Category Archives: random stuff

April 13, 2013 · 4:24 pm

Forgive my absence, I’ve been losing my mind…

Last semester, I thought that I had more of a handle on things. I took 4 classes, had a minimal number of things to read, and my research papers weren’t quite so scary. This semester, I’m taking 5 classes, all upper-level history ones, and I have a TON of reading. And writing. And researching. And while I love all of those things, I’m starting to feel a bit burned out and brain-dead. Thankfully, there are only 3 weeks of classes left in the semester, followed by a week of finals, and then I’m done (kind of) until the end of August when things kick into high-gear again.

And in case you’re wondering about that “kind of” listed above? I have to take the GRE this summer so that I can apply to the Master’s program in the fall. Applications aren’t technically due until next February, but I want to get a jump on things, and I know that I won’t have as much time to study for it, let alone take it, when I’m in classes five (yes, five) days a week in the fall. Whoever decided to schedule all of the art history courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays needs a stern talking to.

But, before you begin to think that this semester has been all work and no play – no, wait, I take that back – that’s how it’s pretty much been – I did compete in a billiards tournament last weekend in the U of Akron game room. Despite not having time to play since October, I managed to impress even myself and place third in the women’s division. I even got a trophy:

P1020137Sometime after I’m finished with the 8 papers that I have due this month (9 if you count the draft of one that’s due on Monday) I’ll catch up on all of the book reviews that I have planned. :-) But, until then, I’m going to be crazy.

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January 4, 2013 · 1:31 pm

A 2012 round up (of sorts) and some random thoughts on things

I’m running a bit late with my 2012 year-in-review/round up/whatever, but that’s mostly because last year was pretty uneventful. The two biggest things were my going back to school (yes, I’m crazy) and my sister having a baby, making me officially a Crazy Aunt (yay!) Other than that, not much happened. The whole last year was pretty normal, for me anyway.

I was going to make a New Years’ Resolution, but I always break them, so I decided to save myself the time, effort and brainpower and not make one this year. Usually I say that I’m going to stop procrastinating, but obviously, it took me until January 4th to write this post, so that one’s out.

But, back to talking about school – I survived the fall semester (my first one since the year 2001, believe it or not) with an overall 3.825 GPA, proving once and for all that I am not an idiot. I took four classes – one of which required me to write an in-depth 20-page research paper, and for once I didn’t procrastinate on it. I wound up with a A on the paper, in the class, and I’m hoping (knock on wood!) to get it published in an academic journal. For this next semester, which starts a week from Monday, I’m taking five upper-level history classes, one of which requires a whopping 9 books. It’s a good thing that I like to read. The bad part involves walking up the stairs at the bookstore carrying all 9 of those books, plus the combined 19 that are required for my other 4 classes. Yikes.

Other than that worrying about and looking forward to the spring semester, I’ve spent my break working. I’ve also done a bit of updating (housecleaning?) on the sidebar of this blog, and I have some other work to do cleaning up links and things. I’m going to try to post at least once a week from here on out, as I have plenty of books to review and other things to write about. Things may get hectic though, so if I seemingly vanish, don’t worry!

 

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November 6, 2012 · 12:17 pm

A quick update…

I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and start posting on here! There are a ton of books that I have to reviews, cat pictures to post, etc. It’s just tough trying to balance school, work and everything else.

In the meantime, here’s a cute cat picture to (hopefully) start things off:

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August 16, 2012 · 2:14 pm

Who doesn’t want to win free stuff?

Here’s a quick round-up of some contests that are going on right now around the web. There’s something here for pet lovers, book lovers and snack food lovers, which pretty sum up my favorite topics:

Win a DogTread dog treadmill from PetZen. Just go to their DogTread Facebook page, and upload a picture of your dog. You also need to mention your dog’s name, breed and how you found out about the contest. The entry period runs from now until October 1st, and then from October 2nd through November 1st your entry (and all of the others) will be voted on by both friends and fans. The three entries with the most votes will win a DogTread for their pooch.

 

If you’ve always wanted to travel to Austin, Texas, here’s your chance. As part of their 10th Anniversary celebration, PR By the Book is giving away a trip to Austin, complete with hotel lodgings, gift certificates and VIP passes for the Texas Book Festival for the winner and a guest. The contest runs through August 31st; enter by going to their Facebook Fan Page.

G.H. Cretors, who make premium popcorn in flavors like cheese (my favorite!), caramel, caramel nut crunch are holding a Freebie Fridays contest from now through September 21st. Go to their Facebook Fan Page and click the “like” button to enter. One winner will be announced every Friday. The prize is a popcorn variety pack consisting of the following flavors: kettle corn, caramel, cheese, caramel nut crunch and Chicgo mix.

 

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August 4, 2012 · 8:03 pm

A quick update

I apologize for vanishing! I’ve been busy watching the Olympics and getting my newest blog up and running. Check it out here: The Office Supply Queen.

