I’ve seen said craft room, and she’s right – she’s got a TON of stuff – cool stuff.

Well, anyone who’s seen my office knows that I, too, have a ton of stuff I could unload. Mostly books. And computer stuff.

So, I signed up, and sure enough, I got 400 credits for doing so, an extra 50 credits for hooking it to my Facebook account, and another extra 50 credits for hooking it to my Twitter account. Nice.

Then, I got another 100 credits for listing my first auction (which you can see in the box to the right.) I have no need for this tripod any longer, since my Flip cam grew legs of its own and crawled mysteriously away sometime in the last few months. (I may possibly have left it somewhere in Atlanta last summer, too.)

So, I ask you – don’t you have stuff, perfectly good stuff, that you don’t need or use anymore? Wouldn’t it be grand to give it away to someone who really needs and wants it? There’s good karma in this, folks. Our stuff wants to be where it’s loved and valued, not gathering dust and being ignored.

Go on ahead and get 600 free credits and get started! You know you’ve got stuff to list.

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

Ask yourself, “If the situation were reversed, what would I want most from me right now?” Then do that.

Because you care.
Because you, too, make mistakes.
Because you don’t require perfection from others.
Because part of being a friend is loving them when they can’t love themselves.

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

On this first Sunday of the new year, I ask you to take 16 minutes of your day to watch this TED talk by Dr. Brené Brown on The Price of Invulnerability:

I know, from personal experience, that we really can’t numb out just the bad stuff without also numbing the good stuff we want.

My friends help me preserve my ability to be vulnerable by reassuring me that I am safe with them. I am able to practice vulnerability with them, and each time I do, I get stronger and am more willing to risk vulnerability outside of the safety net they provide.

Priceless.

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

If ever there was a topic I could blog about everyday for a month solid, this is it.

Throughout my life, it has been my friends who’ve sustained me. These people loved me when I didn’t love myself, challenged me and kept me sane. They are the touchstones of my life, witnesses to my growth and champions of who I am becoming.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” ~C.S. Lewis

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

Congratulations, Genine and Murray!

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

PDD ended up with 28 eggs, one of which was marked for a prize. Needless to say, she was happy.

(If you’re reading this through the feed, click through to see the 2:45m video.)

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
() Pirates of the Caribbean
() Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( )Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X)Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
Total: 7

(X) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
(X) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 15

(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
(X) Scary Movie 3
(X) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
(X) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 26
(Disclaimer: While I have seen all these movies, I would not choose them on my own. This is one of the hazards of having teenagers in the house.)

() Harry Potter 1
() Harry Potter 2
() Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 28

(X) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(X) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
(X) 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30)
(X) I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 35

(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
() KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
() KING KONG (2003)
Total so far: 43

(X) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
(X) Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination
() Final Destination
(X) Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
(X) Surviving X-MAS
(X) Flubber
Total so far: 49

(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
() Chicago
(X) Ghost Ship
() From Hell
(X) Hellboy
() Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 55

(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X) Child’s Play
(X) Seed of Chucky
(X) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
(X) Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 67

(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(X) Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremacy
() Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
(X) Predator I
(X) Predator II
() The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 78

(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
(X) A Bronx Tale
(X) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(X) ET
(X) Children of the Corn
(X) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 90

() Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She’s All That
(X) Calendar Girls
() Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
() Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 99

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
(X) Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
Total so far: 111

() Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
(X) The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
(X) Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 117

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
() Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 122

() Basketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Reject
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 125

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 128

() High Tension
() Club Dread
(X) Hulk
(X) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 132

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
(X) Kingdom of Heaven
(X) The Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 134

() Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
() Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
() Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 136

(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal
Total so far: 141

Now Add them up and…

Post your total as the title.

Note: Whoever originated this list must love scary, gory movies, because there are a lot of them on this list. I have, unfortunately, seen many of them…one of the downfalls of video rentals. No way I’d have paid $8/head to see these in the theater.

