Well, I managed to survive another week in the rat race. Technically, it was only four days since I took Monday off from work. The weather has gotten colder and we have more snow on the way. I'll believe it when I see it. We have the most sophisticated weather technology and yet our meteorologists can't accurately predict the weather. Truth be told, I love snow. When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to get into my snow suit and play in the snow. Now that I'm older, I don't wear a snow suit but I still love to be outside in the snow.

We found out a few weeks ago, that no one at the store will be getting a raise this year. If that weren't exciting enough, the Replenishment Team and Pricing Team will be restructured at some point during the coming year. The Replenishment team will have two full time people and the rest will be part time. Pricing will have two full time people and one part time person. Since there are four of us on the team, someone will be out of a job. My attitude is, what ever will be will be.

Mom called me up tonight to tell me that she's getting me a lazar printer for my birthday. Gee, thanks ma. I like nothing better than knowing what I'm getting in advance. Yes, I'm another year older on Tuesday and maybe another year wiser. Yeah, right. For those of you who may be in a festive party mood, I have supplied some cake and refreshments-which is all I can afford on my budget. Not to worry, after President Obama's stimulus takes effect on April 1, I will have an extra 15$ per paycheck. God, I'm so excited. I'll be sure not to spend it all in one place.

Have fun and please, share the cake. There's plenty for everyone.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.

What would we be without the ability to find humor in life? Laughter can make us feel better. I start each day be reading the comics on my computer. Starting the day with a chuckle makes me feel good.

Now, here is a list especially for Jordina. She tagged me on Facebook to come up with 25 things about myself, which in all honesty wasn't easy. I added a few extra thingies so have fun getting to know me better.

I hate the sound of my voice.

When I was four years old, I had a turtle named Nixon.

I can't walk a straight line.

My favorite comfort foods are popcorn and pepperoni pizza.

My two favorite flavors of ice cream are: Black Raspberry Chocolate and Caramel

Praline Crunch.

I usually read three books simultaneously.

My best feature is my red hair.

I love wearing leather pants and high heel boots.

I believe that Scientology is a CULT

I've seen the film

50 times.

I started out as an English/Film History Major in college.

I'm German/Irish

The Tin Drum is my favorite book

Raging Bull is one of my all time favorite movies.

My dream is to get high with

Country music Icon Willie Nelson

The only country I've traveled to is England.

I'm fascinated with British/Irish History.

My favorite color is Lavender

I love black and white photography

The first album I bought was Hotel California by The Eagles

I think the song, Bridge Over Troubled Water is the best song ever written.

I think Def Leppard's song, Pour Some Sugar On Me, is the best song of the 1980's.

My only two celebrity crushes were on:

and

hmmmm...That's a tough one. I guestimate the photo was from back in the mid 60's. He;s the guy Carlie Simon may have been referring to in her 1970 song, "Your So Vein." He and his famous sister are both academy award winners. I've been drooling over him since I saw Bonnie and Clyde. His name is Warren Beatty and he turns 73 on March 30. IMO, he still looks great.

Betty Boop is my favorite cartoon character.

My worst subject in High School was Math

I hate reality TV

I prefer Pepsi over Coke

Since I had so much fun working on this list, all future blogs will contain a list of fun facts on a specific topic. I'll also try and include a movie review or two. I subscribe to Net Flix and I get two movies each week. I just received The Secret Life of Bees. I read the book and I hope the film is equally as good. Well, I'm off to finish a mystery book that 's due back at the library on Sunday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

First of all, for those of you who have fainted at the sight of a new blog from yours truly, I offer the following items to make your landing softer:

Yes, I must say the Oscars was a much better production than in the past. Hugh Jackman really did make a great host.

Congratulations go out to Heath Ledger for winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as

and

Sean Penn for his moving portrayal of San Francisco Gay Rights Activist, Harvey Milk. I did see the film and I can't rave enough about it. I had a feeling that the entire audience was moved to tears when Heath's family accepted his award. I swear I thought I actually saw Sean Penn getting choked up. I really thought Ben Stiller was hilarious imitating Joaquin Phoenix.

