Fun Monday - Two guys walk into a bar

This week's Fun Monday, the last of 2007 is being hosted by Peter. The assignment was as follows:

I want you to tell us your favorite joke and/or show usyour favorite cartoon, don’t worry if there is someduplication that just means more than one personfound it funny.So come on and regale us with your best joke and/orcartoon, remember its New Years Eve and we feellike a good laugh, before 2008 comes along and does its thing on us.
PS, I've left myself too much time to think about this..... we all havemore than one favorite, Right!! hit us with your best selection!!!!!

Easy enough, right? However, I just cleaned out my e-mail inboxes about a week ago, and deleted all the joke emails I'd been keeping. Great timing on my part, huh? That and the fact that with the holiday, and visiting relatives, and all kinds of projects I wanted to work on (but have yet to get to) before the New Year...I've got nothing.

So, I'll leave you with this...a joke from my real life...Lawboy has begun texting me again, saying he's planning on making some changes in 2008 and wants to see me. Funny right? See, I've got jokes! (I'll do a more indepth LawBoy catch up post in the new year).

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone, and be sure to visit Lisa next week for the first Fun Monday of 2008.

Well, I've done it now!

Done what you ask? Lost my mind, that's what! Why you ask? Well that's pretty simple...cuz I signed up to do this:

Lost my damn mind, I tell you!!

The rules are much looser on this one than on NaBloPoMo, so it's not as impossible as it seems, and yet...

Check out my page at Blog 365, and hey, join us, won't you?

Thursday Thirteen #35

All over these here interwebs folks are wrapping up 2007 with all sorts of year end lists. I'm no follower, but I figure as far as year end lists go, Thursday Thirteen is as good a time as any to host one, don't you think?

I give to you 13 of my picks for the best of 2007:

1. Best "New Release" Movie: This wasn't a tough one because I actually did not see all that many movies that were released this year. I decided to go with a movie I actually saw in the theatre and hands down, the best movie I saw in a theater this year was Knocked Up. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but this was one of the funniest movies I have seen in years, I laughed until I cried. I highly recommend it, if you haven't seen it yet.

A close second for best of 2007 for me, for completely different reasons was a movie I just saw about a week ago on HBO, and that was Alpha Dog.

This movie was definitely not funny. It was gritty, it was sad, it was depressing and haunting. But it was extremely well done, powerful, and very well acted. With big name actors such as Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone, and an extensive list of lesser known actors (the type of actors that you go "I know that guy, I've seen him somewhere"), the movie packed a punch. And even Justin Timberlake held his own, making it obvious that there is nothing that man can't do.

2. Best CD: This one was a bit tougher, because I didn't buy very many cd's this year, and every time I'd think of one to pick for this list, I'd realize it was actually released in 2006. But then a few days ago I bought the new Lifehouse CD "Who We Are". Lifehouse is definitely my favorite group out there, I own all of their cd's and can honestly tell you that there isn't a single song of theirs that I don't like. And this remains true with their new cd. So I'm giving it my number one spot for the year.

An honorary mention goes to Kelly Clarkson's release. I know she received a lot of grief for it, but I actually thought it was pretty damn good.

3. Best Book: Even tougher, I tend to have an extensive "to be read" pile at home, so I don't read a whole lot of "new releases". So, we'll just go with the one I'm sure was a 2007 release:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After all, weren't we all waiting on pins and needles for this release? It was bittersweet to read this book, and say goodbye to Harry Potter, but it was rewarding to reach the end of his journey with him, after all those years invested at Hogwarts.

4. Best Audio book: I'm going to go with "Forever in Blue" by Ann Brashares which was the final book in the "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants" series. I know these books were written for teenage girls, but they were just a feel good series to read, and I really enjoyed this conclusion. There's a teenage girl inside all of us grown up women, and that girl enjoyed this book immensely.

5. Best Song: Ah, so many songs to choose from. 2007 was a great year in music, so many great songs with catchy tunes, touching lyrics and memorable hooks. Where to go with this? I could go with Timbaland and "The Way I Are", the song that made me want to dance, or maybe One Republic's "Apologize", the song I first heard on "So You Think You Can Dance", during one of my favorite dance routines of the season, and then couldn't turn on the radio without hearing it. I could chose Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", the song in which she chose to show us she can actually "SING", or even Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder", the song that turned me into a Maroon 5 fan...what to choose?

I can't help it, I have to choose Bon Jovi's "(You want to) Make a Memory"

It's classic Bon Jovi, and it is one of those songs that I can hear over and over again. I love this song.

6. Best Television Show: There were a lot of new t.v. shows this year that I got hooked on, and a few returning shows that I couldn't get enough of, but there was only one show that I would catch myself saying several times while watching it "I love this show". And that show is Heroes.

I couldn't get enough of this show, and can't wait until it comes back. Let's hope the writer's strike doesn't make us have to wait too long!

7. Best Concert: I didn't actually go to any live concerts this year, so I'm sort of cheating with this one, however, I did get to watch the Justin Timberlake concert on HBO, and that boy can sure put on a show. I'll give this one to him. I became a JT fan this year, and this concert certainly had something to do with it.

8. Best Musical/Theatre Production: I did, however, get to see "Grease" on Broadway. What a great production that was! With Sandy and Danny being cast on the reality show "Grease, You're the One that I Want" which was one of my guilty pleasures on t.v. this year, it was fun to be able to see them carry out the performances they won in the show.

9. Speaking of reality shows, my pick for Best Reality Show this year goes to "So You Think You Can Dance". The talent on this season of the show was unbelievable, and it was a thrill to watch each week.

