Dancing its way out of here...

Well, Dancercise will be heading to the Goodwill. I think I'll put a little note in there that it's the worst DVD set EVER, but I guess I won't really need to do that; watching it for 30 seconds provides enough context for the entire set.
My worry is that I shouldn't even take it to the Goodwill. I guess maybe someone will think it's worth the buck or two it'll be priced at.

It ain't easy being green

Well, the plant in my office is dying. I think it's because my office if far removed from the reaches of natural light. I like my office, as it's much better than the one I used to have without walls that went all the way to the ceiling and a door, but plants can't live there. My shamrock resides in my employee's office next to me and now my deiffenbachia is with our receptionist (if you know how easy it is to keep one of these plants alive you're rolling your eyes right about now, but remember, my office is cave-like). I will miss him - as I've had him nearly five years - but he will have a better life up front by the window. My hope is for him to be nursed back to better health so that he can return to me. Really, I just want what's best for him.

Word to your "Mother"

It's Earth Day! I love getting this day off! Even though it's sold as Good Friday, I observe it as Earth Day, which is the best day of the year ever (except for Groundhog Day, of course).
So, today I went and recycled all of the stuff in the trunk of my car. So, that's really something Earth Day-ish (and I got rid of stuff). If I had a yard, I would plant a tree or something, but since our yard is 10x10 we don't have room for one.
I hope you did something earthy for your "Mother" today!

(Note: No post tomorrow...back Sunday.)

Swiss Cheese

I have this pair of socks that I love...I think I've had them for ten years or something. They were threadbare at first, but now the hole is obvious. I keep thinking I would throw them out, but I never do. Then I saw them today, dormant in my sock drawer; I only discovered them in a frenzy this morning while trying to match a pair of black dress socks (which even if you buy different kinds with different designs, they all look the same!).
Thus, it is with a heavy heart that one of my favorite pairs of socks is being eighty-sixed; no amount of mending will do and I must part with them.

(I think I hear taps playing in the distance.)

Patience, Grasshopper

no post tonight - too busy writing other stuff - check in tomorrow!

Romeo and Juliet lesson

If parting is such sweet sorrow, why can't I seem to let go of any of my shoes? I remember last year...I took about twenty or thirty pairs to the Goodwill. There were so many I can't even remember. Now, I still find myself with way too many, but the inability to let go. Thus, today's post is just about a handful of batteries I've been meaning to take to work - to recycle of course - and is much less anti-climatic than the devastating tragedy involving a Capulet and a Montague. Anyway, at least you got a bit of Shakespeare in today, which is never disappointing.

Juliet:
'Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone—
And yet no farther than a wan-ton's bird,
That lets it hop a little from his hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silken thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

Romeo:
I would I were thy bird.

Juliet:
Sweet, so would I,
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow. [Exit above]

The sorting game...

There is no eighty-six today as I'm weeding through my shoes to find the ones to get rid of...it's a daunting task. I should have something tomorrow, hopefully even a photo, of a beloved pair of shoes that will be purchased by a deserving soul at Goodwill in the near future!

Where art thou?

I should have posted that I was on a brief sojourn and thus unable to post for a few days. I'm back now, and when I looked through my trunk I found a pair of tennis shoes that I know are mine that I haven't worn in well over a year-and-a-half. I say that as that's how long ago it was when I bought my car and I put these shoes there and seemed to have forgotten about them. While the inside of my car is very clean, the trunk houses all of my forgotten junk - like these shoes - that were buried behind my eight or so environmental shopping bags and other random car necessities, i.e. jumper cables, oil, windshield washer fluid, paper towels. Because I'm currently trying to get rid of some of my shoes - which you will read more about - these are no exception. So, away they go to Goodwill.

Sidenote: On Thursday night I tried to take back "Dancercise" and I was denied (see Saturday April 2 blog post "Dance Like Nobody's Watching...". As is policy nearly everywhere - but I thought I'd try anyway - the store clerk told me I couldn't return any unwrapped DVD or CD. I figured as much, but it was worth a try. Here's how the conversation went:

"Ma'am, you can't return an opened DVD." The store clerk said. I cringed at the thought of being called ma'am, but remembered I'd had a good day so far and didn't feel like being mean.
"Why not?" I asked.
"It's policy," he points behind him to a two-hundred point font statement stating that it's copyright law. "It's not just Target's policy, it's copyright law."
I hate being educated on the law, mostly because it reminds me I could have learned everything for free instead of paying one-hundred-thousand dollars to be told the same thing by a pompous professors. "OK." I stated, defeated but not surprised,
He continued..."I'm sorry, it's..."
"No, it's not your fault, I get it." I thought more. "But, I will tell you one thing: no one would ever violate the copyright laws when it comes to this DVD set. No one would copy this." I did think about the youtube possibilities.
He finally smiles, trying not to give in to my obvious charm, "OK, well, it's still policy."
"Well, maybe Target should know they shouldn't sell something this bad?"
"That's not something I handle." He said, still smiling a little but remaining mostly serious.
And with that, I took "Dancercise" home with me. I hope to find someone who will actually use it and not make fun of it.

