Celebrity Crush Tag

So this is Fleur de Force's Celebrity Crush Tag from YouTube.  I don't do YouTube, but want to do the tag, so here it is.  :)

Who was your young celebrity crush?   John Stamos as Uncle Jesse on Full House.

Celebrity girl crush?: Zooey Deschanel

Celebrity crush over 40?: Harrison Ford

Boyband Crush?: I've got nothing here.  If I can expand to any male singer, ...I still don't have much.  Maybe Josh Turner?

Teenage jailbait crush?:  Zac Efron.  Hands down.  I think he may be legal now, but still, way too young for me!

So, that's all the questions she had.  I really feel like I need to throw Maxwell Caulfield from Grease 2 in here somewhere.  So there he is.  lol 

 I tag anybody else who wants to do this tag, & feel free to switch the guys to girls and girls to guys if you are male or lesbian or whatever.  :)

In Defense of Men

I think men get a bad rap sometimes.  When a man holds a door open for a woman, or wants to carry something for her, I don't think it means he thinks she can't do things for herself.  I think it means he's valuing her, or showing respect.  Being a nice guy.  I don't understand why some women take offense to this stuff. 

I also don't like when women say all men are cheaters, or I've heard some male comedians say that if a guy hasn't cheated, it's only cuz he hasn't had the opportunity presented to him.  Really?  If I didn't think more of men than that then I would never have married one.  And I know there are people out there who are gonna say I'm just naive.  I think that men mostly cheat because they haven't found the right girl yet and aren't 100% in love with the one they're with, or are in a marriage that has gone down hill really bad but they don't get divorced for whatever reason. Or maybe they have some personal issues they need to deal with before they can really be with somebody.   But I don't think all men are cheaters.

I think it must be tough to be a man.  They have to worry about offending women all the time, cuz something they meant to be nice will get twisted into something sexist in the hands of many feminists.  And they have to deal with the crazy moods that a lot of us have, but they're not allowed by our culture to have moods of their own.  They're supposed to be stoic and not show much emotion and be tough guys.  Gots to be macho.  Big boys don't cry.  Now I must admit that I've found the stereotype of men turning into babies when they're sick to be true.  But I think maybe they should be allowed to be babies then, cuz the rest of their lives they're not allowed. I'm not saying I want my guy to cry all the time, but I do think it's unfair and unhealthy that men are not allowed to deal with their emotions openly the way women are.  They have to go play sports or get drunk or something.  Or maybe that's the way it is because that's the way they want it to be.  I know getting my husband to handle something emotional to him is like pulling teeth.  *shrug*

Guys get judged and measured on some stupid things, too.  There's a big fuss about women being drug down by images of perfect supermodels on tv, but it's like that for men to some extent also.  6-pack abs.  Pecs & upper arms.  Fancy cars and money.  Dick size.  Isn't this the same kind of thing as women's bra sizes, waist measurements, etc? 

I guess what I'm saying is I think there's a lot of pressure on men, and we don't give them enough credit sometimes.  However, that's not to say that there aren't times when I get totally disgusted & annoyed with things that my husband does or doesn't do that are stereotypical of men.  Not gonna pretend I've never said, "Ugh!  MEN!!"  lol  That's a whole other blog, cuz trust me, I could go on. 

The road runs past my door, leaving me behind.

Chef Buck from YouTube is kinda makin' me feel antsy.  Like life is passing me by and I am not living it.  He's always doing something fun and thinking about fun things, and cooking unusual stuff.  I kind of feel in a rut.  Like, yeah, it's cool that I knit and make soap, but I spend a lot of time just sitting around, playing stupid pointless games online....why do we play these games?  Whether it's Farmville or Solitare or Zuma...it's pointless!  Do you have anything to show after you play? No!  Does it expand your mind or your world?  I think not.  Why do we do it?  It's not like I'm not interested in other things in the world, cuz I'm interested in billions of things, except sports, politics, and news.  I know, I know, everybody likes those things, but not me.  Sorry.  Anyway, I feel kinda like a hermit.  Jess & I are not really "going out" people.  We're homebodies.  We're not social.  What I really wish is that there was a bigger creative community around here, where I could go to Stitch & Bitch meetings, and have other soapers to talk to, or take cooking classes, or painting classes.  Like I'd have money for classes anyway!  lol  I can't even do half the crap I see on FoodNetwork or anything, because for one it's often too expensive, for another my guys are picky eaters and reluctant to try new things especially if they don't involve meats, and third a lot of the things they use are just not available around here.  Not sure, but I think it's pretty hard to find stuff like jicama, quinoa, Asian foods and sauces, squid  (not sure I really wanna try squid, but that's not the point right now), etc.  I just wanna DO things.  I wanna be interesting.  I wanna be an amazing cook, and I wanna be able to fix plumbing, and I wanna fly a plane, and I wanna have experiences.  But I feel like I need money, and a better car, and better resources available to me, and for Jessy to be more excited (or at ALL excited) about doing and trying new things, so I have somebody to go live with, and make stories and funny experiences.  Not that I wanna ditch Jessy and find somebody who wants to do things.  I don't mean that at all.  Him's ma baby.  I'd love to do all this stuff with him, so that we could be together and bond and what-not, but it's ok that he doesn't really wanna.  Especially since I can't really do them anyway.  I could always find a friend who wants to do stuff if and when I get money together.  Really need a stitch & bitch group.  Just not sure there are enough yarn crafters in the area to get one together!  I feel very alone sometimes, even though I know there must be other crafters out there, judging by how much yarn we sell.  Whatever.  I gotta get to bed. :)