Here again is my favorite routine from this season:

10. One more television related pick - Best Documentary: The Planet Earth Series. Did anyone watch these? They were beautiful, fascinating and informative. I think everyone should watch these.

11. Best Gadget: My pick for favorite gadget this year? My new cell phone, the Fusic by LG, because this thing does it all. It's a phone, a camera, a gps, an mp3 player, web surfing tool, and it even washes the dishes. Well, okay, it doesn't wash the dishes, but it does everything else.

12. Best Toy: my favorite toy this year? It's my little secret that I haven't told you all about yet. About a month ago I inherited my brother's old Playstation 2, no, not so I could play video games, because let's face it, I don't have time for video games, but so that I could have my own in-home gym. What in the world am I talking about, you ask? I bought myself Dance Dance Revolution, and if you have played it, you KNOW what a workout it is. If you haven't? You simply must.

Check out this kid and how crazy good he is:

13. Best Post: Time for a little shameless self-promotion, my pick for my best post this year here on Candid Karina? That's a tough one, picking a "best", so I'm sort of cheating here...I'm going to refer you to THIS POST, where I...uh...refered you to some of my favorite posts. (I know, totally cheating).

And there you have it, my year end list. Happy Thursday everyone.

Wordless Wednesday - Silent Night

See other Wordless Wednesdays here.

From My House to Yours

(That's my balcony with the lights)

It's a bit crazy and busy around these parts these days, the hustle and bustle of the season has certainly reached the Candid Karina family. All in good spirits and enjoying the frenzy!

Not sure when I'll make it back online, so I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS (or a happy day off work to those who don't celebrate it).

Hopefully I'll have some time to come visit some of your blogs personally in the next few days, but for now, here's to hoping you all have a wonderful few days with your loved ones!

Follow-Up Friday - Live from Winter Wonderland

Boy, what a few week's it's been in these here parts, with about 20 inches of snow delivered in the last week and half. We will certainly be having a White Christmas like we haven't had in years.


I've said it before, and I'll say it again, snow may make for beautiful postcard like scenery (and truly, my drive to and from work has never been more beautiful than it was this morning), but man is it ever a pain in the ass.


Anyway, onto the follow up. Fun Monday this week was all about the history of our homes. I read some fascinating stories traipsing through other's posts, but didn't really have much history to speak of about my little condo. So I just gave you the history of my life in the condo instead. Thank you all for your lovely compliments on the work I've done to the place, I really am proud of how it all came out. I got quite a few comments on how lovely the view is from my balcony, and it truly is a great view. I'm lucky with the location of my particular unit, some of the others in the building have a nice view of a wall or the parking lot. I took even more pictures of the snowy "hill" yesterday, I'll post those maybe this weekend. By the way, Willowtree commented on my use of the word "Unit" to describe my apartment being unusual in the states. To be honest, it's not widely used around here, but that is how it is listed on my deed, and I much prefer it to "apartment" because that makes it sound like I rent, and I prefer it to "condo" because that just sounds snotty ;-).


On Tuesday I reflected a bit about the spirit of Christmas. I'm still feeling it, even more so today, because as soon as I leave work I'll be on vacation until Wednesday. A nice long Christmas break makes for even more of the "Holiday" spirit.


Now, Wordless Wednesday is the post I'm sure most of you were waiting for my follow-up on (okay, maybe two of you), so here it is...the story behind the house featured in those pictures. Normally, I would agree with those who commented that the "light display" was overkill, because truly, well...it is. But this house does it on purpose. It's one of those houses that people come from far and wide to see. And the owners stand out there and take collections for various charities from the folks who drive by to check it out. It's a local Christmas "phenomenon" and the owner is a well known guy in the town where I work. The pictures don't even capture the magnitued of the light display, because the day I chose to go take the pictures was after our ice storm, and the road this house is on was beyond treacherous, so I took a few shots, but wanted to get the heck out of there before someone crashed into something (namely me). The next door neighbor has actually gotten in on the act, and so the display extends a bit into his property as well. It would appear "garish", but it's actually just really kind of cool and festive. And I'm lucky enough to drive by that road every night, and see the house as I go by.


All that said, I still wouldn't want to live next door to them! ;-) Oh, and I definitely wouldn't want to pay the light bill, which he also gets donations from local businesses, etc. for.


And finally yesterday I opted out of Thursday Thirteen and instead did a mini-tribute to my brother in honor of his birthday. I actually took yesterday off work so I could run some last minute "Christmas" errands, and we got a walloping 10 inches of snow, so that made for an interesting time trying to get around to run those errands. I'm happy to report I managed to get at least 80% of what I needed to do done, and with no major incidents to speak of. It did, however, take me twice as long to get just about everywhere, and we won't even speak of the nightmare getting around parking lots was. Still, all my Christmas Shopping is done, and I'm presently wearing my new eyeglasses.

What eyeglasses you ask? OH, see, it's become a personal Christmas tradition (or end of year tradition) that I go shopping for new eyeglasses around this time. This is because I participate in the pre-tax dollar program that's offered as a benefit through my job. But through this program, if you don't use the money by the end of the year, you lose it. And I always end up with extra money left over, and the money needs to be used on "medical" type things (or daycare, or other things that don't apply to me). So, I go buy eyeglasses. Several years ago I developed some major issues with my eyes, and had to stop wearing contacts full time. I can still wear them from time to time, but my eyes are extra sensitive and after a few hours of wearing contacts, they get very red and irritated. So, I now wear glasses full time. Therefore, I figure that if I have to wear them full time, I might as well make them a stylish part of my outfit. After my visit yesterday I now own 6 pairs of eye glasses and two pairs of prescription sunglasses. And two of the pairs I bought yesterday? Channel and Burberry. Yep, I'm cool like that.

