Maru Is At It Again

Maru's owner has quite a few new videos on there but this was my favorite today. I just love how determined he is. I just found out that Maru has his own Wikipedia page...looks like that kitty has created quite the career for his owner.

The look on his face when he accomplishes what he set out to do is just adorable. And even when he isn't completely successful, he maintains that he meant to be in the position he is in.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Tea Is Your Friend

Bravo Focus Features

If there is one thing that irritates me about renting movie discs, it is the tease that most of them are doing these days (particularly anything produced by Sony) regarding special or bonus features. Special features are part of the fun of renting a movie and the stinginess of the movie industry is just astounding.

It seems like to me, if you aren't going to let a user see the special or bonus features, then don't put the icon on the disc. I hate clicking on it thinking I am going to be able to see them, and then you get that nasty little note from them stating that "this is only a rental disc, and if you purchase it, you can enjoy the special or bonus features",...jackasses.

So I have gotten in the habit now of not even clicking on those links anymore because the mean message irritates me so. Imagine my surprise when I went to take a shower after a movie tonight, while the credits were running, and came out to see the disc on the bonus features page. And then I hesitatedly pushed the play button, and the bonus features actually played!! Isn't that nice?

So I wanted to mention that Focus Features was the producer and they deserve a huge BRAVO!!
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...I Got Lucky

Three Things I Love About The Italian Job (2003)

1. Mark Wahlberg....yuuuummmmy!
2. Kick ass safe cracker is a girl!
3. Bad guy is so evil you are just thrilled that he gets everything he deserves!
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Fashion Angst

Accomplishing

Felt good about some stuff I managed to pull off today. Didn't get some big things that I have on the list done, but a few small things and that still made me feel pretty decent.

Got some exercise in while making my way to the paint store so I could look at color chips...and think I have found the color for the downstairs hallway and the bathrooms. Need to find a white for the ceilings and then I can get down to it.

Put down carpet pad in the closet that was water damaged last spring and finally put the carpet back in place and rehung the closet doors. Measured and noted a few more things that closet needs before it can be called "done". Will be able to move the exercise equipment from the garage in that room soon!!

Replaced the fan and motor in an old exhaust fan in our downstairs bathroom (which didn't have attic access so really wanted this to work) with a motor and fan purchased at a local DIY...it was so satisfying to put it back up in the hole in the ceiling and have it work just like it should on the very first try. This was truly amazing since we are talking about a 30 year old exhaust fan. Now just need to find a replacement for the cover or paint the cover we have, because right now, it looks terrible.

Took pics of all the hard work to chronicle on the house blog...but don't have time to put up those posts tonight...now it is off to bed with my library book!
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Fourteen Years Ago on In My Words...Many Times (poem to my husband)

SmartWool Socks

I have been a SmartWool wh0re since my sister turned me on to them a couple of years ago. I have many of them...but can't seem to ever have enough.

This is not my first trip down the road of sock addiction. I have always liked socks. When I was in highschool I always wore 2 1/2 pairs, every day. Two on one foot and 3 on the other and they always coordinated with my clothes. These days, I can do all that coordinating with one pair of socks!

Okay, back to SmartWool...they aren't the only ones I like but they are in the top three (and that is only in the wool category, I have entirely different brands I like in athletic socks). I also like Wigwam and Goodhew socks but it seems like SmartWool has the coolest colors and designs.

Big draw back of all of these sock brands is that they tend to cost more than anyone would ever want to pay for a pair of socks. In fact as far as I am concerned, in most cases I could buy 5 pairs of socks for the price of one SmartWool pair...if bought at normal prices. I have to say that the price (and this goes for all three of these brands) is due to the fact that these are very well made wool socks that don't itch.

This is the trick. You don't buy any of these brands at full price. I tend to get all of mine from Sierra Trading and ridiculously low prices. I buy the irregulars, when they are running a big sale (like 75% off). These two pairs were actually purchased with a free gift card I got from Sierra Trading last time I made a purchase with them. They didn't cost me a dime, including the shipping. I am excited to try them out soon!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...25 Random Things

Facebook Break

Last week, my sis decided to take a break from Facebook...a serious break, like she deactivated her account kind of break. While I don't want to do anything like that, the same day, I decided that I wanted to back away from it quite a bit.

I thought that after the elections the political crap would slow down and Facebook would go back to its normal stream of ecards, cute baby pictures, and actual updates from friends and family, but NO SUCH LUCK!

I am sick of all the political crap, and it wouldn't even be that bad if people didn't resort to name calling, hatred and putting everyone in a fucking box. I am not a box person....in fact, I have always absolutely detested being put in a box and have always gone out of my way to make sure that everyone around me knows I do not like being put in a box, and do everything in my effort to not be available for box status.

At this time, Facebook is nothing, but a box labeling place and I am sick of it, so I am staying away. I have a few places that I visit online, that auto post to Facebook and that is fine...I will continue to auto post my reading and my fitness, and perhaps even a few posts from my blog...but for the most part, I will be limiting my visits to Facebook itself.

