Tag: Guilty Pleasures

Just For Fun, Lists, PSAs, Uncategorized

All I Want for Christmas is Your G.D. Wish List!

Go Jules Go

Let me start off by saying ’tis the season of giving.  But if you’re one of those modest people who doesn’t want to make a Christmas Wish List, you’re probably just frustrating your loved ones. I know you don’t want that. Make one, send it, pronto! Guaranteed free shipping before Dec. 25th doesn’t last forever, Chipmunks.

Every year, my husband, The Peppermeister, e-mails our family his Christmas Wish List in a timely manner. People look forward to it.

Here’s [a few examples of] why:

2007

Ok so here is the list that you have all been waiting for.  I know that you all love me and I will get everything on this list.  I am so lucky to have such terrific parents, a great pregnant sister and brother in law and a good enough fiance’.  As always, please communicate with one another to ensure that this christmas is among the best i’ve ever had.

2008

As always, I encourage you to look for great deals.  Deviating from the list is not encouraged, and frowned upon.  I categorized them to make it easier for you, my beloved family.

For the Bar (Because a man needs a cave, and that cave needs cliché bar stuff)

1. Sweet dartboard with wooden doors and chalk boards for score keeping (I’d like real darts, not electronic or rubber, safety is NOT a priority)

For General Practicality and “bad-ass-edness” (Because you never know when the zombie apocalypse will occur)

1. Wind up (crank) LED flashlight without radio

–and–

2.  Wind up (crank) flashlight with am/fm radio

3. Leatherman 830032 Blast Multitool with Leather Sheath

Gift Cards (Because I want you to take money that used to be good everywhere, and make it good in only one place)

1. Target – “Terrget”

2. Gamestop

2011

Happy Birthday Jesus!
This year, I’ve tried to make things as easy as possible for my generous family. I’ve created an Amazon wish list.
When trying your best to please me this Christmas, be sure to note the following:
-There are two pages on that wish list.
-I have plenty of sweaters.

And another painless year of holiday shopping commences.

Do you have any wish list wins or woes?

TV Junkie

Guilty Pleasure Channel Surfing

Go Jules Go
Photo credit (before awesome annotation): http://rlhistorypd6.wikispaces.com

Hiya chipmunks! I love this time of year because I don’t even know where to start on my DVR. Between the holiday movies and the festive episodes of my favorite shows, I am geeking out on guilty pleasures like nobody’s business! I like to read other TV junkie’s blogs, and I’ve been seeing in comments that a lot of people are bowing out of cable TV because it’s so ri-donkulously expensive. I am with you!! Part of the problem is that I have no idea what my options are out in the sticks of western Jersey.

The movies that make us better people.

But I can’t give up True Blood! Or Boardwalk Empire (okay that’s Peppermeister’s show, not mine)! Or Lifetime! (Seriously. Where else can you see Fred Savage punch Candace Cameron?*)

Since I have no idea what’s available to me, I’m starting by using cabletelevision.net – it’s a WordPress site where you can check out cable packages and special programs available from cable and satellite companies. They also give an overview on the various ways to watch cable shows. Right now I’m comparing satellite to cable and thinking about Netflix.

Do you guys have any tips for finding a better deal? What’s the cable TV show you splurge on??

*P.S. – I would like to leave you with some dialogue from the Oscar-snubbed “No One Would Tell”:

STACY: Well, you don’t know what he’s been through! Besides, you don’t give up on someone you love. 
NICKI:  You call that love? They don’t even think he likes you! 
STACY: Well, then you don’t know what love is!

…does anyone else need a tissue?

Animals, Just For Fun, Uncle Jesse

My Guilty Pleasure Christmas Tree

Go Jules Go

Cheery chipmunks, I got my Christmas tree this weekend! Huzzah!

We went to one of the three Christmas tree farms near our house in western Jersey; this one was a self-serve farm, so we made good use of our chainsaw and lived to tell the tale got an amazing deal.

Peppermeister putting on his best Grinch face.

I busted out my favorite Christmas CD, John Denver and the Muppets, while I decorated (a long-honored tradition).

Of course, no tree of mine is complete without animals dressed as other animals.

"F my life."

And animals dressed as food:

"Eat me."

Or homemade ornaments featuring Uncle Jesse in his Christmas sweater:

"My mother needs a hobby."

And there was only one casualty.

Ah well. This one was kind of ugly anyway.

