Yes, folks I have returned to the blogosphere. (crickets) Anybody still out there checking my blog? (tumbleweeds blowing)

So what drew me out of my digital drought? The Cozy. 

Remember the Snuggie? Turns out the Snuggie has a cousin named Cozy and I’m pretty sure they have the same advertising agent. And I quote - 

You want to relax and unwind after a tough day,
but your aches and pains get in the way.

Sound familiar? I believe this is by the same….ummm, poet (clearing throat) -

You want to keep warm when you’re feeling chilled
But you don’t want to raise your  heating bill
Blankets are ok, but they can slip and slide
And when you need to reach for something your hands are trapped inside

Yep. I definitely see a similarity. 

CLICK HERE to see the commercial. Then come back here. Go ahead, click.

Ok, are you back? I’d like to point out a few things. 

1. The Cozy is the most versatile comfort system in the world? Really? 

2. I’m sorry, did she say “arm hammock”? ‘Cause I think that she did. What is happening in your world when you need an arm hammock to be able to relax? You  must have giant, weighty arms. Oh wait, I guess these guys might actually find that arm hammock useful….if they make it big enough.

3. Is it just me, or did the guy in the airplane actually look UNcomfortable? I don’t know about you, but a neck pillow has never kept my head from falling forward in a fully upright seat.

4. Did you see the guy in at the sporting event? (snicker) What a nerd.

Two months ago now, we celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday. MUCH has happened between now and then, but I thought you might enjoy reading about our fun day. 

My husband is nearly impossible to surprise. He can surprise a ninja, but I’ve only been able to really surprise him once or twice in the last 9 years. I was determined to get him this time. And guess what? I did! 

Every day during the week of his birthday I gave him a note I designed with -

Of course, all 30 were divided over the 7 days of the week. On the day of his birthday the last 5 things all had to do with the activity they accompanied.

Our surprise day started with his favorite breakfast complete with French pressed coffee. Then we hopped in the car and headed to our first destination - Van Nuys Airport for a flight lesson! John actually got to fly the plane!

Next we headed down to Santa Monica for a lite picnic on the beach. It was a beautiful day and was fun to see a couple planes flying overhead on the same route we had just taken.

Then we took our time driving over to Beverly Hills for the next surprise - Sprinkles Cupcakes to pick up dessert for after dinner. We LOVE Sprinkles and J especially loves the lemon cupcake. mmmmmmm. 

Lastly, we made our way over to Pane e Vino for a delicious pasta dinner. This was the perfect little restaurant! You should definitely check it out. 

We had such a fun day! It was awesome to surprise him.

Now, 30 is a big birthday. J definitely deserved a big gift. If you’ve been to our house, you would know that J was in desperate need of a new office chair.  Think “desperate” is a little exaggerated? Observe:

Am I right? This was a cheapy hand-me-down chair that was supposed to be “just until we get a new one.” Well, you know how that goes. Nearly 5 years later when the old chair had finally deteriorated into a chiropractor’s retirement on wheels, we ordered this bad boy:

See the difference? And Oh what a difference it’s made! J and this chair are going to be friends for a very long time.

My sweet little niece, Abby, turned 1 last month.  We had such a fun little party for her. Isn’t she the cutest!

My sis did a great job with the party (as usual). Everything was lovely - especially the home made pink cake with fresh pink roses on top. Ashley taught herself how to play “Happy Birthday” on the piano. She was so happy to do play it for little Abber. Here are some pics from the party. Enjoy!

Something tells me there was a “I’m a Mac” grandson involved in this production….

WHAT?! Those fish are literally jumping into the boat! I think it might actually be kinda scary. Flying fish freakin’ out and flopping your face….frightening.

If you’ve been following Yet Another for a while now, you know two things for certain about me.

1. I’m a derd

2. I love flowers

One might think that those two things could go hand in hand - like coffee and poetry or chicken and waffles. 

My friends, I am here to tell you that just because you love two things does not mean that you will love the two things combined.  Nope. Nah. Negative. You want proof? Slap your eyes on this bad boy -

It’s a floral poodle. A floodle. And it’s making me uncomfortable. 

Apparently this is a retro design that may or may not be making a reappearance in the florists industry. I’m casting my vote with the No’s. I don’t like the way it’s staring at me….its eyes are following me no matter which way I turn my computer.

Here are a couple things I found online while looking for a birthday gift. 

In what world is this a good gift?  Here’s the description -

Our Spirit Candle embodies the strength, companionship, self expression and power of the human spirit. The bronze sculpture hidden inside this pristine white wax candle was formed by a lost-wax casting process. As you burn the candle, the statue will emerge from its surroundings. Whether you’re overcoming one of life’s struggles or celebrating a joyous milestone, let the Spirit Candle be a source of inspiration and ever-present hope. Available in Embrace, Dance and Rejoice. Each sold separately. 

Can you imagine buying a regular white candle and after a few hours of burning one of those little people/aliens were suddenly reaching out to you begging for help? AHHHH!!!! [big breath] Sorry, I was just imaging that scenario and I got scared. Check out the “spirits” as they are fully emerged,

CREEPY!!!  Is it just me or do these figures remind you of - 

Yep. Definitely.

