Halloween: Dwight Shrute

This guy is making a Dwight Shrute bobblehead for his Halloween costume!

Check out his site because there's lots of photos of this costume and others.

Halloween: Robin Sparkles!

Friday night, my friends and I participated in a costumed 5k run/walk. I had planned to dress up as Robin Sparkles from How I Met Your Mother (YouTube video), but I in the end looked more like a Robin Sparkles fan.

One group was dress as vikings and even had made a ship, which they all ran inside pushing the ship! I meant to take photos, but forgot my camera battery (d'oh!). The rest of the costumes were pretty typical and because it was a run there were not many naughty librarians in attendance.

If you're like me and looooove pets in costumes, check out the Howl'ween photos at Time!

Play It: Monopoly Electronic Banking

monopoly
Originally uploaded by udandi.

Not only did my vacation include crafts, there was a little personal finance element (in addition to all that was spent on the trip!) when we played the electronic banking version of Monopoly.

I have to say, I am not a fan. It is hard to keep track of your money when it is tied up in a card. Unlike real online banking, you can't log on and see your balance 76 times a day, well, I suppose you could ask the banker to check your balance, but it is not the same as having your cash stashed with you and your property cards, like the old version.

Nevertheless, for Family Fun Night, it was still fun to sit around criss-cross (until our hips hurt) and play the game!

Ohio State's $119 million athletic budget

My friend sent sent me this link to SI on Campus to show me this photo of her from last year's Ohio State-Michigan game [I like that the caption labels her as an OSU student ;)].

Then, I decided to read the Wall Street Journal article about how Ohio State spends triple the amount on athletes than it does per undergraduate on education. The article paints quite the picture of Ohio, the state, in contrast to Ohio State the athletic business:

Here in Columbus, the OSU athletic department is a gold-plated island in a region getting roiled by harsh economic forces. The lavish program is the most vivid example of how college sports have turned into a humongous business and created a parallel universe of high-living in the world of academia. OSU's athletic budget, which has grown 46% in five years, has expanded despite a prolonged downturn in the Ohio economy and several rounds of public-funding cuts to higher education. The state's median household income fell 9.3% between 2000 and 2005, one of the worst declines for any state during that span.

Ohio has the nation's highest rates for foreclosures and delinquent mortgages, and during the second quarter of 2007, 22.9% of Ohio homeowners with subprime loans were over 90 days late -- almost twice the national average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. The state is home to two of the five poorest cities in America -- Cleveland and Cincinnati, both of which had more than 25% of residents living below the poverty line in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

wow.

Ohio State was one of just 19 schools to turn a profit on athletics in 2006, according to data collected by the NCAA. OSU says its athletic department is self-sufficient -- it uses sports revenues to pay for its teams and operations. It doesn't draw from the same budget that's used to fund academic departments. How much the athletic department spends is determined by how much it brings in, not by how much the university decides to give it. A 2005 economic-impact study, commissioned by OSU, estimated that the school's sports program pumps over $100 million a year into the local economy, with more than a third coming from Buckeyes fans' spending on hotels, food, parking and shopping.

A significant chunk of the athletic department's budget is spent in ways that benefit the school's general fund. This year, the athletic department will spend $12 million on scholarships or "Grant-in-Aid" to pay for athletes' tuitions. A few years ago, the department contributed $5 million to help fund renovations to the campus's main library. OSU's sports program is also among the few that pays for all maintenance, security and operating costs at its facilities. (The utilities bill at the football stadium last year: $731,309.) In addition, the athletic department transfers about $1.7 million to the school's academic-support center to pay for tutors and "life skills" workshops for athletes. "I think we're paying somebody $25 an hour to tutor physics," says Mr. Smith.

Oh to have that tutoring gig!

Pumpkin Carving in Hawaii

carved pumpkins
Originally uploaded by udandi.

On my last day in Hawaii, I headed to the beach while my hosts transformed pumpkins into Halloween masterpieces with the fancy carving tool and templates from Williams-Sonoma (also known as an orange battery-operated Dremel tool).