Even Uncle Jesse got in on the fun.

Have a very doodle-y Christmas!

To see what else I was up to this weekend, check out these cookies (more on this new site later)!

How are your holiday plans coming along?

Uncategorized

A Warm and Fuzzy…Monster in Your Closet?

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Photo Credit: blogs.middlebury.edu

Spunky ‘munks, several months ago I had the absolute privilege of writing a guest post for Deborah Bryan’s blog, The Monster in Your Closet.

I wrote this guest post for Deb’s series, For This I Am Thankful. Deb scheduled my post for December 2nd, which means it went up today! I’m very excited and hope you’ll check it out here: Life is Like An Empty Box of Chocolates (Because I Ate Them All).

Saint Deb

I’m in good company with the past contributors; their lovely posts have covered a wide range of topics woven together by their theme of gratitude. All are more than worth reading (you can do so here).

Many of you know Deb, but for those of you who don’t, don’t be misled by her blog title – Deb Bryan is currently in the running for sainthood. Her ability to encourage writers and build blogging communities rivals her ability to write kick-chipmunk-tail young adult novels. I recently read The Monster’s Daughter and you should DEFINITELY check it out! Deb is also the winner of my first video blogging contest, which is one of my favorite posts to date. (I’m not sure I could ever pick a favorite post of Deb’s, but this one is up there.)

In other guilty pleasure news, I’ve got lots of goodies to share with you over the coming weeks! Gingerbread may or may not will be involved. And don’t worry – I haven’t forgotten about my plan to bring back slap bracelets (mentioned in my vlog). Stay tuned.

Uncategorized, Vampires, Wipe the Drool

Guilty Pleasure Overdose…Someone Call 9-1-FUN!

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Chipmunks, I… I can’t even… I mean it’s just so… Deep breath. Okay. I’m having trouble typing because of THIS ARTICLE.

Have mercy!

Second Husband (Darren Criss) + People’s Sexiest Man Alive photo shoot = eating peanut butter cups and drinking champagne on a cloud while watching Glee and having someone tell me I’m perfect.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Clearly the guilty pleasure gods wish to appease me.

He looks like Eric from The Little Mermaid*. Or, you know, like every dream come true.

I am going to have to add a new bullet point to my “Why Polygamy is the Right Choice for You” presentation (if you think this presentation is just a figment of my imagination, you don’t know me very well): You can be the pretty one in the relationship. Pinky swear.

All right. I think I can move on now, to what this post was originally supposed to be about (oops).

I saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 this weekend (I’ll give you a moment to recover from the shock). I thought it was a lot more carefully done than Eclipse and I always enjoy seeing my favorite books come to life on the silver screen. I especially loved the wedding speeches and the closing shot.

I have a whole new set of ideas for my second wedding now. Photo credit: twilightnewssite.com

What did you think of Breaking Dawn?! (Feel free to ignore this question to comment instead about how much joy I will bring to Second Husband’s abs life.)

*I spent a considerable amount of time coming up with Little Mermaid puns for this paragraph, and then thought better of it…until this footnote. Here’s my favorite:

You’re the dinglehopper to my bad hair day.

Chipmunks Forever, Just For Fun, Lists, Uncategorized

Today Is Special…and So Are You!

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This is you, if you were a rainbow. Photo credit: http://www.goldengatephoto.com

Cherubic chipmunks, today is the most magical day ever. It’s:

11–11–11!!!

What, you mean you don’t always make a wish every time the clock hits 11:11? And your favorite actor‘s birthday isn’t today? …Hmm. Okay. If you don’t think today is special, maybe we should talk about other special things. Things for which you will not be able to deny their specialness.

On this most bewitching day, I’d like to introduce you to [some of] the people I hold nearest and dearest. Also known as…

People Who Rock My Guilty Pleasure World

1. Babs

Don't worry. She likes surprises.

Babs is the Mommasita extraordinaire. She taught me everything I know about guilty pleasures, namely, how to harmlessly stalk celebrities. Babs also showed me the way around a Long Island Iced Tea (or seven) and how to write a proper greeting card. Sometimes I don’t even know why I bothered with school.

Babs is special because she agreed to have a third child when she only wanted two. Also because she makes people feel good just by being around, and she doesn’t even know it.

2. Peppermeister

Look at this little baby-faced couple (circa 2005)!