Soaping

I've been going buts because I want to make my hand made soap again, but it's pretty expensive, and I don't want to end up buried in millions of bars of soap because I can't use it up fast enough.  I do that.  I have a drawer of nothing but hand knit socks completely separate from my regular sock drawer.  How many feet do I think I have?  lol  Anyway.  I let my soap cure for 2 months after I make it, so I promised myself that I wouldn't soap again until at least the last batch was fully cured.   So every 2 months I have personal permission.  I'm due again on June 20th, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna do it.  I need more supplies, and it's gonna cost 20-30 dollars after shipping and all, and that is money that I really should be spending on getting my credit card debt down.  (My car is paid off now, so the goal is to knock down the credit cards so I can move on with my life!)  I've been trying to satisfy my need to soap by watching youtube videos of other people doing it.  There's one lady who I really love watching, her name is Holly, she is a stay-at-home mom who soaps as a hobby.  She'd like to sell, but isn't sure she'd make enough profit to cover the expense of the insurance you need to have.  I am totally jealous of this woman.  She does not make any money herself, so her husband makes enough that they are comfortably raising their 3 children and she still has enough money to make soap at least once a week.  And she buys all the extra special stuff and dodads and contraptions and molds and oils, and she has a stock of colors and fragrances that she always has on hand.  She makes really cool soap, usually in loaf molds, which I really want to try, but do not have the mold for.  I've done 2 batches so far, one espresso chocolate and one tuberose moss.  I use silicone cupcake molds because I already had them and don't like them for baking anyway.  Plus it makes really nice individual soaps without me having to cut bars and all.  Holly has a blog and a youtube channel, and Anne Marie from Soap Queen even reads her blog, which pretty much means that she is a soap superstar.  She keeps talking about fellow soapers and the soaping community and other people in her area and online who she is great friends with and talks about soap all the time with.  I don't know anybody else who soaps.  Just he lady at the farmer's market, who inspired me to start soaping, but she has no idea who I am.  I want soaping friends and I want to be able to make soap whenever I want and just give it away and I want to be a soap guru and make beautiful stuff. 

Lactose!!

I've always had a bit of intestinal issues.  My dad has chron's disease, which almost killed him a few times, but he's good now.  I have some form of colitis, possibly ulcerative I'm thinkin, and two other small colon issues that I'd rather not name because they have bad connotations and everybody would go EW! or TMI.  I am also lactose intolerant, which it took me eons to figure out.  Not sure why, you'd think it'd be easy to link up, eat dairy, get sick, lactose intolerant.  Just somehow never made the connection.  But I finally got it, and I have been feeling MUCH better now that I know what to avoid or take a pill for.   I've been just avoiding for the most part because I hate having to shell out for the stupid pills.  But I am super excited about how many lactose free things Kroger has started carrying recently.  There's Lactaid milk, which is regular cows' milk without lactose, and then the artificials, (rice milk and soy milk).  I never just drink straight milk anyway, and all of these taste good to me on cereal and such.  The Lactaid milk has been in the clearance section the past few times I've been in, which worries me, cuz it means they're not selling enough of it before it gets outdated, and if they're losing money on it they might stop carrying it.  It is more expensive than regular milk.  But anyway, there's also Yoplait lactose free yogurt, in fewer flavors than the regular kind, and most are fruit which I don't like cuz I hate the slimy chunks and pieces, but there is vanilla, and I can put my own stuff in it, and it's the same price as regular yogurt.  And there's Breyer's lactose free ice cream.  Only in vanilla, but still, pretty exciting.  Yay for dairy I can eat without taking a pill or having gut wrenching pain.  :) 

Kennywood!

