MzSerena’s Garden

Since it’s shopping season and no one has immeasurable wealth that *I* know, I figured I’d share one of my absolutely favorite websites. Mr. Rebates is absolutely fabulous. Coupon codes, plus rebates from most major online retailers. You can save money and earn money back at the same time.

I love the site and in the spirit of sharing, I figured I’d share it again since it’s been a while.

This is the story wherein I tell you why I hate shopping. I dislike crowds of people, but it’s more than that, really. Several years ago, when I was in college, my father picked me up in the city because we had to shop for Thanksgiving dinner. My mother wasn’t feeling well, so she hadn’t gotten to the store and it defaulted to me to do it. I didn’t mind, really, since all I had to do was pick out a Turkey and a few small items.

So, I go into Tops with my list and the money, pick up everything I needed and head off to find the birds. I find them and there are only two left in the freezer, so I check the weight to see which is closest to what they wanted, pick it up and have it halfway in my cart. Along comes this kind looking old man who attempts to take the turkey out of my hands. I kid you not, he grabbed it right from my hands and tried to pull it away.

I was absolutely dumbfounded, I couldn’t believe that a man his age would be so incredibly rude as to try to take something out of someone elses hands. I didn’t know what to say. He did not get the bird, however. I had a better hold on it than he did. I told my father about it when I got back to the car and he just laughed about it. Now, years later, it’s a great story we laugh about, but it left a lasting impression on me when it comes to shopping.

So now, unless I have absolutely no other choice, I grocery shop on days when the stores are most likely to be quietest. I also try to send Rob in when they’re busy and I stay out of any and all stores from about a week before Thanksgiving until after New Years Day unless I have to. Shopping online has become my favorite way to shop. Seriously.

Update post coming sometime soon… I promise

‘Twilight’ takes $70.6M bite out of box office

This doesn’t surprise me.  I do wish that more people would be far more tolerant of Twilight.  I keep hearing people whine and complain about the movie and books. They get bent out of shape because the vampires aren’t the same as what Anne Rice wrote about.  That’s because Stephenie Meyer is not Anne Rice.

I know the books aren’t the most fabulous work of fiction.  But really, in this day and age, what is? There are very few original ideas out there.  What matters is that people are reading books.  BOOKS.  Not playing games, not surfing the net, not causing trouble.  READING BOOKS.   This, my friends, is a good thing.

I love to look around at different websites for shopping. One of my favorite things to look at are funny t shirts. I don’t know why they amuse me so much, but they do. There are some that I’d never wear, ever. I don’t know why people would wear some of those shirts, they’re beyond offensive. But then again, some people just plainly don’t care, it seems.

You can tell that Christmas is coming quickly. Every time you look around, there are Christmas lights sparkling, twinkling, etc. I’ve seen them on houses, garages, shrubbery and even carports this year. It’s weird to think that there are people who decorate every single inch of space that they can.

Personally, I wish that people would at least wait until AFTER Thanksgiving to start. It seems like people have forgotten about Thanksgiving and go straight from Halloween to Christmas. Ugh.

With the Christmas shopping season on the upswing, everyone is trying to figure out what kind of gifts to get for the teenager on their shopping list. I know that, as the aunt of an 18 year old, it’s getting to be more and more of a struggle to figure out christmas gift ideas for him.. He’s always asking for things are out of reach or for things that his parents should be buying for him. One of the greatest gifts to give any teenager, however, would be an ipod.

There are so many sites that offer shopping information on the various iPods, so you can learn more about them before purchasing one. You can learn about the different features of the iPods so that you can pick out the best one for your particular teenager. You can even use the price comparison site to figure out where you can get the best price.

For instance, you can learn about the advantages or disadvantages of the iPod classic as compared to the iPod shuffle. These are the two iPods that I often think about when I think about purchasing a gift for someone. They are the most cost efficient choices, but they also have fewer features than the iPod nano and iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is the newest iPod and has all the features that anyone could ever want, and probably never need in an iPod including the ability to use different applications from the iTunes Store.