They did an awesome job, but it is hard to photograph them lit up in the darkened bathroom without using a flash or without washing out the lit up look, so this is the best I've got.

Refreshed from Vacation!

I am back from a ridiculously memorable vacation made possible through the generosity of our hosts in Honolulu (actually downtown Waikiki).

This photo was taken while on our mini-trip to the Island of Hawaiʻi (the Big Island) at a scenic stop headed to Kailua-Kona, which is the site of Ironman Triathlon (that took place just days before we got there).

That morning as I was brushing my teeth, my friend said your celly is vibrating in your bag (big shoutout to Verizon for having service in South Point). I answered and accepted an offer for a new job at a public library!

When I get a chance, I'll upload some photos of the beautiful scenery without me blocking it! (Hawaii 2007 photos at Flickr)

Special thanks to my sister for blogging while I was away. I kept my eyes peeled for a deck of mini-playing cards for her collection, but I'll be darned if I didn't see one!

Crazy Time...

My sister goes on vacation and asks me to blog for her and look it is Sunday Night and I haven't done much of it all week and I know she will say that is fine but I just realized...I never had that much time this week to begin with.

Monday, Wednesday and usually Friday are busy days at work, but this week on Wed was a meeting at 5:45 that lasted until 9:15pm, Thursday was my husbands review day for a midterm that he had to take yesterday at 1pm (yes, Saturday!). Plus the other little buddies were up yesterday for a cousins photo shoot and I was just exhausted!



So what else can I talk about....Card making! I am a stamper and have been for about 5 years now...it all started with a demo workshop by a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and I was hooked. Of course it took in my MIL and SIL too so we had lots to do whenever we got together. The best little tip I got was when sitting down to make 1 card, make 2 of the same. You usually will cut a piece of cardstock in half so you might as well make 2 and save one for when you forgot to make a card that you wanted to send! It has saved me just this past week when I was able to mail a birthday card to friend and not forgot like I have been known to do in the past!
Also, Ribbon is a great inexpensive embelishment for cards....lots of places have it and you get yards for just a buck or two! Ribbon can dress up any card, wrap it around it, tie it, make a bow, tie off small pieces on a side....whatever you want to do.

Udandi will be back soon and I have enjoyed posting....if she lets me, from time to time I will pop on and give some other things I have been working on a shot and get them posted.

Happy Crafting!

Scrappin'

So my one hobby that I hope I will stick with is Scrapbooking. I now have 2 kids and I like the idea that I am thinking ahead as to what to include in their book. I have baby books but I don't like the cookie cutter fashion of them. I like the idea that I can create something from my own head that reflects the pictures and the event.

For the beginning scrapper I would say, the only thing bulk you want to invest in are good pens/markers and solid backround paper. No matter what size you have I think you will always use those two things. The next thing I do is go through my pics and see which ones I want for that layout. I put those pictures in my album, because it has pockets, and then I head off to Archivers (http://www.archiversonline.com/index.asp) and work on my projects. Why there? Then I only get what I have to have to finish a page, plus they have lots of die cuts and tools that you can use while there. They have a color photo copy for pictures if you want to blow them up or just make a copy. And the biggest plus of all is that I am able to concentrate on my scrapping and not have to worry about which kid is going to be up and needing me.

Inspiration comes from scrapping magazines and here are links to my favs:
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/ Creating Keepsakes mag, lots of stuff in the mag and on-line and lots of contests and sweeps for getting free product.
http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/ Simple Scrapbooks is a great help in doing pared down but beautiful pages in short bits of time.
Scrapbooking Etc by Better Homes and Gardens is another one I subscribe too for ideas and page layouts that are quick simple and not too expensive.

Enjoy the day!

Intro

Hello all, I am Pharmasis and have commented from time to time on my sis's blog.

We have both been crafty most of our lives due to our mom's craftiness.

I have wide interests and have gone from baking/cooking to embroidery, counted cross stitch, sewing to dried flowers and arranging to stamping, decorating to scrapping. I can wander around a Michael's store for hours.

