15-minute mural

I've been intrigued by the vinyl wall decals that you see everywhere these days. I found this decal in the bin of free stuff at work (don't get excited, it's mostly junk), and figured I'd give it a try. It was free, and Luke likes monkeys, so good for me, right?

This wall above his crib has been shamefully empty since Luke has been around.

Not anymore! (I also removed his mobile, which says it's appropriate for babies under 5 months old.) It was very, very easy (much easier than the directions lead me to believe). It came in four sheets, and I had to cut each little item apart and then put them together on the wall. It really is easily removable. These are great for a kid's room, because he might love monkeys now, but in 6 months he will have moved on to firetrucks or something else. There are also lots of words and sentences available.

This one is from a company called Hip in a Hurry (cost $19.99). You can find tons (often customizable) by searching "vinyl wall decal" on Etsy.

Monday, Monday

I'm pumped for my new Monday night lineup: House and 24. Should be awesome.

Where else can you hear gems like this: "Tell me where the device is! Or so help me God, I will kill you and you will stay dead this time!''

Poladroid: Now for PC!

Remember how I told you about Poladroid? You know, it's the download that allows you to make your new digital photos look like Polaroids. Anyway, it's now available for the PC. Download it here. It's fun!

before

after

Shame!

Have you seen the commercials on TLC for the reality show Toddlers & Tiaras? I'd post it here, but it actually makes me sick to my stomach. It's about moms and their Jon Benet-style kids. The commercial shows them giving their little girls spray tans, putting fake eyelashes on them, and other horrific things. I'm sure TLC thinks that they're exposing these mothers for the nutjobs they are, but I think that they are in fact validating them. I find it interesting that there is no information about this show on the TLC Web site. Maybe they're disgusted with themselves.

(Okay, stepping down off of my soapbox now.)

New music Thursday

I'm looking for some new music to freshen up my playlist. A quick shuffle through my Zune (that's right, I have a Zune. Deal) turns up Once Bitten, Twice Shy (White Snake); Holidae In (Chingy--what ever happened to him?); Ticks (Brad Paisley); and Beverly Hills (Weezer). Pretty much anything that doesn't suck. Please note: Anything sappy sucks. Anything that sounds like Nickelback sucks.
Anyone have suggestions of songs I should download?
I'll leave you with my new favorite song, "Gives You Hell" by the All-American Rejects.

The Duel

I thought that there wasn't going to be a new episode of The Office until the super-size, star-studded post-Super Bowl episode (can't wait for that, by the way). Much to my delight, there's a new one tomorrow!

Curses!

My life lately has been a series of relatively minor but nonetheless unfortunate events. You may remember such mishaps as the sprained ankle and subsequent emergency room visit on Christmas morning, someone trying to frame me for drug possession, and the letter telling me that I'm deceased. Additionally I've been a total klutz (smashing my glass measuring cup to bits and slamming my head on the car door come to mind, among other household injuries), leading Justin to repeatedly ask, "What is WRONG with you?" Today Marilyn suggested that perhaps I'm cursed. That was before my latest, shall we say, incident.

After work today I picked up Luke and went to get a few things from the grocery store. We got home, I got dinner in the oven, and the phone rang. It was the grocery store, notifying me that they had my purse. I'd left it in the cart. (Sound familiar, Mom?) I didn't even realize I didn't have it. (What is WRONG with me?) So I ran over there to pick it up. Nothing is missing. (Leah, tell Heinz that if anyone wanted to steal my identity, they missed their chance today--I hope.)


Think of each of these events individually, and they seem insignificant. But cumulatively? I can only reach one conclusion. Remember my broken owl from the ornament swap? And how I told Karma to suck it? Perhaps that was ill-advised. Now, I don't believe in that sort of thing, but I must be under a Karma curse. The only other explanation is that I'm an absent-minded klutz. I prefer the curse.


So what do I do? How do I break the cycle? Do I have to make a list and atone for all of my past misdeeds, like Earl?


Don't be ridiculous.


I'm buying a Karma necklace.

Gold or silver? I can't decide.

See, I decided last week that I needed a signature necklace. One I will wear every day. Steph and Nat helped me pick out this one, and I loved it but thought, "I'm not telling anyone it's a Karma necklace. L-ame." Well, scratch that. It is a KARMA NECKLACE. You might think this is a selfish purchase. You're wrong. It's for Karma.