Hopefully the gift idea of an iPod will help you in your Christmas shopping.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Pete Wentz have baby boy

Congratulations to them.   Why is this such a big headline though? Don’t celebrities have babies every day? Oh right, Ashlee has a bad reputation, so she’s big news.  I wish people would get over it and move on.  Just because they’re celebrities, doesn’t mean they’re any different than you or I.

Money speaks volumes, even if you don’t say a word. That much is obvious from reading the entertainment headline.  Why? I just don’t understand it.  I will never understand it either.  Maybe if I was a celebrity, I would finally understand.  Nah, probably not.

I love when a plan comes together, I really do. I sent out a package on Wednesday to someone (not saying who! Sorry!) and it’s getting to the destination much quicker than I expected. Then again, when you pay nearly $11 to ship something that’s not really all that heavy or big even…

I’m thinking that it will either be delivered today or tomorrow. I’m expecting it to be tomorrow though. *ponder* I’m hoping for today, just cuz I’m not patient enough to wait another day for it to get there. *snicker*

I have a few crochet projects to post about too, but those will have to wait for another post. Right now, I’ve got to take care of some other stuff while Rob is at work.

Vampire fascination helps HBO to well-timed hit – Yahoo! News

You bet it’s well-timed.  With all the hype over Twilight, HBO was smarter than they’ve been in a long time when they chose to air True Blood.  Personally, I haven’t watched it yet.  I watched the first few minutes of the first episode and ended up having to go do something else.  I have read part of the book series, so I’m looking forward to being able to sit down and watch it.

Another well-timed show, I have to say, is Legend of the Seeker, which is loosely based on Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series.  In a time where sci-fi and fantasy is doing well in the market, Legend of the Seeker fits in well.  As does Valentine, which is basically about the  Olympic Gods and Goddesses living in modern times.

I think the tide is changing for television.  I think the days of shows like the Cosby Show and Full House is well gone, and now shows like Heroes and Medium are coming to the forefront.

Julianna Margulies says she won’t be back at ‘ER’ – Yahoo! News

With them bringing everyone they can back for the final season, I have to say I’m a tad disappointed by this news.  However, I’m incredibly proud of her for making the decision to leave the past as it was.  I don’t really understand why they felt the need to bring people back who had been gone for years.

For instance, Anthony Edwards (Dr. Mark Green) left the show via death by a brain tumor.  Now, he came back this season and everyone speculated how they were going to bring a dead man back.  I give them credit for it being tasteful and only as a flashback scene.   But was it necessary? What is the point in bringing back people now? Is it for ratings?

I wish that they could leave well enough alone and go out gracefully.  They don’t need the faces for ratings, they did well without them. Let it go.

What the hell is my deal lately? I’ve been all kinds of kitchen domesticated. In the last month, I’ve made cheesecakes, cookies, muffins, cakes and bread. Today? I made … 2 pizzas and then got the hair brain idea to to use the leftover pumpkin from the last cheesecake to make.. pumpkin bread.

I seriously love my bread maker. I can’t even put into words how much I love it. The sad part? There are so many *bad* reviews for it that at first glance, you wouldn’t want to buy it. You have to play with the recipes a tad sometimes, but I’m not complaining a bit.

I will be making pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. We’re supposed to go to my sister’s house for dinner. I hope the weather stays decent so that we do go. My nephew turns 18 two days after Thanksgiving. It’ll be the first time we’ve done a family dinner since she got with her current husband and the first that Mom doesn’t have to make.

So yeah, it’s time for me to sleep or something. Two posts in a day? wtf?

Made by defiant_angel

“Twilight” film franchise looks ahead – Yahoo! News

You have no idea just how happy this makes me.  I love the series of books, but wouldn’t you think that it would be smarter to wait to find out if the first one was a flop before signing on for more? I can understand wanting to get a jump on the movies so they can come out quicker, but I don’t think it’s very smart to sink money into something that might be a sinking ship.

