It’s kind of difficult to read because it’s covered with the sticker. It says Rental.

The disc says the same thing.

Seems like a good way to mark DVDs so people might be less inclined to steal them. The problem is, it’s not just a label. When you see it, you should know you’re about to be ripped off. Where The Wild Things Are is supposed to have special features, according to Amazon.com. This particular rental however,

Nothing.

I’ve had this experience with a couple DVDs now and it’s frustrating. One of the fun parts of renting a movie is watching the special features. I understand some movies choose not to include any but it feels like a major rip off knowing that there are supposed to be special features but I don’t get to see them because I rented the movie. I tried looking online to see if I could get any information on this new trend. I don’t know if it’s a Blockbuster thing or if Netflix, Redbox and other movie rental companies are doing the same thing. I’m assuming it saves them money somehow but again, I can’t find any information. Even the employee I asked at Blockbuster had no idea. I’m really curious so if anyone has any information please let me know. Also, any of you that have memberships with other DVD rental companies, have you seen the Rental label on any of your DVDs? Or is it time for us to switch companies?

Anyway, Where The Wild Things Are was a great movie. I highly recommend it. It’s dark, and artistic. Its not your typical kids movie, in fact, it’s almost more of an adult movie. It definitely captured the book beautifully. Luckily it was good enough that I plan on buying it and I’ll be able to see the special features. Not all movies are good enough to own though so I hope this Rental Only thing will remain the exception, not become the rule.

Baths don’t actually relax me. Sorry, but soaking in my own filth just isn’t my cup of tea. Plus I’ve never really had a tub that I could get comfortable in. After a few minutes, I’m too hot, my neck is cramping up and I’m bored. I’m much more of a shower person. However, this post isn’t about my hygiene habits. It’s about what I do when I want to relax.

I’m a bit different and this is what relaxes me:

I cut words out of magazines.

As I kid my favorite thing about paper dolls was cutting them out. I’d meticulously cut out each doll, dress and accessory. I’m sure I also made up elaborate stories in my head featuring whatever character the doll happened to be of at the time. When I was done cutting though my interest died out. I didn’t really have much of an interest with dressing up the paper dolls or playing with them. Once they were all cut out, they were neatly put away or given to my younger sisters.

Eventually I became too old for paper dolls. I’m not sure how or when my interests shifted from paper dolls to magazines. As a teenager I had stacks of magazines and one day I started cutting them up. After awhile I had dozens of envelopes full of words and pictures. I don’t know what happened to them. They probably got thrown away once I moved out of my parents house. For years I was kind of a nomad and since there was no place to store my words my habit kind of died.

As a flight attendant one of the easiest things to do on the airplane during down time is read gossip magazines. They’re not very in depth so it’s easy to start and stop reading since interruptions are inevitable. Plus, people leave them on planes all the time so they’re free. During my time flying I built up quite a collection. Not really on purpose, I left many on planes for other people to read or passed them on to other flying partners. Many made it home with me though. Plus, Amazon has had some really great sales on magazine subscriptions (Cosmo for $5 for a year? Um, yes please!). I now have several stacks of magazines cluttering up my house.

Since I’m on furlough I’m currently jobless. I’m looking (Ugh! Whole other story) but in the mean time sitting at home watching DVD’s can get really old. In an effort to declutter and give myself something to do I’ve taken up my old hobby again. I’d forgotten how soothing it is. There’s something about finding interesting fonts, colors, words and letters that just makes me happy.

I haven’t decided what (if anything) I’m going to do with all these words yet. It seems like a waste to just stuff them in envelopes. I’ve thought about using them for scrap-booking (another hobby I’m thinking about taking up) and someone asked me if I planned to make cards out of them. Hey, if I don’t get a job soon I may have to take up kidnapping to bring in a little extra cash. Never mind. That last ones a bad idea Detective who is reading this because someone in my neighborhood went missing. Definitely wasn’t me… I’m open to suggestions though so if you think of anything be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or leave new hobby suggestions because this one may just be a little too much proof I have OCD.

I don’t have much more to say. I had a little taste of the red carpet in Sydney and it just left me wanting more. I’m confident someday I’ll have my Oscar red carpet moment. Until then I’ll live vicariously through the stars and starlets on my TV screen.

Anyway, I made her a little party hat.

She looks pretty darn cute, huh?

We also ordered a dog cake from Happy Dog Barkery. They make super cute cakes for dogs and cats.

She didn’t want to look at the camera because she was very interested in the yummy cake in front of her.

Here’s the video of us singing to her and her enjoying her cake.

The cake was peanut butter flavored. Phoebe thought it was delicious, so did my parents’ Labrador Madison. Joel and I…. not so much. It wasn’t awful but I certainly wouldn’t eat more than a little bite. Guess that’s why it was the dog cake not the people cake.

Jordan didn’t quite understand the concept of there being two separate cakes and when Phoebe got to this point,

Jordan got really upset

Once we cut the people cake and gave him a piece he perked right back up.

It was a lot of fun for a dog’s birthday party. By the end Phoebe was worn out.

Tummy full of cake = happy, sleepy puppy

I can’t believe she’s a year old already. She grown into a really wonderful, sweet dog and I can’t imagine not having her around. Maybe it’s time to give her a puppy sibling…

We’re having a little family party for her tomorrow. I’ll be sure to post pictures afterward. *smile*

“Aw! Look at the little chihuahua”

“I have the short haired version at home.”

*sigh*

Here’s a quick lesson in dog breeds:

Chihuahua =

Cute, but nothing at all like a papillon=

I mean seriously, how can you confuse this face

With this

???

I know people are just trying to be friendly so I’ll keep smiling and nodding. It’s just too much effort to explain that they don’t have a short haired version of my dog because there is no short haired version of a papillon. I won’t stop sighing though.

Apparently the speed bump just couldn’t cut it.

This is a little bit of a better angle. You can clearly see where the speed bump used to be by the darker area of pavement and that there’s still a small part of it left on the road.

And just in case you think this was intentional road work…

There are big chunks of speed bump in the snow bank on the side of the road.

Maybe I’m just easily amused but for some reason this really cracks me up.

It was an interesting week. I actually had a lot of fun trying out different recipes and I even feel healthier. Food at restaurants tends to be so fatty and greasy and I never feel like I eat enough fruits and veggies. Eating in I got to control exactly what went into my food and I made sure to incorporate healthier ingredients. Amazingly I didn’t have any major disasters either! Perhaps not quite as interesting for you readers but I feel good about it. It was a lot easier than I imagined it would be too. I didn’t spend hours in the kitchen every day because we were able to eat leftovers certain days. I still need to work on starting on dinner earlier since we tended to eat at around 8pm most nights. Things always seemed to take longer than I expected. I just have to learn to think about food before I’m hungry. All in all it was a great experience and I’m planning on continuing it for the most part. I feel much more productive and good about myself when I eat something that I worked hard on rather than just ordering in all the time.

My favorite quote of the week:

Joel- “Abigail, I love you more when you cook.”

Me – “Um, thanks… so do you love me less when I don’t?”

Joel – “Uh….”

Thanks Huffington Post for an interesting challenge and making my husband love me more in the process.