Bye Bye Bissell

It's happened! [insert gasp here] Our sweeper - or vacuum cleaner if you must - went mostly kaput. It's withstood our abuse for several years now, which in a Made in China world is pretty darn good. So, I was walking through a department store today and say one for $50 and thought that's a pretty good deal! So, home the new Dirt Devil came, and so far, I can't complain. The upstairs looks new and this new sweeper is actually sucking up stuff that's probably been missed by the other sweeper for some time.
But, never fear! The old sweeper still has some years left in it for someone so it's going to the Goodwill and not in a landfill. I'm pretty sure I remember in college I lived with someone who took a sweeper out of the trash or something and we used it for a couple of years. Thus proving the great saying: waste not want not.

Savon

Fancy soap doesn't work for me. I have a lot of it in the depths of the hallway closet. Fancy soap is the soap that comes in the little boxes, usually in sets of 2-4, and it smells really good. The problem is that we have the hardest water in the history of man. So, using a bar of soap is a futile effort. My skin just never, ever feels soft after using a bar of soap in our shower. Then, that just leads to using lotion, and I have yet to be able to make a habit of putting on lotion daily - I suppose I should - and this soap just adds that extra step to my already rushed daily routine. 

Anyway, I'm regifting some of this soap so it won't be wasted. 

I do hate to get rid of the boxes...they are very pretty. 

Don't tread on me

I'm trying not to be that person that keeps adding junk to a landfill. In an effort to live up to my ever-be-green attitude, I washed a pair of tennis shoes in the hopes that I could save them (and I wouldn't have to buy another pair, which would save me some green, too).
My efforts seems to have failed. All of the bleach in the world can't save them, so it seems they will become garbage (Goodwill wouldn't be interested).
Oh well, at least I tried.

Eek!

As swimsuit season lurks around the corner [insert uncontrolled shudder here] I found myself looking through my swimsuit drawer. There is one in there that is so old there is no way I'd be caught dead in it (for a multitude of reasons). And because swimsuits - in my very rational opinion - can't be donated, it will be finding it's way to the trash.
I think I'll go eat a rice cake now, in preparation for another humiliating summer!

I want to believe

No, this is not something from the X-Files. It is not a dreidel...at least I don't think. It's something that's been in our silverware drawer for a long time. It's been there so long I don't know what it is (so I guess it could be a dreidel or some odd sort). Thus, why keep it? I bet as soon as I throw it out I will unearth it's true purpose; that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Stand by

Stand by for a post Saturday night. I realize I haven't had anything for two days now...you know how life is... busy. I will see you tomorrow with at least one thing to eighty-six!
The good news is it seems that the DC folks passed a budget.

Slán

It's been sitting on the kitchen table since the evening of March 17th. Since the evening I ran into a nice young lady named Casey and she adorned me with many pieces of St. Patrick's day flare. It's the traditional, cheap headpiece one wears that says the occasion across the top (this one says "Happy St. Patrick's Day"). While I like it, and I can appreciate the gift, this is something that will get lost in the shuffle. By next St. Patty's Day, I'll be wondering where it went...and then I'll find it two days afterwards. Thus, it's time to say good bye to it.

The Big Least

Sorry I missed yesterday...I was too busy watching Butler lose. Ugh. I hate the big teams, they seem to always win (UConn, Duke, etc.) Bleck. The Big East was referred to many this year as the Big Least, so I wasn't happy to see a team win from that conference.
Anyway, yesterday I found another bunch of useless cables that went in the trash. I don't understand where they all come from. I'm sure somewhere a techie felt a cold chill come over her as they hit the bottom of the trash can.
Tonight, I've found yet another book light. I can't even remember how many I've counted in the last month or so. I say just turn the light on and read. So, I will put that in the stuff for the Goodwill.
I've been thinking about something good  for tomorrow that I saw in the closet downstairs. It's gotta go, but until then, sweet dreams!

Happy Birthday!

I found a "Happy Birthday" banner in our study closet today when I was looking for a gift bag. I used it just a few weeks ago for a friend's birthday - that was after I discovered the banner in the closet by accident. At that point, I was unsure how long I'd had it, but I don't ever remember using it before that point for quite some time. Thus, it must have been in there for some years abused, unused, forgotten...so sad. So, I'm taking it to work so my employees can have a stylish celebration on their birthdays. Since there is one tomorrow, there is no better timing than right now! I just love it when a plan comes together!

Dance Like Nobody's Watching (that's what they did)

Did you see the post yesterday? Good one, huh? April Fools! There was not and will be no post for yesterday. Sorry! But, today I'm glad to say I will be taking back an unfortunate work out DVD I bought at Target this week. It's called "Dancercise," and it's the worst series of work out DVDs I've tried to take part in in my entire life (and that's saying a lot as I have bought tons of them). I watched the first one and I actually thought it was a joke. There were three more and after watching a second I was just hooked for the you tube hilarity of it all and decided to watch excerpts of them all. It was so generic and it's sad to say, but I felt sorry for the trainers (at least I'm assuming some of them were) that were involved in the production of the DVDs. I'm not sure if it was the awful music, pathetic backdrop, poor cues, or odd staging of individuals for each segment that turned me off to the entire thing. Anyway, it's going back to Target. If they won't take it I'll take it to the Goodwill.