Right now I am hot on scrapping, stamping and trying to find the time to do it with 2 kids. In the future days I will post a few things I have learned along the way to make my crafting time more productive and less expensive.

One magazine I really like for the great ideas and easy, inexpensive stuff to do with little ones is Family Fun Magazine, http://familyfun.go.com/. They have crafting for every season and have fun ideas for the entire family. Check it out!

USPS: Hold Mail Request

Did you know you can fill out a hold mail request online at USPS and save yourself a trip to the post office? You can even have them deliver all your held mail once you return and resume postal service.

Vacation: Things to Do While I'm Gone

I will be on vacation from October 12-22 and have no plans to post while frolicking about our nation's 50th state! PharmaSis, my sister, will be guest blogging so please leave her a comment to welcome her!

In the meantime, do not spoil yourself by blowing through this entire list in one day ;)

Things to do while I'm on vacation:

1. Visit your public library and really check it out: see what's new, meet the staff, ask for recommendations, sign up for a program, become a volunteer, etc. Use it, enjoy it!

2. Visit the sites on my blogroll (the newly updated sites appear on the top of the list).

3. Try a project or recipe from The Project Vault

4. Start on your holiday card making. SplitCoastStampers has a whole forum of Christmas card challenges if you are looking for ideas

5. Visit what not to crochet and have a chuckle at what not to make for holiday gifts - Puppoose?! Men's briefs?!

6. De-clutter your place through craigslist (or ebay, amazon marketplace)

7. Take your cash, sign up for a high interest savings or checking account, score $25 bonus bucks and start saving for your vacation!

8. Grab some trial-size freebies for that vacation [link: Free Stuff: samples & coupons]

9. Read how much others are making at My Open Wallet: Okay, I'm Asking!

10. Brush up on how to ask for more money (Free Money Finance), how to negotiate a raise and Supersize your job offer

The salary requirement question always stumps me when it is requested to include in response to a job ad, but at least I know to "point the needle" when they ask it in an interview:

If an employer asks you directly about your salary requirements, turn the question around and ask what salary range the company typically offers someone with your job type, experience and expertise.

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

One of the girls makes this for our Thursday night Office/Grey's Anatomy nights and it is delish! According to Kraft Foods, it serves 6, but often there is enough leftover that we can have take-home boxes for Friday's lunch - double yum!

3/4 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa, divided
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Mild Mexican Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product with Jalapeno Peppers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 corn tortillas (6 inch), cut in half

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Reserve 1/4 cup of the salsa for later use. Mix chicken, soup and Mexican VELVEETA until well blended. Spread 1 cup of the chicken mixture onto bottom of 8-inch square baking dish (she uses a rectangle pan, maybe 7x9? but I know it is not 9x13)

TOP with layers of 6 of the tortilla halves, 1/4 cup of the remaining salsa and half of the remaining chicken mixture; repeat layers.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until heated through. Serve topped with the reserved 1/4 cup salsa.

[photo credit: Kraft Foods]

Rockin' Girl Blogger

I meant to say thank you (more than a month ago) to Vegan Diva for recognizing me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger! It's a very very cool honor coming from someone who is always on the ball with photos and projects on her blog, so I send the honors right back to her!

I'm bummed I didn't get to meet up with her when I was in Chicago. It took me 8.5 hours to drive from Cincinnati to the Chicago 'burbs and then 7 hours to get home and I was already pressed for time Sunday afternoon when I left. Next trip, I hope to make it happen!

Cincinnati: A Cheap Friday Night

A few new(ish) bars have opened in downtown Cincinnati and have been running various promotions to get rears through the door, so if you get on the right mailing lists, you can cash in. It used to be that they wanted an email address, but now they have taken to texting. (Two of these bars are in other cities, so you might check out their web sites.)

Before I go on, I realize that people running bars have a background in...well, something other than PR so it is not surprising to hear the restaurants/bar failure rate is something like 50-60%. It's one thing to run a special and bring people in, but it takes more to keep them there spending money (and telling others and/or writing positively about it on their blog!).