This isn't an issue of time wasting...as I don't really spend much time there normally...it is just a matter of it being filled with negative crap that I don't need to see everyday. I joined it to stay in touch with family and friends and all of that gets hidden beneath all the politics and advertising so it just isn't worth much of my time. One of my closest friends says she only checks in once a week or so and finds that it is better because she sees the updates from those she wants to see, and is more easily able to ignore the idiotic crap. Perhaps that is what I will do, but right now, I haven't been on there for a week and it feels pretty good to not have that negative aspect in my life.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Done Messing Around

Un-natural Relationship

Okay, normally a post starting out this way would not be about a heating pad, but this one is. I have a SoftHeat heating pad that I just can't live without.

So I have had the pad for a while but it was only occasionally used when I had an issue with a pulled muscle from a workout or something along those lines.

A few months ago, I took it out because I had an ear ache and some of the home remedies I had seen on the web mentioned laying on the offended ear with heat and moisture applied. It seemed easier to use the pad (which is made to allow for use with a moist towel), than to run back to the microwave reheating a washcloth every ten minutes. The pad worked fabulously for what I needed.

So it was still out when the temperature outside really dropped, and I started to use it once in a while when I was working on something on the computer. I would put it behind me and it would keep me warm while I was writing. Last month I decided to lower both the daytime and nighttime temps on the furnace. I actually set up the program on the thermostat to warm the house back up just before getting up and to turn it down before bed. This means the house is a bit chillier inside but hopefully it will save some energy and money.

Needless to say, at night while reading, I have gotten in the habit of laying on the pad before bed and then within the last week (when we have been in the teens at night), I have even found myself snuggling with it in my sleep. It has an auto shut off after about an hour which is a great feature for safety and peace of mind. I am only days away from giving my pad a name...which should tell you something...right now, only the house and our truck have names.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Futenma Shrine Visit

Why I Love Kinsey Millhone

From G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton:

"What really bugged me was the suspicion that nobody would have even suggested that a boy detective do likewise. I didn't want to see that old lady again. While I admired her spunk, I didn't want to be in charge of her. I had my own ass to worry about. Why does everybody assume women are so nurturing? My maternal instincts were extinguished by my Betsy Wetsy doll. Every time she peed in her little flannel diddies, I could feel my temper climb. I quit feeding her and that cured it, but it did make me wonder, even at the age of six, how suited I was for motherhood."

This segment set me into fits of laughter while in a hot bathtub reading it. I just love the character Grafton has created here and she just gets better and better.
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 Seven Years Ago on In My Words...One Of My Best Rants

Amazon Kindle Fire 7 Inch Review

I am sorry, but all the hype about the Kindle products is just that. I am in the process of setting one up (thankfully it is not mine, I'll stick with Nook, thank you very much), and am so disappointed in it. It seems like the only reason Amazon even had this product made is so that they could push their sales on you more than just over your computer. Really the fact that the ebooks are proprietary, there is no charger for the wall included and that every time you turn it on, you are forced to deal with stupid ads just solidifies my belief that Amazon has gotten too big for their own britches.

I am trying to set this thing up so my Dad can use it for listening to his music (which he has on iTunes and isn't planning to move to the Amazon music store) and for searching the web. He received this device as a gift (didn't ask for it) so please no comments about how he shouldn't have gotten an ereader if he wasn't going to use it for reading...the point is that it is advertized as a tablet more than an ereader and the issues I have with it are not about the ereading part of it...it is about the money grubbing lack of consideration that Amazon seems to have for their customers.

Seriously? An over 11 hour charge to use the computer for this thing is just ridiculous...hopefully the charger for my mother's Nook Tablet (yes it was included in the box) will work for this thing too, because if they have to spend even a cent more on this, it is a cent too much.

Amazon, you should be ashamed of yourself.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Another Disappointment from Sony

Willpower

So I knew this entire week that we were going to have the warmest weather of the week on Tuesday so I made a plan to go exercise outside. I am trying to work myself up to a few workouts that involve miles.

So the sun was out and we were getting up to 48 degrees (which is warm for the last few weeks). I had to run an errand so I ended up at the park a bit later than I wanted, and the temp started to drop.

The loop I have at the park is about .8 miles so I really wanted to get 4 laps in so I would get over 3 miles in but I wasn't convinced that I was going to be able to pull it off. While on my first two laps, I kept telling myself, just get through the third lap, you can do it, and it will be almost the three miles. While on the third lap, I was congratulating myself for doing it but had this nagging in the back of my head that I need to just be tough and get that last lap in to get over the 3 mile mark.

Fortunately I started feeling pretty good near the end of the third lap, so I was easily able to just keep going (this was helped by the fact that the lap area was flat and not at the hill that I knew was coming up). Once I had committed myself to keep going, it was easier to just keep going.

I finished up the 3.36 miles in 48 mins or so, which was not my best time, but I only ran a small portion of each lap so that is why. I did some stretching at the end. I felt good that I pushed myself through it.

On another note, I parked under a tree and there was an American Robin party above my car so I had to wash it in the driveway, in thirty degree weather, once I got home so that I wouldn't have bird poop frozen to my hood and roof for eternity.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Slacker

Photo Projects Gone

It seems like both projects that I have been involved with the last two years have disappeared, or have become so complicated that it isn't worth my time anymore. I need to go to their flicker sites and pull down my pics too because I don't need them to be publically viewable but I don't want it to ruin any of my blog posts, so I need to think about what I am going to do first.

I also plan to a do a search on the web and see if there are any other photo projects I can do instead. Hopefully one that isn't only once a month...I can probably swing that...LOL

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...I Believe