Snorting. Uncontrollable Snorting.

Oh my gosh, you guys. I swear to God I have NEVER laughed so hard in my entire life as I laughed at this video.

Seriously. Die hard laughing. Almost literally considering I can barely get any air in my lungs right now. This video about killed me, and it would have been worth it.

If you know me in real life you know that when I start laughing hard I start to snort uncontrollably. It's not cute but it's true. And this video made me laugh so hard and I snorted so constantly that I SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF MY DOG.

I have no idea if you all will crack up or not. But just imagine the girl in the video is me. Because it would be me. I HATE being scared with a passion. I watched Children of the Corn when I was in seventh grade and I'm still not over it. So when Ellen DeGeneres sent her writer, all dressed up like a reporter, into a haunted house to do a segment... I totally felt her pain.

In between uncontrollable fits of laughter.

And snorting.

"That's So Rude!" might be my favorite line. Right after, "Don't do it anymore, please. I know you're getting paid..."

Oh my gosh. SO FUNNY. I'm going to be honest with you people... I have been truly feeling really sick. I can't talk, can barely breathe, and my skin is crawling I feel so lousy. But this?

This is GOOOOOD medicine!

And I hope it brings you enough joy to forgive me for not feeling strong enough to get some digital freebies made for you this week. There are few things I hate more than being unreliable, and I appreciate you all always being gracious with me and my hiccups in posting here and there!

I'm missing it this week, but if any of you want to post to Shannon’s Take Five entry [she takes 5 minutes to write 5 things about her week], just head on over to participate and link up. :)

Have a great weekend, friends, and enjoy the people you love!

Gitz Bits 2010: Week 42

Monday, October 18, 2010

He's even cute when the camera exposure is awful.

In my defense, I set the camera on the floor and hit the button without looking, so this is the best I could do. :)

The pup has this thing for burrowing into tight places. The problem is that he also doesn't like to be very far away from me. Since moving the room around he hasn't been quite sure where his burrowing should take place... he used to lay behind the bed, but there are pillows there now that make it hard for him to squeeze in. At one point last week he started laying under the bed on the side I lay on, so he's basically directly underneath me.

But it seemed inhumane to let him lay there on the carpet. All hard and uncomfortable like. So I laid a blanket in that spot and surrounded it with some pillows so he could really burrow in.

He'd like me to remind you all that he's not in the least bit spoiled. He's just well loved.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Susie stopped over on Tuesday night and promptly reminded me that the wind chill factor in my condo is brutal. She found a pair of gloves and tried warming her hands under the lamp since she had seen Riley warming himself there in last week's Gitz Bits.

He, of course, promptly felt he could show her the best way to hold her hands for optimum heat.

He's all bossy like that.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Speaking of bossy...

Meg stopped by for lunch on Wednesday. [She's under the covers in my bed because she thinks the wind chill is a bit cold, too. These girls are such wimps...] Riley acted like he was climbing Mt. Everest to get over her legs and closer to the french fries.

Someone should really teach that dog some manners.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I was pretty much busting at the seams all day on Thursday. My lovely Jessica had called me with VERY exciting news about a new baby on the way.

Seriously, I was grinning all day.

So when I opened the fridge and saw this bottle, it seemed like an incredibly fitting way to mark the occasion! [She didn't think it was as hilarious as I did, but it's her fault for making me take pictures every day.] :)

I am so excited to be an Auntie again!!!! And with how sweet Mr. Elias is, I have no doubt this new little one is going to be a heartbreaker.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Of course, I was only grinning from ear to ear until my pharmacy delivered the flowers that night. So I took a shot of the card/envelope on Friday before throwing it away. Little did I realize that stupid delivery would pretty much sum up my whole next week!

Flowers are the devil. End of story.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

This shot is a teaser. I got this lovely new addition to my bedroom this weekend, and I'm going to tell you all about the story behind it on Monday.

Isn't it pretty? And I mean the television. Not Mark, Susie's husband, who is putting it up. Although he's great, too. :)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Riley, on the other hand, is not too sure he's thrilled with the television. He said, and I quote:

"Did we REALLY need a giant Padma attached to the wall, taking more of your attention away from me? Did we? Did we REALLY???"

I'm going to put up a link for you guys to share anything you created this week, even though I totally slacked off.

Just click below and follow the instructions to link to your project. When it asks you to choose the web or a file for your thumbnail, choose web. Then it will take you to a list of the images on the page you are linking to and you’ll be able to choose a photo to represent your project.

