Do we have a birthday here?

Yes, we have a birthday here. Birthday where?
Birthday HERE!
This is a picture of a picture of me and sister #2. (a.k.a. Andrea) She came to visit me while I was at Ricks. I LOVED that jacket. Andrea actually bought it for me (I think) and she had a matching one. It was the hardest thing for me to give it away. But enough about the jacket, let's talk about Andrea. Why do I love her? Let me count the ways.

1) she resisted the evilness of marriage the longest of all my sisters. Unfortunately she became weak while I was on my mission. But she has REALLY cute girls, so I guess I am okay with it.
2) she kept my email address active while on my mission. What a gal.
3) we went to the Olympics in Salt Lake together. Even though she didn't let me drive the entire trip. And wouldn't buy tickets before we left so we ended up only being able to get tickets for the biathlon. We got all decked out in our Canadian garb. And there were NO Canadians even competing. :)
4) she went to California with me and sister #4 for my 18th birthday. We went to the Price is Right, Sea World and of course Disneyland. So fun. Then they had to go and get married.
5) she calls me.
6) she lets me complain to her.
7) she cuts my hair and makes me beautiful.
8) she was going to fly out here and help me move back to Canada, but then got pregnant. Not that I am bitter or anything.
9) If she has a girl, she is going to name her Shelley. right?
10) She supports her daughters "lelley" obsession.
11) She is super organized.
12) She plays a mean game of Wii wall ball.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA!

We're gonna make it baby.

Right now, THIS is my all time favorite commercial. And not just because I love popcorn. It makes me laugh and makes me want some popcorn- NOW!


Something else that made me laugh was a van that was behind me one day when I stopped at a red light. I had to take a picture and tried to be as sly as possible... hence the rearview mirror.

I really want to know if the fake flowers were his wife's idea. Or his. Funny.

Monday Manners Moment (on Tuesday)

Due to a CRAZY Monday- our manners moment will be today- Tuesday.

And I bring to you- blogging etiquette.

When someone tags you, respond appropriately. So here we go.

I was tagged by my college roomie Mikaela...so here we go!

Where were you 10 years ago:

Living large in Rexburg, Idaho. Majoring in Radio Broadcasting. My room roommate I had at that time is having a baby any day now. I have no idea where the other 4 are.

Five things on my to-do list today:

1. work out

2. get package ready to mail to Martha

3. get out of staying for the after school program

4. continue working on my lesson plan organizing

5. clean my room

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. popcorn

2. ice cream

3. carrott sticks (enjoying them as I type)

4. apples

5. oranges

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire:

I would also take my whole family to Disney World.

Buy a house.

Go to Africa.

Maybe start my own restaurant.

Four of my bad habits:

1. eating carrott sticks while blogging. (ha!)

2. pushing the lock button on my car remote several times just to make sure it is really, truly locked.

3. if something is on sale I tend to buy SEVERAL of them. Like the other day chocolate chips were on sale. So I bought about 8 bags. Anyone want chocolate chip cookies?
4. getting addicted to tv shows. Especially mid season and then watching 2-4 seasons on DVD to catch up. Some of my former/current addictions include: Alias, The Office, Arrested Development, Lost, Veronica Mars... more to come I'm sure. There are a lot of shows I avoid only because I know I will get hooked.

Five jobs that I have had:

1. News Director at KWBH 91.5 FM

2. 411 operator

3. Middle School Teacher

4. Seamstress

5. Phone Book Deliverer

Five things people don't know about me:
(this is getting difficult as I am sure this is about the 4th time I have done this. I apologize if these aren't so exciting.)

1. I've met Harrison Ford's nephew. He went to Ricks College and took my neighbor on a date. She brought him over so we could meet him. He looked just like Harrison but with blond hair.

2. I am a recycler. I recycle everything I can. I take my plastic bags back to the store. I use cloth bags when I grocery shop. I recycle ALL paper, plastic, glass & metal products. When I see something in the garbage that should be recycled I will pick it out (within reason of course). It bugs me when people don't recycle.

3. I really like shows like 20/20, Dateline, etc. Unless they are the dumb "To Catch a Predator" or scary ones about unsolved murders. A few weeks ago they had a story about the happiest people in the world. Did you know that Canadians are more happier than Americans. Interesting. They also had one where they guy drove to see how far he could go with his gas light on. It was pretty far. I almost did that this weekend but chickened out.

4.OnStar commercials make me cry. Not necessarily the ones about people who lock their keys in their car. But the good ones about children calling about their mom having a seizure or crashes where they can't move their legs.

5. My laugh changes every year or so. I don't know why or how. But my laugh now is completely different than my laugh 10 years ago. Weird I know. It always has been loud though. Once some friends claimed to have heard me laughing in my apartment all the way across a street and parking lot in their apartment. All windows were closed.

Now I must tag 5 people!

I tag....everyone that read this that has a blog :)

How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?

A very special man came into my life last Monday evening.
It was completely unexpected but more than welcomed. He is sweet, dark, silent yet delicious. A special thanks to my sister Jill for introducing us to each other! He made Valentines Day extra special this year. I, sadly, didn't get home from work until 7:30 but then the fun began.

