Month: December 2009

Best of 2009

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So this is my slapped together at the last minute best of 2009 entry. Sorry I didn’t put more thought into it but the end of the year kinda crept up on me if you can believe it.

Music

Favorite album discoveries:

Songs in heavy rotation on my iPod (not necessarily released this year):

iPhone Apps

Favorite Games:

Favorite Apps:

  • Cardstar – store all your reward cards on your phone. The best part is how amazed the cashiers are to see it in action. I’ve gotten a comment every time I’ve used it at Blockbuster and Petsmart.
  • Comcast – Believe it or not, Comcast’s app isn’t half bad. Pretty handy when looking for something to watch. Even better than the on-screen guide.
  • Dropbox – Great way to keep files synced for access away from home.
  • eBuddy – An inexpensive alternative to Trillian. It only keeps you logged in for a half hour after exiting the app, but it supports multiple chat platforms.
  • Echofon – The only Twitter app I’ve used and liked.
  • Evernote – Great way to keep notes on things you might want to look up later. Allows tagging.
  • Facebook – Self explanatory.
  • Genius – Nice camera app that’s better than the built-in camera.
  • IMDb – It took them long enough, but I love using this app when I’m on the couch watching TV.
  • Pandorabox – Great way to find new and discounted apps. You can add apps you’re interested in to a favorites list and it will notify you when they go on sale.
  • Shazam – Best way to find out the name and artist of a song on TV.
  • Shopper – Eliminates any need for me to keep a paper grocery list.
  • Todo Lite (until the $10 full version comes down in price) – I can’t be without my to-do app. I use it daily to remind me of all sorts of things.
  • Yelp – Not as robust as the site, it has come quite in handy when out shopping and we’re looking to grab something to eat.

Well, that’s it. Another decade is over. Welcome to the 10’s. That sounds so weird.

Happy New Year!

Holidaze

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It really sucks when you can’t hold back the feelings of irritation, annoyance, frustration, and depression for even an hour after arriving back at work after a week away. I have my first headache and incidence of acid reflux in over a week. Gee, wonder why. Anyway…

The weekend ended on a high note at least. Saturday we had our Christmas with the kids and it finally felt more like a holiday than it had all the other days combined. They loved their presents. E got a bunch of stuff like DS games, Nerf stuff, and a remote controlled Jeep and helicopter, and K got the iPod Touch she’s been wanting. Of course it wasn’t even 12 hours later she was bemoaning how she wants an iPhone. Kids, they’re never satisfied.

Yesterday we headed to the mall to browse the sales and check out the yogurt place that caught my attention. I ended up with some body mist from The Gap, a few items from Bath & Body Works (their after Christmas sale is better than the before Christmas sale), two games which the cashier sold to me for 50% off (even though one was only 30%) from a specialty store, and $100 worth of Pyrex (a 10 piece and an 18 piece storage set) for only $50 from Carson’s. Merry belated Christmas to me!

I told Joe he better do me proud for my birthday. It’s fine that we didn’t exchange gifts for Christmas, although in retrospect I did miss that thrill of opening something, but dammit, I want a fun birthday! And yes, fun equals presents in my book. I’m not completely selfish, just so you know. I did donate to the Humane Society since we had “extra” money by not buying each other anything. I just missed the traditional holiday where we see my family and open gifts. I even joked with Joe – “Do I have to pop out my own kids just to have a family holiday?” Although I don’t know what I’d do with them on non-holidays when I don’t want to deal with them. LOL! Next year if my family doesn’t want to get together maybe I can rent a family for the night. Hmmm…

Wet Rats

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This morning we headed to Target on the frozen roads to buy a ham. Joe got one for free from work but it was so big we didn’t have enough room in the fridge so after taking it out of the freezer we let it defrost in the garage. Then I read doing it that way could have allowed bacterial growth, and while I may not be getting any presents, I certainly don’t want food poisoning for Christmas. So we went from planning on having a 25 lb ham to a 7.5 lb one which is why I’m not cooking it until tomorrow. Originally we were going to have it today, tomorrow, and Saturday, but the new ham is much too small to last three days and I’m sure the kids would like some too.

After Target we made a big breakfast, then laid around the house until mid afternoon when we finally took our showers. Then we gave the rats a bath and cleaned the bathrooms. Now I’m doing laundry. I feel better when I’m productive.

I love giving the rats a bath because afterward Templeton will sit in my lap and let me dry, pet, and massage him. He really enjoys it – it’s the only time I’ve seen him eye bloggling.

2009 – A Year in Review

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So it’s about a week early, but I got it done so I want to post it so that’s one less thing left on my list to accomplish this week.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August & September

  • Nothing all that exciting on the home-front transpired.
  • Work was crazy with a big project.

October

  • Joe finished our guest bathroom renovation (Before | After)
  • Regular Halloween shenanigans.

November

December

  • Had our annual Holiday Party.
  • Took the week of Christmas off from work for a staycation

Nothing much

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So I’m slowly getting through my list of things to get accomplished this week. Today was a trip to the DMV to renew my driver’s license. It was the most pleasant DMV experience ever, probably because it was at an express facility in Wheaton that staffs people who are actually nice. Imagine that! I’ve got a shiny new license with my best pic ever now.

We’ve watched four movies so far during our time off – Yes Man, Couples Retreat, District 9, and 500 Days Of Summer. All were enjoyable except that last one. Couples Retreat was seen at a newish second run theatre nearby that we hadn’t tried yet. Admission is $1.75 but on Tuesdays it’s only $1. Score! I wrote a review on Yelp.

I’ve read about half the People magazines and cleared a decent chunk of shows off the DVR. I’ve not done any cleaning except laundry even though the bathrooms need it. I want to give the rats a bath, except I don’t, because I am feeling really lazy right now, which means I should probably do it now before I get even lazier!

We didn’t put up the tree after all and don’t plan on it. We also decided not to exchange gifts. I feel the time off slipping through my fingers and it sucks! How can a day of mostly nothing go by so damn fast?!? :(