I'll share pictures of my eyeglasses in a future post, cuz I'm silly that way and I want you to see them.

Also, dinner with the family last night for "Shortstuff's" birthday was a nice time. We ate, we chatted, we laughed and we all acted like complete fools playing with Diamond, the puppy. Funny how a puppy can turn five grown humans into babbling idiots! She's the cutest thing and we are all in love with her.

Today I am at work, but I can't honestly say I'm "working"...I'm just going through the motions, waiting for clock-out time, so I can begin my Christmas weekend. I am off to help "Shopaholic" finish her Christmas shopping tonight, then my friend "Traveler" is flying in from Florida today, and we are going to a Boston Bruins game tomorrow afternoon. Sunday I will probably help mom with baking and preparations for Christmas, and Monday is our family's big day, as we celebrate on Christmas Eve.

I will definitely post again before Christmas, but in case I miss you, have a WONDERFUL Christmas Everyone!!!

No Thursday Thirteen Today

This is the first time in a very long time that I'm not participating in Thursday Thirteen, but I'm just not feeling it today. I'll be back next week with a End of Year themed TT.

With Christmas right around the corner, I took the day off work today so I could do some last minute running around. BUT, as fate would have it, I live in New England. What this means, of course, is that it is SNOWING like you wouldn't believe out there today. AGAIN. They're saying 6 to 10 inches by the time it's all said and done.

Look, I know many of you (especially those of you who don't live anywhere near snow conditions) will say "OH, but how nice, you'l have a White Christmas". LISTEN...we're going to have a white Christmas, alright? We've already got MOUNDS of snow out there from the last TWO storms last week. PLENTY of snow. We REALLY didn't need anymore. We especially didn't need anymore today, since I need to drive all over the place to run my errands. Really, seriously...we have enough.

But, such is life. So I find myself instead wasting time on the internet, debating on when to head out into the storm. Because yes folks, I'm still going out there, it's just a question of when. Sigh...

Let's move on...today is my baby brother's birthday. Toay he turns 24, but to me, he'll always be my baby brother. I've written some about my brother here (and I could have sworn somewhere else too, but I can't find it now). Because he is 9 years younger than me, we've always had an interesting dynamic to our relationship. I'm his older sister but also very maternal toward him, and lately, as he's matured, we're becoming friends in a whole new way. He's grown into an exceptional young man, and I hope he knows (I know he knows) how proud of him I am.

From my little guy that I used to wrap in a blanket and carry around the house on my shoulder, to a guy who carried a television into my house last week, my baby bro is all grown up.

The family will head out for dinner to celebrate, so I'll get to tell him Happy Birthday in person (which is good, because he doesn't read my blog), but Happy Birthday Shortstuff!!!

I'm off to battle the elements and run my errands. Come back tomorrow for Follow-Up Friday when I tell you all about the house I featured in my Wordless Wednesday yesterday.

Wordless Wednesday - No This is NOT my house

See other Wordless Wednesdays here.

Bits and Pieces

I just wrote a piece for "Writer's Island" over at Creative Karina, and it's left me feeling a bit nostalgic. The prompt was "this season" and as I started considering what this season means to me, I was brought back to my childhood Christmases, at grandma's house. My grandmother passed away 7 years ago, and Christmas just hasn't been the same since. We still celebrate in grand style, but it is always hard to let go of "the way things were", isn't it?

Still, I find that this is my favorite time of year, and this year in particular I've gotten completely caught up in the spirit of the season. I hear grumblings of "stressmas", and how "commercialized" the holiday has become, how rude people are, and what a financial burden this "whole thing is", and it breaks my heart. Somewhere in the process, we've lost the magic, and how sad is that? But I'm not feeling or seeing those things this year. Instead I see Christmas lights on every other house, I see my mailbox full of personal messages from friends, in the form of Christmas cards, I see my brother who's found his way again, just in time for the holiday. I see friends flying in, and make plans to enjoy their presence. I see myself stepping away from the financial burden and choosing gifts with a purpose behind them. Taking the time to even make some of my gifts, from the heart. I see strangers doing good deeds, donating their time, offering their help. I see the good that comes from thinking about anyone besides yourself for a minute, or ten.

I'm not blind to the negatives. I'm not blind to the P.C. police wanting to take away Santa's "ho, ho, ho", or the Christ out of Christmas. I'm not blind to the Holiday Trees, and the Season's Greetings, meant to unoffend, but perhaps only succeding in a different form of discrimination. I'm not blind to the retail fights for the last Wii in the store, or the shouting matches over a parking space. I see these things, just as you do, and I have opinions, and strong feelings about them all.

But, just for today, I'd like to wallow in the beauty of the snow outside my window, the first White Christmas we'll have in a while. The warmth of the Christmas lights in my living room. The joy of the gifts wrapped under my tree. The sight of something besides bills in my mailbox.

Just for today, I'm going to revel in the spirit.

Fun Monday - Mi Casa es Su Casa

Before I get into Fun Monday, I ask you to visit my other blog: Creative Karina, where I'm participating in Pensieve's Poetic License.


Want this button?

Okay, so Fun Monday this week is being hosted by Kitten and she wants to know the "story" our our homes.