My hubster, the one and only Peppermeister, taught me how to embrace guilty pleasures that I might have otherwise been too embarassed to share (er, like this one). He’s also the person who convinced me to start a blog, and is there any greater guilty pleasure than blogging about guilty pleasures (as I’ve mentioned before, it’s like trying to stare at the sun)?

Peppermeister is special because he once told a college english class -before we were dating- that I was “appropriately feminine.” Also because he’s the funniest, most selfless person I’ve ever met.

3. Bee-atch

On one of our more conservative shopping trips to Wal-Mart.

My Big Sis (actually, not-so-big – homegirl has lost almost 100 lbs. in the past year!) knows a thing or two about guilty pleasures. What she does with Pilsbury crescent rolls could blow your mind. She’s an inspiration!

Bee-atch is special because she lets me live vicariously through her dating life and is super-fun when she’s drunk. Also because she’s the only person I know who can dish it out as well as she can take it.

4. Bestie

I don't know why she didn't marry me. Look how happy I make her.

Some of you know Bestie, a.k.a. Jenn, from our stellar interview on JM Randolph’s blog. More than 11 years ago, Bestie rescued me from the depths of bad poetry despair and told me to have some g.d. fun! From animals dressed as other animals to vodka to hilarious Hallmark cards, she gets it.

Bestie is special because she thinks it’s funny when I’m angry. Also because she’s one of the smartest, most talented chicks on the planet. (Let’s see if I can convince her to introduce her music to the blogosphere…)

5. SIL

What a nice sister and girlfriend this band dude had - wearing his face on our shirts! And yes, this is in front of the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.

SIL (sister-in-law) helped me write an entire blog post, and in fact it’s one of the most popular to this day. If that isn’t guilty pleasure inspiration, I don’t know what is!

SIL is special because she remembers more things about my life than I do. Also because she welcomes people into her heart and home even when they’re trying to secretly date her only sibling.

6. YOU!

Duh! You are totally special, too! I mean for starters, you have impeccable taste. You are also overwhelmingly attractive, and that counts for a lot everything.

You are special because you knew me when I was just an awesome blogger. Also because you take the time out of your busy day to encourage your fellow writers.

P.S. – If you’d like to repay me for all the compliments, please email me the secret(s) to levitation.

Animals, Chipmunks Forever, Just For Fun, Kvetching, New Jersey is breathtaking, Uncle Jesse

And on the 7th day, there was light (…and labradoodles in costume).

Go Jules Go
When Seasons Collide.

Once upon a time, Mother Nature had a stroke and decided New Jersey was getting off too easy. Sure, sure, there’s tolls on the highways and you can’t bring beer on the beach, but…no scorpions! So, she threw us a heaping scoop of hurricane with a sprinkling of tornado. Nah, she thought, still not cutting it. I know! Earthquake! That seemed to satisfy her for a while, but when October 29th rolled around, she was restless again.

Mother Nature decided she’d start with a smattering of snow. Odd, I thought, but pretty.

Who doesn't like a Christmas tree farm dusted with snow?

Then…BAM!

FULL-ON SNOW STORM!

By the way, that ‘bam’ was the sound of every tree in New Jersey falling on every power line. As the most densely populated state in the U.S., that’s a lot of power lines. The snow was too heavy and the leaves too plentiful; giant branches bowed and then broke.

We weren’t anticipating a true storm (there’s no storm like it on record [for October] since the Civil War), so when it really started coming down and we lost power at 1 o’clock last Saturday afternoon, we headed out in search of a generator and bottled water (we have a well that doesn’t work when we lose power).

We encountered 5 power lines down in under an hour...which is how long it took us to go 6 miles.

We got the last generator, and it was enough to power the fridge. Not the heat or the water. So we waited in the dark. And waited and waited. We blanched at the news that 95% of New Jersey Central Power and Light’s customers would have power restored by the following Thursday, the remaining 5% on Friday. By Thursday?! That was 6 full days away! We had needs! …Like showering for work.

Guess who was in the 5%? Yup. That’s right. 7 days of flushing the toilet with melted snow and creek water later…

I’M BACK!

Of course, I have to return with a bang, so for your viewing pleasure…

Uncle Jesse in costume!!!

I'm not sure he grasps what a privilege it is to be a chipmunk.