My dad decided he wanted to "ride a roller coaster one more time" before he DIES.  Yeah.  Like he's 90 years old or something, or has terminal cancer.  Ridiculousness. Anyway, he asked if I wanted to go to Kennywood with him, and of course I was like YEAH!  Trips with my parents are always something I jump at cuz they pay for everything and I don't have to drive my car, so it's pretty much the only way I get to go anywhere with my financial situation right now.  So me, Dad, and Joe (brother) went to Kennywood.  We stopped in Washington, PA for doughnuts at the Donut Connection.  They have these "honeydew" doughnuts which are awesome.  They're basically a cake doughnut with glaze.  Sounds plain, but lemme tell ya, completely delicious.  I drove the whole way up and back, and I gotta say it was a small nightmare.  Definitely coulda been worse, but yeah, we had to go right into Pittsburgh, and then on the way back Mapquest had the directions to Red Robin all wrong, and then there was construction and it was 1 lane going through Fort Pitt Tunnel. Drivers in Pittsburgh (or any city) are A-holes.  They drive bumper to bumper like crazy people and will not let you merge unless you about hit them with your car and just horn your way in.  I hate it.  And the streets in Pittsburgh?  It's like, I don't even know what it's like.  Nothing makes sense, and it's so easy to get lost, and every street has like 20 lanes, and it seems like usually I'm on the wrong side of those 20 lanes for the exit that I need to use!  lol  But Kennywood itself was great.  I didn't think so at first.  We went on the Jackrabbit and I was like, I just don't think i like roller coasters any more.  After the first time on the Racer I was thinking, it's not unbearable, but I'm still not loving it.  But by the end of the day I was psyched about the whole thing.  I think I just have to get desensitized to it all every time I go to an amusement park, cuz this is the way it usually is for me.  And I never get so comfortable with it that I'm willing to go on the big coasters, or ones where you go upside down and stuff.  I'm too big a chicken.  My favorite ride is not even a coaster, it's the Wave Swinger, which is a bunch of lawn chair lookin' seats hung from chains, and it lifts you up and spins you around.  I think it's great, but lots of people hate it cuz the ride looks fragile, like the chains might break and send you flying 100 feet into concrete or something.  But I'm sure if that actually happened they'd take the ride down, and at big parks like Kennywood and Cedar point they test the rides often and make sure they're maintained and safe, so I'm not worried about it.  Red Robin was awesome.  Thick burgers cooked the way you want (medium for me!) and lots of topping combinations.  I like their Blue Ribbon burger, but this time I got the Whiskey River, which is marinated in a whiskey sauce and has fried onion straws, bbq sauce, mayo, and the usual burger toppings.  SO GOOD.  I want a Red Robin in our area.  Or a Ruby Tuesday's.  I mean, I like Wendy's and all, but there is nowhere close to get a really really really good thick burger.  

Work vent

Been in a crappy mood the last couple weeks.  Right now I'm thinking of like 9,000 things to talk about, and I'm not sure where to start or how to organize everything so my posts aren't a mile long.  Let's see... how bout work?  Ok.  So my boss went on vacation last week, and she's had to spend a lot of days at the Steubenville store because they just lost their manager and have no idea what they are doing.  Our district manager's husband has colon trouble of a life-endangering nature, and so she's been all worked up lately.  Our OTL (I don't know what that stands for, but she's basically the only person at our store who has a clue, cares, and gets stuff done) her husband had triple bypass surgery and she's been out for a while.  So yeah, Angie (boss), Liz (OTL), and (I like to flatter myself) me, are the 3 movers and shakers who really get the most done and know the rules and what needs to happen.  And they both left me.  lol  I gotta say it hasn't been as bad as I was expecting, and definitely not as frustrating as it's been in the past under similar circumstances, but still, it's not fun.  I've been working my tail off, and I feel like the stuff that I'm immediately responsible for has been getting handled well, which is awesome.  And the other girls haven't been doing too badly on the whole, but it is frustrating to work with them sometimes.  Some of them are SO unorganized, and they can't remember how to do things half the time.  Usually I just try to ignore it and do my own thing, but it's annoying when I can't do what I need because I have to watch the floor while they finish up paperwork, or I have to pick up a plan-o-gram or a sale set when someone else started it, because it's like stepping into chaos.  It seems like they just don't think in an organized way, so everything they do is unorganized.  Things get left half done, and I dunno, stuff like, instead of pulling all the clearance, marking it and taking it to the clearance section before they start to set a plan-o-gram, they'll pile it all in a cart or basket and end up running out of time and leaving it for someone else to deal with.  When they do sale set they don't have just a "done" and "not done" pile, they have 60 piles of signs, and so when I step in to help I'm like, ok what's been done here? And they're not even sure themselves half the time.  Why are we checking the same things twice instead of just having 2 piles & no confusion??  So ok, this post was basically just a vent for me, and I'm sure nobody's thinking, "wow, this was fascinating!"  LOL  Oh well!