More book reviews, pet product reviews, goofy pet photos and my random thoughts regarding the Olympics are on their way…

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May 25, 2012 · 12:56 pm

Photo of the day: One cool car

This 1920 Hupmobile is on display at the Akron-Canton Airport. The last time Josh and I were there (dropping off his mom) I had to stop and take a few pictures of it.

(This one’s for you, dad!)

 

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April 23, 2012 · 3:20 pm

Crazy for cat stuff

It’s official — I’ve given in the lure of merchandising. You can now buy stuff with funny pictures of my cats (as seen on this blog) on them in my official The Random Thoughts of Crazy Mandy Cafepress Store. I’ve only put a few things up on there for now, including this mousepad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

this mug:

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this Sigg water bottle:

 

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March 17, 2012 · 5:55 pm

Random bits and stuff – mostly food related

Picture this: I’m in a tank top and jeans, while my husband is in shorts and a T-shirts. It’s 70 degrees and sunny, and we’re standing in front of the grill (charcoal, thank you very much) BBQ-ing some cheeseburgers. Are you thinking that this is a scene from last summer? WRONG! This was two days ago. I’m not sure if it’s the end of the world or what, but this weather is amazing. Just the other day I was going over some of the stuff posted to my Twitter account when I discovered that last year this time (and probably the years before that, as well) I was complaining about snow. Now? It’s 80 degrees and sunny. Woo hoo!

We grilled twice last week: the aforementioned cheeseburgers and lemon-garlic chicken breasts. Both were awesome, and it was nice not having to wash so many dishes. While I’m on the subject of grilling, which do you prefer — charcoal or gas grills?

Also, since it’s Saint Patrick’s Day and I don’t drink (nor am I Irish, not even for the day – sorry) here’s a cool juice recipe courtesy of Omega Juicers:

Luck of the Parsley

1 handful parsley

2 apples

1 handful spinach

1 cucumber

1 lemon

1-inch piece ginger

Stick it all in your juicer and turn it on!

Let’s see, what else has been going on around here… Oh yeah – I keep hoping my sister decides to register for baby gifts soon, because I’ve made the choice to not buy her crazy things. Although a rubber ducky with a KISS (the band, of course) theme would be funny, and so would a pacifier with vampire teeth painted on the outside of it; I think I’m better off sticking with traditional (make that USEFUL) gifts. Like these adorable birth announcements.

Now I’m going to back outside and read. It’s WAY too nice to be indoors right now.

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February 23, 2012 · 9:01 pm

The walking wounded

I’m typing this post with 9 fingers. Don’t worry – I didn’t lose one! But, I did manage to slice off part of the tip of my left index finger last weekend while cutting up the vegetables for beef stew. In a bit of irony, I was on the second last potato when it happened. And I was using a giant cleaver-ish knife, so looking back, I was tempting fate. I’ll spare you the pictures that I took, and since it stopped bleeding after an hour or so, I didn’t need stitches. (Although, since I cleanly sliced off the skin on the side, there was nothing to stitch.)

Now for the funny part of the story – I was using our new Cutco knives. They arrived last Thursday, so they were super-sharp when the “incident” occurred. What’s so funny about that? Around 13 years ago my mom ordered a set up Cutco knives. A few days after hers arrived, both she and my sister sliced their fingers so badly while making a fruit salad that they wound in the local E.R. together. Apparently clumsiness is indeed inherited.

And then yesterday my husband threw his back out and wound up spending two hours in the emergency room before the doctor concluded that he had just aggravated an existing injury. He’s being whiny today and asking me to fetch everything for him. This would be okay if I hadn’t thrown out my own back this afternoon while pushing the trash cans out to the curb. That’s usually his job, but since he’s hurt, I figured I’d be nice and do it for him. That worked out well, didn’t it?

I guess we’re just a bunch of clutzes over here.

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February 10, 2012 · 4:05 pm

I want to live in Portlandia

I discovered Portlandia, the sketch show starring Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen last month. I’d seen the previews of the show, but hadn’t watched it until I stumbled across a marathon of it on the Independent Film Channel (which also shows some great, yet slightly weird movies, by the way).

Once I’d watched one episode, I was hooked. The entire show reminds me of an restaurant review that I wrote several years ago on the Overhyped hipster fare at Melt Bar and Grilled. Those hipsters? Apparently they’re occupying Portland now. Wih hilarious results.

From the, ”I can pickle that!” to the Blunderbuss Festival, I just can’t stop watching. In fact, I kind of wish that each episode were longer than a half hour. So far, my favorite sketches include the Allergy Pride Parade, the one where Fred and Carrie make a big fuss about someone tying their dog to a post outside a cafe (with a funny twist of an ending that I won’t give away) and the Portland baseball team tryouts. There are so many more that I haven’t mentioned, so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself.

In fact, if you want to know more, this link takes you to a dog park sketch, and this one to an article on Carrie Brownstein (and Portlandia) in Elle magazine.

And no, I wasn’t comped or paid or anything for this – I just freakin’ love the show!

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