So, yeah it's been almost a year since I've posted a blog-but as the saying goes "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Ok, so perhaps I took the saying much to literally but truth be told, I've been in pissy mood for quite a long time but I'm making baby steps to move past my negative mood. I have much to be grateful for. I now have both a Facebook and Myspace account so I've been seeing other blogs. Don't worry, I'm home now. I'll only be seeing blogs on Facebook and Myspace every other weekend.

For those of you who are may be asking how have I been coping with the pissy state of affairs, I'll give you this video by one of my favorite female country singers. I thank the Lord for LimpnJen for posting this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHby_TDUHaE

Tomorrow is my last day of vacation until April so I'm going to spend a few hours down at the Casino. Mom needs to get away and she wants to go down for the buffet and play the slots for awhile. My step father and I will stoically stand beside her and pull the handle. She's been working so hard the past few weeks, we feel it's the very least we can do for her.

Well I'm off to bed. Someone on this site has tagged me on Facebook to come up with 25 facts about yours truly. I'm almost done so by the end of the week, I'll share my list of 25 facts about ME here and on Facebook.

Have a great week, everyone.

Ah, yes. Today marks a minor historic event in my so called life. I'm another year older an another year wiser. "Ah, my birthday. Normally I'd put on a festive hat and celebrate the fact that the Earth has circled the Sun one more time. I really didn't think it was going to make it this year, but darn it if it wasn't the little planet that could all over again." Now who do I sound like?

That's right, I came screaming into this world on March 3 and I still love a good scream every now and then. Since Mum is still under the weather, I won't be celebrating with the rest of my family until Friday. I already got a birthday card from my step sister, Melanni and a gift certificate from one of my favorite places, Barnes & Noble.

Mom asked me what I wanted and I told her I wanted a man. Unfortunately, I told her that in Wal-mart within earshot of one of the male employees. He told me he would accomodate me anytime. I decided to settle for lumineers instead.

Also, happy birthday wishes go out to

Jessica Biel who turns 26 on March 3. Happy Birthday, Jessica!

Some Famous People with Sun in Pisces: Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in Pisces), Drew Barrymore (Sun and Venus in Pisces), Kurt Cobain (Sun, Mercury, and Venus in Pisces), Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, Cindy Crawford, Billy Crystal (Sun, Mercury, and Mars in Pisces), Albert Einstein, George Harrison, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Michelangelo, Aidan Quinn (Sun and Moon in Pisces), Rob Reiner (Sun, Mercury, and Mars in Pisces), Dr. Seuss, Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Taylor (Sun, Mercury, and Mars in Pisces), Bruce Willis, Holly Hunter, and Glenn Close.

So now that we know some of the famous people born under the sign of Pisces, I thought it would be fun to learn more about the origins of birethdays. Happy reading and don't forget to stop by my blog on Friday and see what famous faces will be partying with me.

Birthday celebrations are relatively new. Egyptians observed birthdays, but only for their rulers. They held parades, circuses, gladiatorial contests, and sumptuous feasts! The Romans staged parades and chariot races to celebrate birthdays; some of which were created for their gods. Mere mortals were not honored or even remembered on the day of their birth.

Definition of Birthday Cake
In Western culture Birthday Cake is defined as a pastry or dessert served to a person on his or her birthday. Birthday cakes are usually decorated with person's name and carry a message of congratulations. Candles equal to the number of year's a person has been alive are also placed on the cake. There is also a tradition to place one extra candle to bring good luck. Birthday cakes are usually spongy and the most popular flavour in cakes is chocolate.