"Mr. Owl, how many dates does it take...?"

So.  Having never really played the dating game myself, and after seeing lots of fast movers on tv, I started wondering what is the "norm" on how long the average American dates before sex?  Ya know, not counting 1-night-stand things, just people actually dating with long-term relationships in mind.  Googled some discussions about it.  Three dates seems to be the most common answer, followed by, "I don't really have a set rule, just whenever it feels right."  Sometimes in conjunction with, "3 dates seems reasonable though.  You can usually tell if the relationship is going somewhere by then."   ................  Ok, not that I want to pass judgement on anybody, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  How long is an average date?  Maybe 2-4 hours?  So, three dates, we'll go with the long date scenario here and say 4 hours each... basically people are saying 12 hours with somebody and they're ready to go?  That's all it takes?  That's not even a full DAY of hours!  Now, if it's a date that came out of a friendship, then that is different I think, since you already know the person and have a history, but, for example, people who hook up in bars?  Really?  In less than 24 hours of time spent together they're gonna go from, "Hi, my name is ____." to "How was it for you?"  ?  Am I just being a prude?  Having sex with somebody you just met after only 3 dates seems about as ridiculous to me as getting married after 3 dates.  Lots of people, especially men, were saying that if there was no sex after three dates they would end the relationship on the grounds that it wasn't going anywhere.  All I can say to that is thank goodness I found my man with lighting speed, cuz if I hadn't I apparently would have been dumped over and over and over and over again!  Not that, in all fairness, I didn't throw my morals and ideal of "wait till you're married" out the window pretty fast (although not 3 dates fast), but in my defense we had known each other a few years before we started officially dating.  If most people are following a 3 date time frame then how does half the country not have an STD?  They can't all be using protection, cuz there are a lotta babies being made out there.  (Yes, I understand sometimes people do use protection and still end up with babies.)  Maybe most people don't make it past a first date?  So maybe you have a year or two of one date people before you find one who actually is worth 3 dates?  Is that how it works?  Maybe you have several hours of phone conversation between dates, so that counts too?  Still seems kinda fast to me.  Kissing and petting, ok, but the whole 9 yards?  I mean, obviously people have the right to do what they want and what they think is right for them. I certainly don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings if they like to move fast.  Plus, like I said, I am not now nor have I ever been an experienced dater, so maybe I just don't know how it is, but as for me,  "Not I, said the Fly."  lol 

People I have mooned over lol

Actors:
First and foremost: John Stamos
Jason Priestley
Maxwell Caulfield
Harrison Ford
Cary Grant
Marlon Brando
Paul Reiser
.....ok, don't judge....  Gene Wilder....  I don't know why
Jeff Goldblum
Jonathan Taylor Thomas  (back in the day)
Patrick Swayze
Zac Efron  ....what? he's pretty.
David Duchovny
Nicholas Cage
Mike Rowe
Dean Cain (except I'm not sure there's much brains behind those eyes)
Bill Pullman
Matthew Mcconaughey
All 3 male leads on Stargate SG-1
David Tennant  (shrug)
Ryder Strong
Dick VanDyke
Tom Selleck
Robin Williams
Zen Gesner in The Adventures of Sinbad
Jeff Corwin (take of his shirt)


Animated (yeah, I know):
Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid
Tamahome from Fushigi Yugi
Chad from Bleach
Aladdin
Dimitri from Anastasia


Literary:
Aram from Merupuri
Ren from Tiger's Curse
Devin Mackade from The Mackade Brothers
Kiriya from Kare First Love
Shawn Gallagher from Tears of the Moon
Jesse from The Mediator
Dickon from The Secret Garden  (yeah, that's a weird one)
Seth from Wicked Lovely, although in my world he has no piercings or tattoos
Strider/Aragorn from LOTR

Singers:
Joe Nichols a lil' bit
Billy Ray Cyrus back when
Tim McGraw
Garth Brooks with goatee, like on cover of Ultimate Hits 2007
George Michaels sometimes.  not all the time.
Elvis  yeah, I'm cliche on that one