"Today for Fun Monday I thought it would be neat to hear about the story behind your home and the road you live on. It doesn't have to be historical, maybe just something that stands out to you. It would be nice to have pictures to go with your little story. I also would like to know who has the oldest house. Whoever has the oldest house will get a little Christmas treat from little ole me. "

Well, I'm not really sure how much of a tale I can tell you. I live in a condo complex, and I'm pretty sure nothing much exciting exists in terms of a history of this place. My complex is made up of two buildings, each with about 18 units. I live in building A, and my understanding is that back in the 80's there was a fire in Building B, so it has been rebuilt. But Building A has been in existence since the 70's I think. Like I said, not much of a history to tell.

So, here's a little about how I came to own my condo. Here's a picture taken the day I closed on the place...that's my brother and I, walking into my building for the first time as a homeowner. See the balcony in the top right corner of the picture? That's my balcony.

In February it'll be 5 years since I've owned my unit, and I do love my little home. Our complex is at the top of quite a steep hill, a private drive that is quite the challenge in the snow. When my realtor first drove me up the hill to show me the place, I remember thinking "where the hell is she taking me? There are buildings up here?" That was pretty much a selling point for me, because I live off of a main street, but from the street, you'd have no idea these buildings are up here. It's very quiet and private.

The hill in the spring looks harmless enough:

This is the hill in winter:

Those shots, by the way, are the view from my balcony. Not bad right? We had a pretty nasty snow storm this weekend, and the hill looks a whole lot messier than that right now, but I didn't get any pictures this time out.

My particular unit faces the hill, so I can see the comings and goings which is helpful when I'm waiting for anyone, as I can see them coming. It is also quite entertaining, because I see when anyone gets stuck in the snow trying to come up the hill (yes, I'm evil).

When I bought the condo, I took one week off of work, and together with my parents, painted most of the rooms, redid most of the floors (dad laid down tile in the kitchen and living room and refinished the hardwood in the living room and mom and I actually laid down the hardwood in my bedroom). I feel a great sense of pride in how it all turned out, because I had such a hand in doing it.

Here's me pulling up carpet staples on my bedroom floor:

Here's my kitchen before the new floors went in:

And after:


And here's the atrocious wallpaper that covered one wall in my living room:
Here's what that wall looks like now:

And that's about it, that's the story of my home.

Next week there will be no Fun Monday, we're taking a break for Christmas Eve, but check with Peter to find out what the assignment is for New Year's Eve.

Follow-Up Friday - Under Blizzard Conditions

Ladies and Gents, in case you missed, the Northeastern part of the U.S. of A. was hit with a bit of a snowstorm last night. IN the grand scheme of snowstorms, it wasn't even that major of a storm...I believe we had about 10 inches by the time it was all said and done, so yeah, a lot of snow, but we've had more.

HOWEVER, in terms of the commute home, this one will go down in history as one of the WORST EVER. At least for me it will. It started snowing around 1PM, and my boss was kind enough to send us home at 2PM. I kind of wish now he had not, because it seems that everyone else on the planet ALSO decided to leave at the same time. I was home a little bit after 5PM.

Let me put this in perspective for you. I live 11.5 miles from my job. ELEVEN MILES. It took me THREE HOURS to go 11 miles.

When the storm began, I took some before and "during" photos, with plans to take "after" photos and do a fun post about the storm today. After my travel ordeal, I went home and finished off a bottle of wine and pretty much said "screw the storm pictures, I want nothing to do with this freakin' storm anymore". So, you get no pictures. Maybe I'll give you some for Wordless Wednesday next week. Maybe I'll be over it by then.

That said, because I left work early yesterday, I have A LOT to do today, so Follow-Up Friday is being cancelled this week. My apologies, but I just have too much to do. Instead, I direct you to this post. I'm getting some interesting responses, and the different viewpoints are exactly why I asked the questions I asked. What do you think? How do you feel? (I have responded to comments in there, so drop in if you left a comment too).

Have a great weekend everyone, I have my company's Christmas Party on Saturday night, and another Nor'Easter is expected on Sunday, so I may not leave the house that day.

THREE HOURS!!!

Thursday Thirteen #34

It's time for another Video Thursday Thirteen here at Candid K's. I love doing video TT's because not only do I give you all some great entertainment, but I get to watch all sorts of fun videos while I choose what I will share with you. For some of my prior Video TT's, go here and here.

Today's particular collection of videos comes with a twist. Watching some music videos lately I've been noticing certain things, little oddities, tidbits, observations. Ad then there are the handful of Viral Videos I just had to share. Walk with me through the following if you will:

1. Jill Scott - My Love. I love Jill Scott, and have since she first hit the scene. I think she has an amazing voice, and she's one of those singers that SINGS. No gimmicks, no smoke and mirrors...she just SINGS. But this particular video? Cracks me up...watch her facial expressions during the first verse:

See what I mean?

2. Ciara "Can't Leave Em Alone" featuring 50 Cent. Okay, here's my question...I don't care how hot it is outside...Who walks around dressed like this? (by the way, this is the only version of the video I could find to embed, I have no idea what the words on the screen say, I haven't read them).



I'm just sayin'...really? Also, how awkward is that whole part of the video when the two of them are "canoodling"? They just don't look all that into each other, do they? For two sexy performers with their shirts off (because I do think 50 Cent is a cutie with a damn sexy body), they couldn't look any less steamy, could they?