There are many like-minded souls out there, which fills my guilty pleasure heart to the brim. For example, I discovered via Twitter that last Halloween Second Husband bought a squirrel costume from Target for his brother’s dog:

He's carrying an acorn! OMG. (Click on picture for photo credit, but only if you dare.)

Annnnnd this is why Second Husband is about to get upgraded to Soul Mate status. I mean, a squirrel is almost a chipmunk. Does anyone else see interwoven destiny here? …No? Pssh. See if I try to pawn off my leftover candy corn on you this year.

Animals, PSAs, Uncategorized

Animals Dressed As Interviews

Go Jules Go

I don’t know, guys. I mean, chipmunks. You’re probably thinking there’s not much I could do to top my last post.

WRONG!

Check out the guest post interview (click here) I did for JM Randolph’s (Accidental Stepmom) AWESOME weekly feature, Full-Assed Friday. I interviewed my good kick-butt friend, Jenn, about her work at the New Jersey-based animal shelter, 11th Hour Rescue. Don’t think I can make that topic funny? Ha! Wrong again! 

Oh and if you’re suffering from contest withdrawal? Take a looksie at Tinkerbelle’s (Laughter is Catching) fun contest and prove that YOU dress the fanciest!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Photo courtesy of: http://members.petfinder.org/~NJ376/Index.htm.

I'm Going To Chop My Ear Off Any Day Now, Uncategorized, Vampires, Vlogalicious

And the Winner of GOGP’s First Video Blogging Contest IS…

Go Jules Go

Furry-in-a-hurry chipmunks, do you know how hard this was? A month ago, I decided to run a little video blogging contest, asking readers to submit a 30-second video about their silliest guilty pleasures. I wasn’t sure anyone would want to play along, and was thrilled (T-H-R-I-L-L-E-D) when Darla immediately jumped on board, encouraging several others to make a vlog soon thereafter.

I loved all of the submissions, for completely different reasons. I had a prize in mind for each and every one of you. Everyone is a winner.

Except there’s only one winner. 

This winner stole my heart while broadcasting from inside her closet. I think we can all agree her submission is hilarious – it even got Peppermeister laughing (and he doesn’t like to admit the things I think are funny are actually funny, even though they totally always are). That’s right. The winner is…

Deb from The Monster in Your Closet!!!

And now, I present to Deb her highly sought-after, one-of-a-kind prize: A custom jack-o-lantern! 

It started this morning with a sketch – should I try to carve Deb’s guilty pleasure (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), I wondered, or go with an homage to her blog theme (The Monster in Your Closet)? Here’s what I chose:

That didn’t seem quite right. So, I thought about making the monster look like Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc.:

Still not right. Finally, I decided to make the monster a vampire-monster, to get the best of both worlds. He’s friendly because Deb is so sweet:

Next came taping the drawing onto the pumpkin, with Uncle Jesse (my dog) looking on curiously:

I transfered the outline of the drawing by poking holes into the pumpkin:

After carving, it looked like this:

And at last, the final product (picture taken, I should note, from inside my own closet)!

Hi Deb! My, you're looking winny today.

Congratulations, Deb!! You too are a guilty pleasure goddess. I would like to leave you with some Buffy dialogue about winning:

WHILE PLAYING THE GAME OF LIFE:

Anya: Crap! Look at this. Now I’m burdened with a husband, and several tiny pink children, more cash than I can reasonably manage…

Xander: That means you’re winning.

Anya: Really?

Xander: Yes, cash equals good.

Anya: Ooh, I’m so pleased! Can I trade in the children for more cash?

P.S. – If I stop responding to comments, someone please check Renée’s basement. (On a related note, if you haven’t seen her vlog submission, you really should watch it here. It puts the treat in trick-or-treat.)

Everyone Loves a Braggart...Right?, Just For Fun, Uncategorized

I Heard You Like to Laugh

Go Jules Go
He-eyyyyy.

Ch-ch-chipmunks! Did you know I’m famous?

All right. Cut it out. That wasn’t the funny part.

I was recently interviewed for Girl on the Contrary’s “Interviews with Celebrities” feature, and she posted the interview today. Check it out here! But only if you like things like smiling, rainbows and music. Or if you’ve been dying to know my thoughts on Bret Michaels. Either or.

Don’t forget – only two more days to enter GOGP’s AMAZING Video Blogging Contest! I cannot emphasize enough how awesome this prize is.

Photo Credit: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4752238023_534d31d34c.jpg.