We did laundry (hence the boxers).
made popcorn.
watched LOST. Unfortunately he couldn't answer any of the questions I had about what is happening on LOST. He can't be perfect, right? I think we are over though.

I kind of bit his head off. It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for the memories.

Monday Manners Moment

Back by popular demand.... well actually back because 2 people FINALLY asked what happened to MMM!

I am currently bidding on a few items on ebay so I wondered if there was ebay etiquette. Imagine my delight when I found this gem. I REALLY want to go to Disney World sometime soon so this has really helped me learn how to prepare my pin collection for the big trip! :) Enjoy. (I don't know why the font sizes are all funky. Sorry.)

(it is titled) "Some folks have more dollars than sense."

(This made me chuckle because it is TRUE. It also reminds me of my Mom when she tells my sister she has more money than brains. Hopefully one day she will be able to say that to me! Ha! It's going to take awhile because I sure do have a LOT of brains. )

When I first got into Disney pin collecting, I wasted lots of money getting caught up in the hoopla of it all. (Who doesn't?) I freely traded pins I had paid full price for, and traded away pins of value for useless junk. Though I'm still learning, after several years I've learned some tips that may save you some dollars.

Inside the Park Tips

• When going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World (and for you lucky few going to Tokyo, Hong Kong or Paris, those parks), prepare in advance. That's pretty obvious, since you're on eBay right now, looking for pins. Purchasing lots of pins off of eBay to use as traders with Cast Members and not paying the $7.95 to $15 per pin that new pins cost in the parks is a huge savings. Pins can be found for $1-$2 per pin in groups. Cast Members have Lanyard pins - pins that cannot be bought in the parks and can only be traded for off of a Cast Member's lanyard. Concentrate on finding those pins, as well as pins on your wants list. (See my article, "Disney Pin Scam: Avoiding Scrapper & Bootleg Rip-Offs" for details.)
• Cast Members with lanyards are required to trade with Guests, as long as the pin you have is not already on their lanyard...and that brings up a point. Certain pins have SO flooded the eBay market that almost every CM lanyard has one. People buy these duplicates for cut-rate prices on eBay, but are then disappointed when they are unable to freely trade them.
  
• Cast Members with green lanyards only trade with children...if you have kids, this is a great way to let them have fun. (Because where else can you let them have fun at Disney World?) Of course, they can trade with anyone, but CMs with green lanyards are usually less swamped with others searching their lanyards.
• Just because you don't see a lanyard on a Cast Member doesn't mean they're not trading...look on their belts for rectangular trading boards (about 5 inches by 8 inches). It's a great alternative for CMs who don't want a lanyard hanging around their neck (or for female CMs who get tired of guys staring at their chests all day long).
  
• Don't be afraid to approach any person with a lanyard - Cast Member or Guest. If they're wearing a lanyard, they may be willing to trade. (While Cast Members are required to trade with you, Guests are NOT.) The worst thing they can do is to turn you down. Always follow the rules of etiquette for pin trading when approaching a Guest or CM.

Who knew there is a whole pin trading world out there? If you want to learn more (and who doesn't), go here. I wonder if the garbage picker uppers get to trade pins too. I was once offered a job to pick up garbage at Disney World (or DW as us hip folks say). Yup. Because I was dumb and said in my interview "I would be the happiest person alive if I could pick up garbage at Disney World." I am still kicking myself today... for not taking the job. :)

Pancake Tuesday 2008

Growing up, my family celebrated Pancake Tuesday every year. I thought it was just a day to celebrate the glorious pancake. Then I googled it and learned so much.

For centuries, the English have celebrated Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, with merriment and antics and, especially, great quantities of pancakes. In fact, the fried flat cakes became so i important to the holiday that is has also been called Pancake Day, or Pancake Tuesday.

Long ago, strict Christian Lenten rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products, so keen housewives made pancakes to use up their supplies of eggs, milk, butter and other fats. They could be easily made and cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. Families ate stacks of them, and pancakes were popular with all classes.

Thank goodness for google and thank goodness for pancakes. On my drive home this fine Pancake Tuesday evening, I was dreaming about what I would put on my pancakes. I stopped at the grocery store and purchased bananas and strawberries. They quickly became a part of my Pancake Tuesday dream. I do enjoy peanut butter and syrup on my pancakes and thought maybe I would add a little banana. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO yummy. Try it.

On my next pancake I put Nutella and strawberries. Not as tasty as the first but still delightful. (for some reason it tastes better on toast). Maybe adding syrup would make it truly amazing.

I am tired. And MUST go to bed now. May you all have sweet Pancake Tuesday dreams.
Goodnight!

And the winner is....

Shaniqua.

And no she didn't win because she entered twice.
Or because she texted me this morning to find out if I picked a winner yet.
Or because she said I was her best roommate ever.

I couldn't choose the best story -they were ALL so good-so I drew a name.

But since I like all of you because you read my blog and you took the time to comment, you will all be winners- Shaniqua is just the BIGGER winner. So unless you are my sister (I already know their addresses), email me your address and I will mail you something. supershelley1000@hotmail.com

Thanks for playing.