Friday afternoon, Lodge Bar sent one saying:

$1.50 mini pitchers and well drinks until 9pm; free cover when you show this text at the door.

I forwarded it to my friends. We agreed to check it out and if it was lame, we could move on. Since it was a new happy hour for this bar, I asked for the manager to come out and verify the text I received was legit since the bartenders claimed ignorance when my friends who arrived ahead me inquired about it. I never know if the bartenders are truly clueless or don't pay attention to their supervisors when given direction, you know? The manager said it was legit and while the bartenders were getting situated, the manager chatted with me about their specials. A good way to turn me off of your product/service is to act like I am not worth your time because suddenly you may not be worthy of my money :)

Each mini pitcher served about 3 pints. The bar doesn't serve food, which could hinder it for an after work spot since the other bars do offer full menus. We thought of suggesting they contract the neighboring bar's kitchen for a limited menu. They said we could bring in food, so we ordered a pizza, which set us back 5 bucks each. I got the bonus of have having garlic butter spilled on my lap. No vampires were going to get me but then again no person was going to stand within 5 feet of me, either!

Sully's sent a text saying:

Show this text at the door for no cover and $1 drafts, $2 wells $3 calls and $4 bombs. First 15 through the door drink for FREE from 9-11pm.

This was forwarded to all my friends and once I got through the door, I heard the the door girl say to the other they're forwarding it to each other. True. But what does it matter? We all on the mailing lists, yet, do not get all the same messages.

It was after 9pm and still 15 people had not shown that text so we cashed in, free cover and free drinks for 2 hours. Otherwise, we would have used our zipscene cards for free cover.

We've been to this bar before several times and except for one time (and that bartender has not been there since) the service is somewhat on the unfriendly side. The first bartender seemed completely unhappy to see us drinking for free, not sure if it was us in particular or that people were drinking for free. Maybe she was not aware of (or did not pay attention to the promotion)? Maybe the bartenders think free drinkers = poor tippers? (not the case, here) Whatever.

At 10:58pm, we went up to the bar for one last drink, we were denied after being ignored so instead of sticking around and paying for drinks, we took off for another bar. Maybe it was wrong to take advantage of the free drinks and then not stay long enough to start buying them? But there are plenty of friendly bars that would enjoy having our business, so why stay there?!

My friends laugh about another time at this bar when it was a $10 all you can drink of a certain beer from 9-11pm. The beer ran out mid-way through the event, so I asked the floor manager if they might substitute another beer. He snapped and said just buy your next beer. I said we already bought the beer special and if we have to buy beer, we will buy it at Cadillac Ranch. I started to walk away and turned back and said by the way, can you tell me what street it is on?! (ha!). He said, good luck getting in. I said, oh shall I call you once we're in?!

We not only got in, we did not pay cover!

Pumpkin Farm Cake

Pumpkin Farm Cake
Originally uploaded by udandi.

Today we celebrated my mom's birthday with our annual trip to the pumpkin farm. My sister's coworker made this cake from a photo of the farm's barn!

The little fondant pumpkin have stems made of nuts and the walkway is crushed cookies. There was a little shifting of the barn, but that seems natural for a farm that's 200 years old. ;)

Thank You, Readers!

This past week I received two ING bonus notices so thank you to those friendly readers who clicked through the self-serve referrals and scored some extra cash for both of us - you rock!

Also, thank you to the readers who have clicked through my Amazon links or aStore and made purchases. I'm finally past the threshold needed to collect my money (I feel odd about weekly/monthly promotion of my referrals, even if this is my own blog and I have a B.A. in PR - it is just not the reason I started this blog). While it is not much, it is nice to get a few cents here and a few bucks there. I should receive it just in time to turn around and spend it on my little buddies for the holidays!

In November when I'm well-rested from my vacation, I'll put together some thank you giveaways, so stayed tuned! In the meantime, treat yourself to some free Dunkin' Donuts Coffee!