3. Eros Ramazotti and Ricky Martin "No Estamos Solos": On the flip side, here are two artist who have quite a bit of chemistry between them. I'm not entirely sure it that was the intent of this video (and the shaking and gyrating female booties in this video lead me to think it was not), but there is something in this video that makes you go..."hmm, how cute are they looking deeply into each other's eyes"...they even have matching outfits on, down to the rips in their jeans. I mean, hey, I'm not objecting to anything here, I'm just pointing something out.



That said...I still think Ricky Martin is adorable. I'm just sayin'

4. Spice Girls - Headlines: Okay, on the same vein as Ciara walking around in her bikini top:



So, ladies, be honest, you all walk around your house in a pencil skirt and a bra, don't you? With your best friends. Right? Okay, so it's not just me and Ginger Spice...good to know.

5. Vince Mira - "Ring of Fire": This kid is not famous...YET, but man...will he be. Check this out:



6. This is not a music video...it is just probably one of the funniest freakin' things I have seen in ages...just watch:



Told ya.

7. Another viral video...I've been in and to a lot of weddings, I've seen a lot of "first dances"...this one takes the cake (just stay with it through the first 30 seconds or so, it is SO worth it:



8. Timbaland featuring One Republic "Apologize". I actually don't have much of anything to say about the actual video here, my issue is actually with the "Timbaland Featuring One Republic" title here...uh...why exactly is Timbaland getting top billing on this? I don't get it.



9. Graham Norton with Jon Bon Jovi: I've just recently discovered the Graham Norton Show, and it has to be one of the FUNNIEST shows EVER...If you have BBC America, it's on Saturday nights, and you must watch it. This is from a few years ago:



10. One more Graham Norton clip, because, seriously, FUNNY...and hey, it's Orlando Bloom, how can you go wrong?



11. I don't really know what to say about this one except...AWWW:



12.Dance Dance Revolution - Whiz Kid. I don't know if you've ever played this game, but HOLY CRAP, this little kid is good. I'll have you all know that I just bought myself this game (in lieu of a gym membership) and the day I can do what this kid does in this video, I'll be on my way to being a skinny minny, that's for sure!




13. Santana Featuring Chad Kroeger "Into the Night". I actually just really love this song and wanted another excuse to hear it, but, also...HEY, it's Gio from Ugly Betty:



And there you have it, 13 videos for your viewing pleasure.

By the way, if you have some time, I'd love you to read the post below this one and give me your 2 cents.

OH, and...vote for me. (Or your favorite story, doesn't have to be me, just go read these, they're great).

Forgive or Forget It?

Wordless Wednesday is below this post, but if you have a moment, please indulge me and join in the discussion here, I'd like to hear what you think.

Yesterday, while in the midst of not having much to say, I did manage to write and post a poem on my other blog, Creative Karina, in response to the prompts at Writer's Island. The prompts (because I incorporated two weeks worth of prompts) were The Promise and The Moment.

Below is the poem I posted.

Broken

Too late now,
one decision
and it falls apart
we all have moments
choices
life defining events
you chose her
over me

The words you speak now
have no impact
apologies
explanations
pleading
it's too late

Did you think
telling me it didn't mean a thing
would make it any better?

You took a vow
promised me forever
and in an instant
you broke us

And you have the nerve to tell me
it didn't mean a thing?

It meant everything.

Copyright 2007 - Karina

So, one of the comments I received gave me some food for thought, and I decided it stirred up enough of a reaction within me that it was deserving of it's own post.

Paisley said: "i cannot imagine it could possibly have erased true love... it may have dimmed it or marred it,,, but if the love you had for him was true... you would still have it.. just my opinion of course... the poem itself was wonderful,, i just wonder about the validity of the societal sentiment....."

And this got me thinking...first of all, I should make it clear that although based loosely on past relationships, this poem is purely fictional, as is most of my poetry. My poetry has always come from a place deep inside me that I'm not always aware of, and sometimes I wonder if I'm expressing emotions from a former life, who knows? But that aside, this is actually not based on any one specific "break-up", it's just poetry.

That said, it doesn't change the power of the emotion I felt when writing it, and then, after reading that comment, when rereading it. Paisley makes a good point, if it were true love, would one "mistake", one "moment" erase the love? Can cheating ever be forgiven? Can a relationship be salvaged after such betrayal? That is, after all, the sentiment behind the poem.

As I read it; and for the record, since I'm never really sure where my poetry comes from, when I reread my pieces, a lot of times, I read them as an outsider, not really sure who it was that wrote those words; but, as I read it, I see someone who has reached the end of the road in what was already a turbulent relationship. I see exasperation, I see someone who is still very much in love with the "cheater", but no longer willing to be cheated out of receiving that same love in return. The last line "It meant everything" is what seals it for me...it's not about the cheating, so much as it is about the lack of responsibility for how it affects the author.

That's the poem itself. What about what I think, about unfaithfulness and forgiveness? Do I believe a relationship can survive a "moment" of bad judgment? Perhaps. If it truly is a moment, a lapse, then maybe. But if that "moment" is an expression of a deeper issue, then I'm not so sure. Being who I am, there are few things I find more important in a relationship than trust and respect. To me, unfaithfulness is the ultimate disrespect, and obviously a huge trust issue. I have been cheated on before, and the relationship did not survive the indescretion, but the relationship had issues prior to the cheating, so it is not surprising that it did not survive it. Would I in the future be willing to forgive someone if they cheated? I don't know. Every ounce of my being says no. I'm a strong, independent woman who can manage just fine on her own, so the idea of staying with someone who has betrayed me is foreign to me. Why would I? But, I realize that every circumstance is different and there might be an occasion where I would forgive and forget, insted of just saying "forget it".