Now, I will say that I am highly looking forward to the movies and hope that they aren’t a big disappointment.  I’m not really a fan of their casting for Edward and Bella.  We’ll see, though, if they turn out to be well cast.

I noticed today while shopping that there are all these fat burners all over the shelves that anyone can buy. Is it just me that thinks it’s kind of screwed up? I mean, shouldn’t we be discouraging kids from using these things to lose weight and encouraging them to do it the right way?

Shouldn’t we be keeping these off the shelves so that there are fewer girls who end up sick or dead from losing too much weight? I don’t understand what’s going on with the stores or even the government that they’re allowed to be out where anyone can access them. It’s just some food for thought, definitely something that struck me today.

It’s no wonder that the youth have no idea how to lose or maintain weight properly. They see all these products that they can use for some sort of miracle cure. One day, they’ll be taken off the shelf, hopefully sooner rather than when it’s too late.

So, Rob had a Friday off for a change. What? When does that happen? Oh yeah, when he was supposed to have a dental appointment. I’m kind of ticked about that, actually. We scheduled his appointment for today, he went and told his boss. She told him he would either have to take an extra day or work a late shift. So, I called and changed the appointment to one of the days that she designated for his days off. Either a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. So we took the earliest appointment available on those days. Turns out to be December 15th. Fine. He’ll have the 15th-16th off.

Fast forward to him getting his schedule for this week. He had – get this – Tuesday and Friday (today) off. Yeah, I wasn’t very impressed with that. I was like, why the hell did I reschedule??? It’s alright though, it was an absolutely beautiful day and we were able to do things we needed to do. It was nice enough that I didn’t even need a coat. Wtf? It’s November! I’m not complaining though.

I attempted to do some Christmas shopping. Attempted and FAILED. Now, bear in mind that I live in a small area that our shopping choices are K-Mart or Wal-Mart. So yeah, guess I have to go into the city or shop online for what I want. That’s fine, really, I can do that when Rob is off this coming week.

On another note, I’ve been having bizarre dreams about someone from my past and even woke myself up laughing the other morning. Weird. I don’t normally dream about people from my past. I dream about places from my past, more often than not. Oh well, maybe it’s a sign that I’m gonna talk to the person soon. I kind of hope that’s the case.

Anyway, I think that covers everything I planned on talking about. I really have no idea, since it’s taken me a couple hours to write the post. *laugh*

Made by defiant_angel

Joe Jonas says he’s no cad; Taylor ‘moves on’ – Yahoo! News

Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift.  Now there’s a pairing that I never would have made.  I can’t help but wonder if it was real or if it was a made up break-up to up either reputation.  It wouldn’t be the first time celebrities made up a relationship and break-up to get their names out there.  It’s not cool, but Hollywood works in weird ways.

They are at least close to the same age, so it’s not too outrageous of a couple for a change.  Who knows, though, who either of them will hook up with next.

βεℓℓα

With the holidays right around the corner, everyone is trying to figure out what to give as gifts and running around trying to get their Thanksgiving meals planned. Why not save yourself one bit of running around with a Thanksgiving gift basket from 1-800-Flowers? Not only can you give a great gift of fruit, chocolate, cookies and other great gourmet items, you’ll be giving a gift that will last well into the holiday seasons.

If you don’t want to give a gift, but want a great basket for a centerpiece during your holiday gatherings, you can pick out one that suits your own needs. It’s much easier to than running around and gathering all the items yourself, plus it’s much more cost effective. Been invited to a gathering, but not sure if you’ll be able to attend? Why not send a gift basket early, that way if you do end up going, they’ll already have gotten your gift and you don’t have to run around.

Let the holiday shopping season go easy on you this year and let 1-800-Flowers do all the work. You can have gifts delivered all over the country and never have to leave the comfort of your home. Why brave the stores if you don’t have to? I know I won’t be.

