer the phone? In the middle of a movie? What guidelines do you use for yourself and your family as far as the telephone goes? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Lynne posted this “Two Things” Meme on her blog last week (original post, here), and I thought I’d play along! Thanks Lynne!

Two names you go by… Stace and Boogie (do NOT ask!)

Two things you are wearing right now… Sweatpants and a t-shirt

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship… have trust and commitment

Two of your favorite things to do… read and watch tv/movies

Two things you want very badly at the moment… chocolate and a good night’s sleep

Two pets you have or have had… Sally (the golden retriever) and Beau the wonder dog

Two things that you did last night… watched an older movie and played Text Twist

Two people you think will fill this out… no idea!

Two things you ate today… oatmeal and coffee so far!

Two people you last talked to… Tim and Gail

Two things you’re doing tomorrow… going to the grocery store and doing laundry 🙂

Two longest car rides… to Colorado when I was nine years old and to Washington DC with Tim

Two favorite holidays… I guess Thanksgiving and Christmas, but let’s break with tradition and say Super Bowl Sunday and Christmas Eve 😀

Two favorite beverages… Coke Zero and orange juice

Two people no longer alive who you’d like to talk to… my mom and my grandma Presh

I won’t tag two other people, but if you decide to play along, be sure to let me know!

We’re still in a post-Super Bowl haze, post party weekend mood around here. Sort of a Manic Monday, to say the least. 🙂

We had a great weekend, busy, but fun. Friday night was date night and we finally went to the new P.F. Changs that opened last fall really close to our house. We called about 5 PM and they had reservations booked through 9 PM, but we went ahead and got on the list anyway. We had a great meal – appetizer (Sizchuan style chicken flatbreads), two entrees (spicy chicken for Tim and Shrimp with Candied Walnuts for me) and then, as if that wasn’t enough, Tim wanted to get dessert and coffee. We splurged and got their 6 layer “Great Wall of Chocolate” cake with raspberry sauce. Suffice it to say, we were stuffed! It was delicious though, and I look forward to going back and trying more items on their menu. Saturday was spent going to several stores to get food for our party, and cleaning up the house beforehand. Sunday morning, we went to early church and then hurried back to start food. We had about 20 people here, at differing times, from 12 noon until after 10 PM. We 6 slabs of ribs, burgers, hot dogs, sausages and cheese, boiled peanuts, wings, potato salad, chips, veggie tray, Li’l Smokies, cheesesticks, cookies and hopefully everyone had enough and enjoyed it all. I know we did!

We were thrilled with the outcome of the game, of course! The last few minutes had most of us up on our feet, cheering, clapping, hi-fiving and everything else. 🙂

I haven’t planned a menu for this week yet, and probably won’t for a day or so. We have a little bit of food left that we’ll eat for the next day or two. I won’t plan meals until we’ve exhausted all that we bought and had. After we’ve cleaned all that out, I’ll probably fix breakfast food one night for dinner, maybe a pasta dish or maybe get Tim to grill out meat and me fix some veggies one night. I’ll be back next week with a “regular” menu. 🙂

Today is all about cleaning. My very small house is not really a place to entertain more than about 4 or 6 people 🙂 I have quite a bit of cleaning up to do. I’ll be pretty busy today and tomorrow getting everything cleaned up, and laundry done, etc. I’ll try to be back tomorrow with something interesting to blog about 😀

I didn’t take a lot of photos on Super Bowl Sunday, but I thought I’d post a couple. The ribs going on the grill, and poor Beau, who was confined to our little laundry room for most of the day. Pathetic, isn’t he?!

Well, this weekend marks the third anniversary of my little blog! We’ve had our website for a little over 3 1/2 years. The first few months, I was updating things on the website every day, but it wasn’t in a format I wanted to use. We had our forums, but I wanted a more free-form method of posting things: recipes, book reviews, quotes, funny stories, blurbs about movies and TV shows, photos, etc. Everything on Hambones is compartmentalized; plus, I wanted a space just for me. I did some digging around online and discovered the concept of a “blog” or weblog. I researched software, and after the holidays, got Tim to help me install WordPress and figure things out. I played with it for a few days, then posted my first post on Feb 3, 2005.

I thought it would run its course quickly. After all, growing up, I tried over and over to keep diaries and journals. I have a few left from my childhood and preteen days. They have faithful entries in early January, then they start thinning out. By February or March though, they are few and far between. By May, they are nonexistent. I thought the same would happen with my blog. I made myself a goal in the beginning to blog every day. Even if I just posted something that said, “nothing going on here, I can’t think of anything to blog about.”.

Little did I know how addictive it would become, how much I would enjoy it, or mostly -what a wonderful community I was joining. I’ve made so many blog buddies and gotten to know, in a cyber sort of way, so many wonderful people. I honestly feel like I know so many of you, after reading your blogs, peeking into your lives and families, likes and dislikes, seeing your photos, reading along to the things we have in common, and not. It’s an amazing thing, really.

I certainly never thought it would last this long, but here I am. And at this point, I have no desire to stop blogging. I can’t foresee how long I will do this, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it while it lasts 🙂

Happy Blog-aversary to my little blog. Exceedingly Mundane. You’ve really become a big part of my life 😀

Feast One Hundred & Seventy-Eight
Feb 01, 2008

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal? Ooh, I’m a cereal lover! I’d have to either pick Yogurt Cheerios, Raisin Bran Crunch or Special K Red Berries 🙂

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go? Hmmm, it’s been a while. Probably the new picture and scones with candles we got to put on the wall behind our couch

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen? I like those for Ford, when they talk about the voice-activated Sync system. The lady with the coffee yells “Door, Open!” and then runs into the plate glass door and splashes the coffee all over herself 😀 I wouldn’t say this is the funniest ever. I’d have to really work on my memory processes and try to find one for all time. Too much work, LOL!

Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey). OK, I’m terrible at these things. How about Cayenne Canines?

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______. I haven’t exercised regularly since before the holidays. Boo-hoo.