Have you EVER seen anything more awkward? (Ok, well maybe this or this). Not only do you get an extra key to add to an already full key chain, but you are supposed to then stick said key into those little people’s special places? Really?

You’ll never lose your keys again with these Human Key Holders mounted to the wall. These holders come in either His or Hers and with another key that’s used to attach your house keys. Simply attach your keys to the key provided, and insert the key into the male or female forms. This product was shortlisted for the 2003 Peugeot Design Awards.

I don’t exactly know what “shortlisted” means, but I’m guessing they were on the short list for awkwardest design of 2003. C’mon.

Just watch…

Yes, I know that I’m missing the “www.” from the title. This particular what is not from the world wide web.  It’s from my life. Some time ago I realized that I am called to the life of the ridiculous. I don’t mean that my life itself is ridiculous. I happen to really enjoy my life. What I mean is that ridiculous things happen to me. For example -

What’s that? There’s a strange shadow and/or hole in my window? Yes, yes there is. But wait, it gets worse. 

Uh huh. That’s the other side of the Jeep. Now for the detail - 

So here’s what happened. I was at work just minding my own business (well, I suppose technically I was minding my employer’s business). Around 3:30 or so I had to take a trip up to Accounting. On my way back down to the pit my office I glanced over at my car and saw a strange shadow.

“Hm.” I thought, “That almost looks like my window is broken.” 

I took a closer look AND sure enough - both the driver side and passenger side front windows were broken out and there was a decent-sized rock about 50 feet from my car.  Glass was ALL over the pavement around my car and everywhere inside my car. 

At first it looked like some (possibly the Hulk) threw the rock through BOTH windows in one fell swoop. Later, we realized that the perp broke the passenger window with the rock. Picked up the rock again and threw it through the driver side… just for spite. 

Why did the window-breakin’ fool break my windows? Obviously, not for that cute little vase from Ikea in the cup holder.  All that destruction was for a measly little TomTom GPS. Yep. Not even a high-end, gets you where you’re going and makes you coffee GPS, but an average, no bells or whistles (except for the option to use Mr. T’s voice) GPS. What could he get…$75 on the street? Really? Really, jerk thief? 

Naturally, I called our insurance company and then filed a police report. My insurance was prompt and easy to deal with, however the repairs were $25 short of my deductible. So…..what’s the point of having insurance? I mean, I get that if our car is involved in an accident where the repairs cost thousands of dollars or worse, the car is totaled, a little $500 deductible is a wonderful thing. But what am I paying for every month if when I actually need to use my insurance, I end up paying out of pocket anyway? Sigh. Oh well.  

Yesterday, the insurance company sent out a mobile repair company that had both windows replaced with shiny new ones in just a couple hours.  We’re back to normal now but still a little bugged.

I just feel embarrassed for these ladies. I mean, I can’t understand how some of this stuff happens. Their reflexes must be slower than a cow waking up from general anesthesia.

I was all tee’d up to write a post about Fritz’s recent trip to the vet and his thereafter newly acquired nickname, Gingi-Fritzy, but just this week he trumped that story with a new one.

When we’re at home there are a few things that rise to the top of Fritz’s favorites list. 

1. Getting to eat people food
2. Being allowed to nap on the couch (on a blanket, of course)
3. Hanging out with me in the backyard when I’m grilling

On Monday I had taken a lovely London Broil roast, still in it’s package, out to the grill. Fritz, drunk with excitement, was running laps around the yard as I started the grill. I realized that I hadn’t seasoned the meat yet (it had been a long day…) so I headed back into the house. Fritz doesn’t like the meat to be too far from him at anytime, so he usually runs past me and into the kitchen so he can be ready in case I drop it. Well, this time he ran into a bit of a snag. And by “a snag” I mean me. He ran into me. Literally. As far as I can tell he had one or two things on his mind, and ONLY one or two things on his mind - 

OR

He ran toward me like a doped up charging bull with meat on his mind. I’ve told you before that I think it’s hilarious to watch people fall, but I’m not particularly a fan of falling, myself. After this experience I have a new level of sympathy for fallers and trippers. I may or may not laugh as much next time I see someone fall. 

Before I knew it, my legs were no longer underneath me, the meat was airborne and the driveway was fast approaching.  Now, you have to understand that this has been a very long, sleep deprived, constantly creative and often dramatic couple of months. I’m not usually the type to cry when I get hurt, but this time…well. My right forearm hit the driveway first and then I think my ribs hit next, followed by my hip.

A strange sound came from my mouth that I think was something like, “Friiiiiiieeiiitttttzzzzzzzzzssssss!!” Then as the tired tears started rolling the next thing I uttered was, “Joooooooooooooooohhhhhhnnnnnnn!” 

J came running from the house, probably expecting to see blood, to find me on the driveway, holding my arm like a 3 year old, tears streaming down my face and Fritz standing near me (just out of whacking range) panting happily and wagging his tail. 

The meat was fine, extra tenderized, but fine since it was still packaged. I’m still a little bruised and sore and in need of a trip to the chiropractor. And Fritz? Let’s just say that he was in the dog house for a couple days after that. (Dog house…. get it? [snicker])

Side Note:  You wanna see something really freaky? Check these bulls out. Pardon me while I go watch a friendly cartoon so I don’t have nightmares tonight.