But that doesn't address the true root of why Paisley's comment stirred me so, which is this: Paisley said: "i cannot imagine it could possibly have erased true love". I agree wholeheartedly. I don't believe unfaithfulness can erase true love, but I also don't believe those were the emotions expressed in the poem (at least not for me, the beauty of poetry is that the reader takes from it what they will). But for me, this "end" was not about the end of love, it was about the end of the relationship. Because, as I'm certain I've said before in past posts, and as I say all the time when discussing a particular former relationship, unfortunately, sometimes, LOVE just isn't enough. You can love someone with all your heart, soul, being, and yet, you can still be all wrong for each other. I've lived this, so I know from where I'm speaking. Love, grand and beautiful as it is, is simply just not enough. There are many other factors involved in making a relationship work. Trust and respect are just two at the top of my list.

So, that's me, that's how I feel. What do you think? Can true love survive unfaithfulness? Can a relationship? Do you think you could forgive and forget? Does it depend on who the indescretion was with, or how long it had been going on for? Is it about the level of guilt and responsibility the offender expresses?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and I'll be back througout the day to respond to comments, so come back and check...I'd like to make this an "audience participation" post.

And Paisley, thank you for the inspiration. Where I had none yesterday, today it's returned, so thanks.

Wordless Wednesday - Not so long ago

See more Wordless Wednesdays here.

I've got nothing.

NOTHING I tell you. I have no inspiration today to blog. Usually I save my jucier bits for Tuesdays. In case you haven't noticed, this blog here tends to follow a bit of a format...Fun Mondays, Wordless Wednesdays, Thursday Thirteens, Follow-Up Fridays...I'm in meme city over here. But I use most of these to my advantage, to tell you all about the exciting daily events of my life, so I'm okay with the formats. Plus, if I ever have anything additional to tell you, then I just post more than once on any given day. No problem right?

But Tuesdays? Tuesdays I save for the juicy bits. The stories I want to tell you, the questions I want to ask you, the memes I've been tagged for and want to respond to, and my little bits of inspiration. I look forward to Tuesdays in here, because I get to dig a little deeper into the archives of my mind.

Today, however, I've got NOTHING for ya. I'm tired, overworked, the weather is cold and I'm feeling blah. I have memes I could respond to, I still have questions you asked of me I could answer, and I've got oh so many "All The Boys I've Loved" stories left to tell. But I just don't have the energy to do it today.

Instead, I direct you to the SheWhoBlogs blog, where you can read a fun little post that I that my fish Blueberry wrote.

Also, I send you over to Frigga's, so you can read a fun bunch of stories, and vote for mine your favorite.



And finally, I send you over to my other blog Creative Karina, because somehow, I was able to get creative long enough to participate in Writer's Island this week.



I'll be back tomorrow with Wordless Wednesday and maybe even some wit.

Vote for me

My friend Frigga did a MadLibs type of Thursday Thirteen last week. Now she's posted the stories all her commenters' responses created, and she's offering a prize for the best story...and I'm one of the entrants.

This is my first ever "blog contest", so I'm very excited. I'll be just fine if I don't win, but I'd love to at least have some votes...so, go on over there, read these stories, and vote for my story your favorite story. They are all hillarious and definitely worth a read.

Thanks.

Also, head on over to the SheWhoBlogs Blog today to read an entry by yours truly....well actually, from Blueberry, my fish, he's a blogger too you know?

Fun Monday - A few of my favorite things

Fun Monday this week is being hosted by Kaytabug. Her assignment to us:


In the spirit of the season I would like to see your favorite Christmas tree ornament. Not to be confused with the WHOLE tree. I want you to zoom in and show me one or a few(you know I can't choose just one!) of your favorite ornaments. If you don't decorate a tree, show me your menorah or dreidel, Kinara, or Yule Log. I want to see your favorite decoration for this holiday season.


This is an easy one, so I won't botch it up by trying to add to it...I don't actually have any ornaments that hold any special meaning, but here are my two favorites. This first one my friend PETA sent me from Kansas. I love this little guy, and as you can see in this post, he sits atop the house on my nativity set:


This next one I bought just recently...one more item for my Betty Boop collection, how cute is she?

There you have it. Kaytabug isn't revealing yet who's hosting next week, so check back later and I'll add a link here as well. Make sure to go to Kayatbug's for other participants.

It's the simple things

Work week is over, it's Friday night, snowing outside...

Sitting in my favorite spot,

watching some television with the Christmas lights on,

and a glass (or two) of some fantastic wine

Yeah...the simple things...

I'm just sayin'.

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go finish my wine...no more typing for me tonight, things are beginning to look a bit like this:

Good night y'all.

Sticky Post - Blogger Comments Issues and Solution

This is a sticky post - please scroll down for newer entries.

So, those of you who visit Blogger blogs, but do not have a blogger blog/ID have probably already noticed that Blogger has disabled your ability to leave your URL when you leave a comment.

And this is probably annoying you to no end.

WELL, it's doubly as annoying for those of us who own blogger blogs, because now we have no way to find you when you leave a comment. NOT cool.

But, instead of getting in a tizzy about it of COMCAST porportions, I decided to do a little research, and I've found out what the story is.

It appears that Blogger is experimenting with adding "OpenID" as a way for non-Blogger bloggers to leave comments. But in the meantime, they disabled the URL feature, while the OpenID thing is in testing stages.