I better pay for expedited shipping.

We have a name!

Thanks to my crack reporting team (Leah by text and Steph by e-mail), I learned that the Affleck baby has a name.
Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck

Well, that certainly is unfortunate news. UPDATE!

Imagine my surprise when I got the following notice in the mail from my gas company.

Dear customer:
We appreciate the opportunity to serve you. We have received information that Katherine Bowlby is deceased, and we are unable to continue gas service in this name. Please contact us to place this account in the name of the current resident or the person responsible for the billing. If application for the service is not received by 1/28/09 it will be necessary for the gas service at this address to be discontinued.

Huh. I wonder what other bills I can get out of paying now that I'm dead!

UPDATE: Good news! I have been resurrected by the gas company. I called this morning and notified them of my aliveness. The customer service representative said that someone called in and notified them of my passing, but she couldn't give me any more info than that. I think it must've been a mixup and they put the info in the wrong account or something. Hopefully there's not a sabateur out there tampering with my utility bills.

She a bad b

Watched Wanted last night. Say what you want about Angie, but I'm not going to. Cause I'm pretty sure she could snap my neck in twain if desired.

Beep, beep. Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

The following was written between 6:08 and 6:11 a.m.

Until recently, I was experiencing some 24 fatigue. After all the news of Tony's return (...again), crazy-ass Kim reappearing, and the second half of the season being scrapped and reshot, my expectations were low. But the recent promos and something I read on EntertainmentWeekly.com have rekindled my interest. We'll see how I feel after 4 hours of Jack in the next two nights!

My favorite movie of 2009, based exclusively on the poster

Well, this is just weird

From People.com
Dexter fans will find this interesting. (Non-Dexter fans? Watch Dexter!)
From People.com

"Don't worry folks, it's legal. They may play brother and sister on Dexter, but in real life Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were lawfully wed on New Year's Eve, according to Hall's rep, Craig Bankey. The outdoor ceremony was held in Big Sur. Hall, 37, and Carpenter, 29, plan to appear together at this year's Golden Globes Awards on Sunday."

Headline of the day (brace yourself)

"Texas death row inmate pulls out eye, eats it"

Consider yourself disturbed.

If you'd like to know more about this story (and how could you not?), click here. Spoiler alert: This wasn't the first time he did this.

Confession

It really bothers me that I don't yet know the name of Ben & Jen's baby. What is wrong with me?

Bromantic Comedy*

*Did I just coin that phrase? I think so.

This is a good rental. The first half is funny. The second half kind of drags.



Side note: I might be falling in love with James Franco.

Scrubs season premiere

I'm a fan of Scrubs, but I'm not sure how I feel about the move to ABC. I think the series may have run its course, and it probably should have ended after last season. But I'll tune in for the season premiere tonight (9/8c on ABC), and hopefully the change will breathe some new life into the show.

If my mom had a blog, she'd tell you to read this book.

My mom called this morning to chat about this book. She saw the author on the Today show yesterday. (Side note: Did anyone see their segment on "OMG! My Mom's on Facebook!" Funny.) She was pretty convincing, so I picked up a copy at the grocery store today. I have the original Eat This, Not That book, which mainly deals with choices at restaurants. This new Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide has some really interesting details about the choices you make at the grocery store. The information is helpful and sometimes surprising. Don't worry; the author doesn't expect you to make major lifestyle changes or to buy pricey organic food. Oftentimes your favorite brands offer choices that are much healthier. For example, Green Giant's Extra Sweet Corn Niblets actually have fewer calories, grams of fat, and miligrams of sodium than the regular Green Giant Corn Niblets. Land O Lakes Whipped Butter has fewer calories, grams of fat, and milligrams of sodium than I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese has a quarter of the fat of the regular Kraft Mac & Cheese. Check it out. It's pretty compelling.

Mystery of the day

Anyone care to venture a guess as to how this:
ended up in the back of my pickup truck? Looks like drug paraphernalia. Smells like drug paraphernalia. I swear, officer, it's not mine...

Very good movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

We saw this move today. I thought Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were both great. I'm not sure how a 32-page short story became a 3-hour movie, but I liked, and I was never bored.