There are a LOT of movies I’ve seen – by choice – that aren’t even on this list. Here are some off the top of my head, and feel free to include them in your lists….since none of us likely have lives, according to the originator’s criteria, anyway.

(X) Steel Magnolias
(X) Raising Helen
(X) Terms of Endearment
(X) The Replacements
(X) Educating Rita
(X) Saving Grace (starring my favorite cheeky, wee monkey, Craig Ferguson! Good movie.)
(X) Friday Night Lights
(X) Fried Green Tomatoes
(X) The Guardian
(X) Field of Dreams
(X) Bull Durham
(X) A League of Their Own
(X) Any Given Sunday
(X) The Commitments (anyone want to send me this DVD for my birthday in June? I can’t find it and I LOVE this movie!)
(X) Must Love Dogs
(X) Baby Boom
(X) Annie Hall
(X) Something’s Gotta Give
(X) What Women Want
(X) Jersey Girl
(X) Independence Day
(X) Seven Pounds
(X) Last Chance Harvey
(X) Love Actually
(X) About a Boy
(X) Notting Hill
(X) The Pelican Brief
(X) A Time to Kill
(X) Internal Affairs
(X) P.S. I Love You (Yeah, pretty sure I’m going to Ireland to shop for my next hubby, if I decide to shop for one.)
(X) Gran Turino
(X) The Unforgiven
(X) Absence of Malice
(X) Hunt for Red October
(X) Seredipity
(X) The Devil Wears Prada
(X) Monster-In-Law
(X) Enough
(X) Death Becomes Her
(X) Million Dollar Baby
(X) Nights in Rodanthe
(X) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(X) Bridges of Madison County
(X) Invincible
(X) Radio
(X) The Secret Life of Bees
(X) The Deep End of the Ocean
(X) Where the Heart Is
(X) Night Shift
(X) Moonstruck
(X) Con Air
(X) Silkwood
(X) Pay It Forward
(X) Beverly Hills Cop
(X) Beverly Hills Cop 2
(X) Trading Places
(X) Dr. Doolittle
(X) The Unbearable Lightness of Being
(X) Private Benjamin

Ok, that’s enough… for now…

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

After a busy, busy Monday full of work, I spent some time on YouTube this evening and found some Steeler-mania I’d like to share. Thanks, Karen Bobic, for starting the ball rolling with:

And then here’s one that explains WHY I like Troy so much:

He’s just so cute, isn’t he? And someone tell me…do they play the Super Bowl commercials on the big screens in the stadium, or is that something only we at home get to see? Cuz if they do, he got to see that dream that was just too far-fetched to be a dream – PLAYING in the game and BEING in one of the commercials. I hope so.

Ok folks, I could go on and on about these guys, and find you more and more Steeler videos for you to see, but it’s time to go to bed. (Lucky you! LOL)

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

Ingredients:
8 – 15 lb. turkey
1 c melted butter
1 c stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is Good.)
1 c uncooked popcorn (ORVILLE REDDENBACHER’S LOW FAT)
Salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and uncooked popcorn.

2. Place in roasting pan and position roasting pan in the oven with the neck end facing the back of the oven.

3. Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey’s ass blows the oven door open and the bird flies across the room, it’s done.

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,

I picked up Sweet Pea yesterday morning and we took her out to see her other Grandma and Grandpa (Oldest Son’s dad and his wife). Tried 4 times to get a picture of her with Grandpa, but Grandpa was just uncooperative. Here is the least goofy looking shot of the 4.

And, of course, PDD got to spend time with her favorite creatures: Star, Skippa and Stormin’.

This time, the horses thought Second Son had brought them treats (his sunflower seeds)…

…and proceeded to follow him around wherever he went. They were all 3 following him, at one point, but I was too slow with the camera to capture it. Second Son finally had to leave the pasture to get any peace.

For more great photos, visit:

Keepin' it real in the bloggerhood,