A little more digging, and I figured out how to enable the test version of OpenID on my blog. So, I figured I'd be a good little blogger (Santa, are you reading this?) and share my knowledge with the rest of you.

Here goes. First, log in to blogger using your blogger ID. Then, on the "dashboard" look for the "Help Resources" on the right hand column. There is a "known issues" link. Click that.

The very first entry on that blog explains the issue. Now, click the link in that entry for "blogger in draft". This will bring you back to your dashboard, only with the "blogger in draft" look t it.

On your blog, click the "settings" tag. Now click the "comments" tag. In "Who Can Comment", you should choose "Anyone - Includes Anonymous Users" or "Registered Users - Includes OpenID" both of these will work. Click Save (don't forget to do this, even if you didn't actually make a change to your preference).

And that's it, you are done.

Glad to be of service, y'all!!! ;-)

Follow-Up Friday - The Blogger screws up URL edition

Follow-Up will be slightly different this week, thanks to blogger messing with the URL links thing in comments. Due to that glitch, I can't really link to some of my commenters blogs and give them proper credit for their comments, which kind of bugs me because I like to spread some link-love in my Follow Up Fridays.


SO, here's what I'm doing today...I'm going to direct you to my posts this week, where I have replied to each and every one of your comments in their respective comment sections...If you commented, or were curious about my response to any particular comment, please visit the following:


Monday was a Fun Monday all about revisiting an old post. I chose a post in which I told you about how I equate doing dishes with a bit of therapy.


Tuesday I did the 5 Post Meme, and traveled back through some more of my old posts.


My Wordless Wednesday was a collection of pictures of my Christmas Decorations in my living room. I'm happy with how it came out this year.


And yesterday, in my Thursday Thirteen I gave you some of the search terms used to find my blog...strange, interesting, and completely unexpected some of them.


I also gave you all my expertise (ahem...not so much) with blogger and the comment/url situation. I know this fix will not work to fix ALL the link issues, and I'm sorry to say that I'm not really a computer expert, I just play one on tv. ;-) But seriously, I've reached about my limit of my knowledge with this fix...everything else will have to wait until Blogger gets their act together.


I've considered moving my blog, but there's no way that I can even think about whether or not I want to do that until after the holidays, so we'll just wait and see what happens with blogger in the meantime, I guess.


It was a quiet and slow week here at Candid Karina, guess NaBloPoMo kicked my butt more than I realized. But hopefully by next week I'll be back on my A game (B Game? Whatever game it is that I'm usually on) and post some more creative stuff.


Hope you all had a great week, and have a fantastic weekend ahead! I might be back later on today with another post.

Thursday Thirteen #33

I've seen a lot of bloggers do this recently, and I've been meaning to do it myself...so, this week, I give you 13 Random Search Terms which have led people to Candid Karina.

1. Kissing picture of Karina - Hmm...sorry, no kissing pictures here.

2. Zerola Boston rape December - Yep, I did talk about this recently...if you missed it, it was in this post, and fyi, he's out on bail now. Yeah, that's right, they let him out on bail even though he was illegally out of state during his last "alleged" assault. Hmm...

3. Candid Boots - What exactly is a candid boot?

4. Karina Dallas House Clean - Hmm...uh...not really, thanks.

5. The story of the Portuguese rooster - Ah, yes, I did tell this story a while back. Remember this?

6. Candid pictures of fat girlfriend - well then.

7. Candid feet kick men's ass - alrighty then.

8. New England Patriots women's pictures - I didn't realize there were women on the New England Patriots team, but...okay....

9. Text Flirt - Ah, yes, that does happen a bit here. Well, it did. A quick update on LawBoy...there is on update on Lawboy. He's fallen off the face of the earth.

10. Song on Target commercial - I love you - I'm curious about this one, what commercial? What song? Hmmm...

11. Tis the season to censor - is it now?

12. Saturday Night Live condo meeting - Oh, this would have been so much more fun than my recent condo meeting.

13. Tell the time Karina - Okay, it is time to end this TT list.

Pretty mild list actually...maybe I need to spice up the blog to get some more fun search results! Nah...

Happy Thursday Everyone.

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas at Karina's

See more Wordless Wednesdays here.

5 Post Meme

I've been tagged by Sognatrice with the 5 Post Meme. I figured that since yesterday's Fun Monday was about going back to an old post, I'd stick with that theme and do this Meme today.


The rules:

Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given below (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like).
Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.
Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

So, here we go:

Family

I decided to go with this post about my brother. I have a new post about him that I'm working on, for his birthday this year, so I figured I should tell you all al ittle bit more about him before that post. I like this post quite a bit, so, here you go: Ode to Shortstuff. You can see other posts about my family in the "Family" category on my left column here.

Friends

There were a couple of posts I could have gone with for this one. I thought about going with this Fun Monday entry, or this one about my "hot" cousin, or even this one about my college friends, but, in the end, I picked this one:

What about your friends? Because I had fun writing this one, and well, I want to know if you have any of these friends yourselves, and if you have any to add.

You can see more friendly posts in the Friends category.

Yourself

Another tough one to choose. You can learn all about me by reading my 200 Things About Me posts. But, for a little more in depth look at me, I'm going to go with Marriage or Martinis. I wrote this post two years ago, and interestingly enough, not a whole lot has changed since then. I'm still single, I'm still not sure about dating, marriage, or any of those things, and I'm still pretty darn happy with the life I lead.