No Worries.

Hey, friends. Just checking in so there are no worries about me.

I've kind of adopted that as the motto here in the condo. When the Shan Clan was visiting this summer I kept telling Nie Nie and Yodi that my home was the Condo of No Worries so they weren't nervous if they spilled or broke something.

Because seriously, who could ever get mad at these faces?

So, since I seem to be fighting more infections lately, I'm extending my motto to the Blog of No Worries, too. I'm on some antibiotics and other meds, and am working on this latest bump in the road. But I'm not exactly Speedy Gonzales right now, so my intention that I'd get my photos processed and Gitz Bits up a day late is out the window.

Instead, look for this week's Gitz Bits on Thursday and a special Halloween Friday Five giveaway on Friday.

And hopefully I'll be more Speedy Gonzales and less Slow Poke Jones by next week.

Arriba! Arriba!

Oh. My. Word.

Ok.

So sometimes, no matter how careful you are to make sure life stays as calm as possible, life has a mind of its own.

On Thursday evening, I was home. [I realized when proofreading this post how silly that statement is. OF COURSE I was home!] :) I was minding my own business, watching a little Grey's Anatomy and figuring out what to do for my Friday Five giveaway.

And then there was a knock on my door.

Mistake #1, I opened the darn thing.

There in the hallway was a kind and unsuspecting delivery person with a small bouquet of flowers.

FLOWERS.

I am very, very, very allergic to flowers. Which shouldn't surprise anyone since I'm, you know, allergic to air.

The poor delivery guy. He held them out and I stopped short of slamming the door in his face. I asked him to set the flowers down in the hallway and hand me the card. Like I was asking him to set down a bomb and back away or something. He thought I was nuts, I'm sure. But I was panicky because I knew the damage had already been done.

Here's where this non-funny incident actually gets funny.

The flowers were from my pharmacy. They wanted to thank me for my business.

Whose pharmacy sends them flowers?!?! The only logical reason I can think of is that I must be their best customer. Which is both funny and sad.

The insanely ironic part is that Benadryl doesn't seem to be taking care of this reaction. When I got really sick back at the end of June/early July it had started from a bad allergic reaction – and now here I am – reacting and getting sicker. Which means that because of my pharmacy who appreciates my business, I'm now going to be giving them more business because of the extra meds that will be required to get me over this infection.

They are so lucky I'm not a conspiracy theorist.

Friday Five: polka dots

First thing first... the winner of yesterday’s canvas is:

Candy: Have I told you lately how much I love your canvases? I really do. And no, I'm not saying that just so you'll pick me. But, um, if you just happen to pick me, I won't say no!

I cracked up when I read your comment, Candy... and I SWEAR it was random.org that chose you, but I’m glad you won’t say no! :) Be sure to email me your mailing address and I’ll get the canvas sent off to you! Congrats!

I couldn’t decide what to make you all for today’s

... so I put a call out on Twitter to see if there were any doodles you guys were needing in your digital scrapbooks/cards/creations. My friend Mandy was the first to respond with a request for fun polka dots, so that’s what I did!

I love tiny little doodle accents around photos or words, just to give a page a little pizzazz, so these are right up my alley.

My Twitter-shout-out got me thinking, though, that you all should have a say in what I create here. I would love it if you would leave a comment with some things you’ve been wanting to have made. Certain words you’d like to use on your scrapbook page? Are there phrases you wish were made into word art? Are there themes [like holidays or back to school] that you’d like to have handy?

Hit me up in the comment section and let me know!

To get the doodles I made today, all you have to do is click on that download button and it will take you to the download page. Hope you enjoy!

I’m going to be linking my post to Shannon’s Take Five entry [she takes 5 minutes to write 5 things about her week]. Head on over if you want to participate and link up. :)

Have a great weekend, friends, and enjoy the people you love!

YOU:create ... week 14

Well, the last canvas I made was all flowery, so I thought I’d change it up with a grungy experiment this week.

Once I decided to try grungy, the hardest thing was choosing a quote to use. And then I thought about my post yesterday, and decided on a message we all probably need hanging on our walls.

If we are too busy to enjoy and appreciate life, then we are too busy...                                         ~Jeff Davidson

I think the part of this quote I’m fixated on is the enjoying and appreciating part. We all tend to have preconceived ideas about what busy looks like. I think we forget that busy is ok when it’s filling us up... leaving us better than when we started. But when busy [that includes the busyness of our minds] depletes us of the joy and beauty in life, it’s time to take a step back.