Twilight Zones Out AC/DC – Yahoo! News

This made me laugh.  Too many people are all kinds of upset about Twilight as a movie, now how many people are going to flip out over the Soundtrack ousted AC/DC from the top spot.  I’m not sure, however, if the Soundtrack deserves to be in the top slot.  It’s got some good music, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary.  Most of it is obscure rock and Bella’s lullaby, which I don’t find to be much in the way of what I would call a lullaby.  It’s not a bad track, though, just not what I had imagined when I read the books.

The only surprising thing, to me, was hearing Robert Pattison singing.

So, I really have very little to post about. I’ve been in a fairly foul mood for the last day or so, most of this is because of friends who have either hurt my feelings unintentionally, or just completely pissed me off. Sometimes, I feel like the only time people seem to want to talk to me is when there is no one else around for them to talk to or I finally end up snapping on them. It feels like people dismiss that I might actually get hurt by the fact that I don’t hear anything from them for weeks and in come cases months at a time.

I am always visible on IM, always. If I am online, I am visible. I am on AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Myspace IM. I am also on IRC. I am no longer on telnet talkers, I feel no need to be part of a medium that holds absolutely no appeal for me any more. Do I pass through a couple old haunts from time to time? Sure. I keep a couple accounts active so that people can send me messages if they’re looking for me.

A good majority of people spend most of their time invisible on IM when they are online, so you never know when they’re around. It makes it pretty damn hard to initiate a conversation. Don’t piss and moan that you miss me, don’t hear from me, etc when *I* am visible and available on IM whenever I’m around. Ironically, I get messages when I’m sound asleep at night or when I’ve gone idle to cook or do something around the house. Of course, by the time I get back, the person is already gone. I do my best to respond, but you never know if they go through or not.

It pisses me off, honestly, when someone says that they miss me when I’m clearly visible and clearly available when they are not, yet have been online. If you missed me that badly, why not send me a message sooner? Why take it for granted that I’ll be there tomorrow for you to talk to? I might not be! I mean, I had a friend who was visible and available for several days before we found out that he was in the hospital, in a coma that he would never come out of.

You really shouldn’t take for granted that there is going to be a tomorrow for you to talk to your friends. Life is far too short for that. If you truly care about your friends, take a few minutes to let them know, via a comment, via a quick email, via a quick IM. It shouldn’t be that hard to let your friends know that you’re around and that you care.

With that, I’m out. Y’all know where to find me.

Parole hearing for man linked to Hudson killings – Yahoo! News

This makes me sick.  How can they even consider giving parole to a convicted felon that is also a suspect in even more crimes? I don’t understand why they would even entertain the idea that this person would get parole for anything right now.  Why would he be up for parole anyway? Wouldn’t it be bail? Or did he break his parole and get re-arrested?

Does this country never learn? Setting a felon out on parole is a bad idea when they’re facing other charges. Do we really need the risk of yet more innocent lives being taken? I think not.

Lyrics | Adele – Chasing Pavements lyrics

1 Win, I’m not gonna complain. Now I need to get to work on this year.

Today wasn’t bad. I did have to crawl out of bed well before I wanted to at 7:30am. Off to yet another dental appointment. Only about 3 more to go before the worse part is over. YAY. I can’t wait til it’s over, honestly. He’s so miserable

After that we had a couple errands to run, including a stop to see if my glasses could be fixed. And they were! I have my glasses back, yay. She didn’t even charge me to fix them, which really shocked me, since she had to replace the whole frame. I was really lucky she had the exact same ones in the back still.

We decided, rather than try to do a bunch of small loads of laundry, we’d take it all and go to the laundromat and do it all. That was copious amounts of non-fun. At least it was a nice day for it.

The remainder of the day was spent napping, plurking, napping, plurking more and that’s about the extent of it. *laugh*

Hope ya’ll had a pleasant Monday.

Whenever I think about moving, I think about how much I’d hate to do the packing and all that stuff. That’s why I decided that I’d hire the New York Moving Company to do it for me. I can’t pack and and do the work myself. It’s too much work and I’d rather just pay to have it done.

I doubt there’s anyone who would disagree with me.