Your Love

This one was a little bit tougher, because...well...see above..I'm still single. I could have gone with some of the recent "All The Boys I've Loved" posts, but instead, I took some liberties here and went with a different sort of love. I decided to go with the kind of love you can only get from a child, that unconditional, no holds barred, one of a kind love. I don't have any kids of my own, but LilK, my "little sister" through Big Brother Big Sister, has been about as close as it gets for the last almost 7 years. Here's something I wrote for our 6 year "Anniversary".

Anything you like

Well, that's more like it! Here's one of my favorite posts, about one of my favorite topics. No, not shoes, not this time. Poetry. You can read some of my poetry on my other blog "Creative Karina".

That was fun, traipsing through my past posts. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Now, for the tagging part.

The meme said to try and tag at least two new acquaintances...I figured why not make all five new acquaintances? So, here are a few ladies who's blogs I've just started to frequent:

Robin (the Pensieve One)

Blue Momma

Tiggerlane

Junebug

Lisa

There you go.

Fun Monday - Hit me with your best shot

This week's Fun Monday is being hosted by Robinella and she wanted to make it easy for our poor NaBloPoMo fried brains. Therefore she told us to:



"Take a moment in this last month of 2007 to reflect on the past year. Okay? Done? Now…
In honor of exhaustion, color and self-love, I present you with this week’s assignment. I want you to dig through your blog files and show us your best effort. Why you consider it your best is up to you. C’mon, you know you have a favorite - show it to me one more time."



So, this should have been easy right? But then I started going through my old posts, and finding the "one" to show you again wasn't so easy after all. Still, this was supposed to be an easy task to rest our brains after NaBlo, so...eeenie, meenie...Here you go:



I first posted this entry on January 23, 2006. I decided to go with this one today because I still feel this way about doing the dishes, and, well, I didn't really have anyone reading my blog back then, so I figured I'd post it again. Plus, it's one of my shorter entries, and I know you all have A LOT to read today, so I was thinking of you. Really, I was. Okay, whatever...enjoy.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve always got a long list of things to do, and never quite finish any one project. This happens whether I’m at work, or at home, and it just leaves me with this unsatisfied feeling, no matter how busy I am, I never seem to get anything fully accomplished, beginning to end.

THIS is why I love doing dishes. Strange as this may sound, hear me out.

I’m well aware that most people hate doing dishes, and that for most people the dishwasher is one of the world’s greatest inventions. I too was a subscriber to the “dishwashers rule” philosophy. That is until my dishwasher crapped out. I could get it fixed, or even replaced, but the truth is, I have a long list of more important items, which take financial priority, and a dishwasher just doesn’t rank that high(Karina's note, as of today, 12/3/07 I still have not replaced my dishwasher). I live alone, and am fully capable of washing my own dishes by hand. For the most part, I don’t necessarily look forward to this task, and yes, there are days when I just let the dishes sit and accumulate before I pull up my shirtsleeves and dig in.

But here’s the thing I realized the other day as I began putting away my last load of dishes from the dish rack, and began washing the new set of dishes in the sink. Here’s something I can do, beginning to end, in a span of 10 minutes tops. I put away the dry dishes, wash the dirty ones, and set them out to dry. And suddenly the sink is clean, and shiny, and WOW, what a sense of accomplishment. Other household chores, not so much! With laundry, I start a load, have to wait an hour for that to be done, and into the dryer before I can start another one, and eventually, I forget all about it, and wind up with smelly wet clothes in the washer for a day or two before I have to wash them all over again. Housecleaning? That’s an all day project, and being a creature of habit, I always start in the kitchen and run out of energy by either the bedroom, or definitely by the office, which is always the last room to clean, and therefore, always end up with a messy office. And as much as it feels great to have a nice clean house, it just takes too damn long to reach that end, and there’s always something else to do, so it’s never a “DONE” deal.

At work? Well, the thought of completing any one project at my job is laughable. Not only am I constantly interrupted with stupid questions from my coworkers or telephone calls, or new projects that are being thrown at me, but every little thing I do requires some sort of response from somebody else. Some projects can take days, others weeks, months, years! No immediate sense of accomplishment there.

So, this leaves me with dishwashing. Instantaneous completion. So, the next time you are grumbling over having to wash the dishes, just think about this, how many other opportunities do you have to complete a “project” in less than 10 minutes? See, it’s not so bad now, is it?

Be sure to hop over to Robinella's for the list of other Fun Mondayers, and don't forget to visit Kaytabug, as she's hosting next week.

'Tis The Season

Well, with the month of December upon us, and Christmas Season in full gear, I thought the blog should get a facelift for the holidays. Unfortunately blogger was not being very cooperative tonight, so this is all I could do.

That is my Christmas tree, by the way, but it's slightly disguised in that photo. I will post photos of my decorated home soon though. I spent all day today putting up decorations and such, so I'll share the results sometime this week.

I had lots of other "bloggy" business I wanted to attend to today, but again, blogger is not cooperating tonight, so that might have to wait.

Also, what's this I hear about non-blogger bloggers not being able to leave links to their blogs in comments anymore? THAT SUCKS BLOGGER...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Okay...I'm off to go se if I can still be somewhat productive tonight.

Preparations

NaBloPoMo may be over, but I decided to keep trying to post every day. So, this first Saturday of POST NaBloPoMo finds me busy around the house, preparing for Christmas season. I've brought the decorations down from the attic, and am in the midst of putting everything up.

Therefore, it'll be a short post today, just thought I'd show you the BEFORE picture...I'll share the AFTER hopefully tomorrow, when I'm done.

Happy Saturday Everyone!!!