Birthday Cake History
History of Birthday Cake can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who made round or moon shaped honey cakes or bread and took it to the temple of Artemis -the Goddess of Moon. Some scholars, however, believe that the tradition of Birthday cake started in Germany in Middle Ages. Sweetened bread dough was given the shape of baby Jesus in swaddling cloth and was used to commemorate his birthday. This special birthday cake later reemerged in Germany as a Kinderfest or the birthday celebrations of a young child. Germans also baked another special kind of a cake called Geburtstagorten as it was baked in layers. This was sweeter that the coarse and bread like cake that were usually made at that time.

Traditions and Superstitious Beliefs Related to Birthday Cake
In medieval times people of England used to place symbolic objects like coins, rings and thimbles in the batter of the cake. It was believed that those who found coin in the cake would be wealthy while the unlucky finder of the thimble would never marry. Wedding was signified for the person who found the slice of cake with ring. Even today some people follow the tradition and place small figures, fake coins and small candies inside the cake.

If the cake fell while baking it was considered to be a bad omen and signified bad luck for the person in the coming year.

History of Birthday Parties

In the beginning, it was royalty that first celebrated birthdays. Having a party was a way to ward off the evil spirits, since one is surrounded by family and friends in a celebration of life. These evils spirits were thought to be more active on the day of ones birth. A celebration or gathering became a protection from harm. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer. Later in Germany, children were included in the birthday parties. And so began birthday parties.

Birthday Trivia

• More people celebrate their birthdays in August than in any other month (about 9% of all people). The two other months that rate high for birthdays are July and September.
• Close to 2 billion Birthday Cards are sent each year in the U.S. alone, accounting for nearly 58 percent of all cards sent.
• The world's largest birthday cake was created in 1989 for the 100th Birthday of the city of Fort Payne, Alabama. The cake weighed 128,238 pounds, 8 oz. and used 16,209 pounds of icing.
• The most famous rendition of "Happy Birthday" is when Marilyn Monroe sang to "Happy Birthday, Mr President" to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden on 19 May 1962.
• Paul McCartney's Birth Certificate was auctioned in March 1997, for US $84,146. It is believed to be the world's most expensive Birth Certificate.
• The Sultan of Brunei hosted the world's most expensive Birthday Party to celebrate his 50th Birthday on 13 July, 1996. The cost was a whopping US $27.2 million. Three concerts featuring Michael Jackson costs US $16 million of the total amounts.
• Anne Frank's world famous diary was given to her as a present for her 13th birthday.
• William Shakespeare's died on his 52nd birthday: 23 April 1616.
• A recent survey suggests that more people are born on October 5 in the United States than any other day. October 5 holds a not-so-surprising significance, as conception would have fallen on New Year's Eve.
• The least common birth date in the U.S. is May 22nd.

So now that you know more about the origins of the birthday, let's all enjoy some

And just because I feel festive, the party will continue throughout the week.D

Hugs to everyone!

Ok. First of all, I'd like to apologize to HugeHouseFan and JordinaJamaica for accidentally hitting the stop tracking button when I e-mailed them. Redheads are allowed to have a few blonde moments but I've had more than my share of blonde moments over the past few weeks. I think I need a vacation-someplace warm and sunny is what I'd really enjoy. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that I don't get the bug that my step father and Mum have had. The good news is that Vern was able to make my mother go to the doctor's for some medication after she had a long coughing spell. She's one of those people who will not go to a doctor even when she knowls she should. Oh, the only bit of bad new is that my hours were cut back to 36. Luckily, I do have some interest to fall back on.

Now for 5 random things about me:

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and My Antonia are my two favorite pieces of American Literature.

I'm not a girly girl. I don't wear aritficial fingernails, false eye lashes, or eye shadow.

I love bananas with peanut butter, kiwis, and clementines.

I'm an Anglophile-I love anything British and I have alot of british comedies on DVD and most of the books I have are written by british authors.

When I'm alone, I like walking around in the buff. People should learn to embrace their bodies.

I tag Brinchen, Kathey Reynolds, HugeHouseFan, JordinaJamaica, and GwenPiper.