If you want to win this canvas as your own personal reminder, leave me a comment before midnight CST, and I’ll let you know the winner in tomorrow’s post. [Only one comment per person, please.]

I can’t wait to see what you guys came up with this week! Just click below and follow the instructions to link to your project. When it asks you to choose the web or a file for your thumbnail, choose web. Then it will take you to a list of the images on the page you are linking to and you’ll be able to choose a photo to represent your project.

Sabbath

I’ve been thinking a lot about Sabbath this week.

And not just the book.

I do a few behind-the-scenes honey-do’s for Angie and Jessica to help with the Bloom Book Club, and the book we are going to be starting this next week is called Sabbath, by Wayne Muller.

I’m going to be honest. When they first told me the title of the book and that it’s about finding rest in our harried lives, I thought, “Well, this one isn’t going to be all that pressing in my non-harried, homebound life. But I’m sure it’ll be a good read.”

Nothing like low expectations. :)

I’m not going to talk about the book today... I’m planning on starting it and reading it along with everyone else. But it’s amazing, in the last week, how much I may actually really need this book has hit me squarely between the eyes.

This weekend was a hard one for me. [understatement] I find myself getting so frustrated with myself sometimes. I am frustrated that the grief takes over so hard, when I know Dad is in perfect joy and we are so grateful for having had him in our lives. I am frustrated that I’m so tired, that I’m still getting sick every day, that I’m not bouncing back like I think I should. I am ashamed that it has been three months since Dad left and I still haven’t finished my thank you cards. Heck, I’ve barely started them.

People, I’m even frustrated that I can’t finish my dog’s haircut.

It was Riley’s poor grooming that brought this to light for me. I was telling Shannon that I was pretty sure Animal Control was going to come rescue him if I didn’t get him prettified pretty soon – that I had barely taken a brush to the poor pup, let alone a scissors to his mane – since Dad died. And that’s when she gave me a little perspective.

She asked me when I had time between grieving Dad and trying to be there for my family and getting sick every day and dealing with the migraines and the pain and wishing I could be outside and getting infections and rashes and staving off pneumonia and reacting to every other thing with which I come in contact.

She reminded me that living and breathing and moving are my job. And they can be stressful. She reminded me that my life is incredibly slow, but it’s my harried mind that needs a break.

I need a Sabbath from me.

I can’t take a Sabbath from my life. From my pain. From my grief. From my circumstances. But in my mind and heart, I can try to learn how to give myself a break. A breather. A rest from my own frustrating expectations.

And that makes me wonder how many of you don’t need a change in schedule and pace as much as a change in your expectations of yourselves.

Just something to think about... if it fits you, you may want to join us as we start reading together this next week. :)

Gitz Bits 2010: Week 41

Monday, October 11, 2010

There are two slightly pitiful things about this photo.

1. This dog lays on underneath this lamp, on the back of this chair, multiple times a day. And I honestly believe he thinks it’s the sun and is using it for warmth. Pitiful.

2. Have you seen his fur? Poor pup needs a haircut. He is pleading for one with his eyes. You can tell. Pitiful.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

My obligatory shot of a beautiful Fall sky in Iowa. Seriously, October in Iowa has to be the prettiest month ever. I especially love this because you can see a blue sky, a cloudy sky, and and the beginning of a stormy sky all in one shot.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Riley has something to say:

“Dude. I asked for a haircut. I assumed you understood that meant ALL of my hair. Not just my feet. I mean, if you want to be all lazy and cut me in stages, could you make it a bit less obvious? Because this is embarrassing. And being the Blog Dog, I believe not humiliating me was in the contract.”

As a rebuttal, I have something to add: if not humiliating him was in the contract, I would have never taken a photo of him in a Snuggie.

I win.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

I had to show you that when I lay back in bed, I can see bushes instead of garages.

Me = happy.

Friday, October 15, 2010

He’s still sulking about the haircut.

Either that or he’s working on his fake-sun-suntan.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

“People. Do you see my distress? I am only allowing her to shoot my face because she once again didn’t finish the full haircut and I look like a bad version of a cocker spaniel with unevenly-cut, bushy legs. I WANT A NEW CONTRACT!!!”

He’s so picky.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

I took this on Monday because this photo pretty much summed up my Sunday. Grief hits hard, people. And it sucks. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well: