Groupon...This is Cool!

Have any of my tens of readers out there heard of Groupon?  It's a web site/application that offers discounts/coupons for local businesses in your area.  I signed up for it a month or so ago, but originally it said it still wasn't in Boise yet.  This is because they have to have a large enough group of people sign up in one area to start off with to make sure that they can offer the discounts. 

Well apparently enough people signed up because I started getting a Deal of the Day email last week.  I'm sure there will be plenty of them that I'm not interested in...but it's great when there's one that I really like.  Already I've found one that I'm interested in and want to try.  (30 day exercise boot camp, normally $149 on Groupon for $39.  I may try this to get in shape before my upcoming cruise in October.)  You can check out the Groupon web site to find out more info about how it works and what the deals are in your area. 

And with Groupon you can also refer friends and get credits towards future deals.  Here's how it works:  If someone joins Groupon within 72 hours after clicking your link, they'll notify you within 24 hours of their first purchase and automatically add $10 Groupon Bucks to your account. You can refer as many people as you like.  Even if you don't click on my link and sign up, it's still worth it to check it out.  You never know if you'll find a deal you like!   

Wedding Web Sites

After I posted yesterday, I looked at it again and decided I really liked that little graphic at the bottom. I think maybe I should use that in all future wedding posts...kind of as a "warning" that the post is wedding related. That way, for those of you who aren't into the wedding thing can skip past and look for something non-wedding related. Yeah, like I'll post anything non-wedding related anytime soon... (smirk) Too late! You're all in my evil wedding-related clutches now! Mwuhahahahahaahahahahahaaaaaaaa.......

Okay, that sounded a lot more dramatic (and evil) in my head.

It may seem a little strange that a 40 year old woman on her second marriage is getting so into the whole wedding planning thing. I blame it on the internet. Yes, the internet. Do you know how many wedding related web sites there are out there? Especially ones with message boards where you can talk to other brides-to-be and get opinions, advice, suggestions....snark. It sucks you in, I swear.

One of the more popular things these days is DIY. Yes, as in "Do It Yourself". I'll admit I bought my wedding invitations at a craft store and printed them myself, then spent a whole night meticulously peeling & sticking little adhesive dots & aligning ribbon. But some of these brides are SERIOUS DIY'ers. They make their own aisle runners, place cards, card boxes, veils, hair pieces, invitations, favors, candle holders, bouquets, centerpieces...you get the idea. It all sounds very inspiring, but do I have the time (not to mention the energy) to do all of this? And boy, do some of these girls make you feel guilty if you aren't doing all of the extra little details. It can drive a person crazy. My favorite quote is from one of the ladies over on the "Second Weddings" board on The Knot:

"And every day there's a new post in which Suzy Homemaker bride is DIY'ing her hand monogrammed napkin rings made from all the movie tickets she and her fiance have ever seen together with the couples' reviews of the movies typed, laminated and tucked inside with gold plated embossed signature logos on them!!!"

And the acronyms? FI, FMIL, RD, BM, MOH, GM, WC, STD... (Anyone care to guess what all of those mean? Go ahead, I dare you. Leave your guesses in the comments.) Do you know how frightening it was to go on a wedding web site and see all of these women posting messages about whether or not they should do STD's??! Yikes!

What I'm learning mostly is this....it's our wedding. If we choose to thumb our noses at tradition and have our wedding in a really cool restaurant instead of a 100 year old cathedral church or at the hottest country club, so be it. If I think sunflowers would look awesome at a wedding, regardless of the fact that it will be winter and 31 degrees outside, who cares? What?!! I'm not having a Maid of Honor and he's not having a Best Man?? And we're not having an exactly matching number of bridesmaids and groomsmen?? Pfffffft! Another great quote from one of the gals on the "Second Weddings" board, and kind of a motto for everyone there: "Do what makes your heart happy." Yeah....my heart is pretty damn happy....

Code Red Alert!! Code Red Alert!!!

Okay, I felt bad about missing yesterday (AND Sunday--I still can't figure that one out!) so when I ran across a particular website just now I knew I HAD to post it here.

PMSBuddy
Yes, it's a real web site. Their tag line is "Saving relationships, one month at a time." I suppose some women would get all uppity about this and freak out. But personally I think it's hilarious!
It reminds me of when I worked at First State Bank of the Oaks in Thousand Oaks, CA back in the early 90's. We had an Operations Manager who quite frankly scared the crap out of some of us. I remember one day coming in and my co-worker saying "It's a red day!" After seeing my bewildered look, she explained to me that she and some of the other girls kept track of our Operations Manager's cycles on their calendars so they knew when to tread lightly. Who knew someone would take that idea and run with it? If the man in my life wants to sign up, more power to him! Maybe then he'll know when to stock up on chocolate. :)

Cake Wrecks

I think I have a new favorite site... Who doesn't love cake? The comedian Jim Gaffigan does a great monologue on cake. But this web site that was brought to my attention "takes the cake" (UHG...SUCH a bad pun)...

(and yeah...don't ask me to explain the above pictured cake....I have NO idea!!!)

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Free Rice!

Someone just brought this web site to my attention this morning and it looks like a pretty cool thing they're doing. (Especially to someone like me who is a grammar nut.) You have to choose the correct definitition for words that they give you. For each word that you get right, they will donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. I don't know if there's any way to really know if this is for real or not--I hope that it is. But if it's not....well....at least you learned some new vocabulary words!

Free Rice to help end world hunger

This is why I love LOLCats:

moar funny pictures

Gotta love those romance novel covers...

The women at Smart Bitches have posted yet another great collection of romance novel covers. Bad hair, confusing poses, and serious mantitty.
Click here for some snark
(Oh, and don't forget to read the comments)

"Thong on Fire" and Other Bad Novels...

I am NOT a romance novel reader. Can't stand 'em, to tell you the truth. I prefer a good suspense or mystery to get my blood flowing. But I HAVE to give props (oh God, did I actually just say "give props"??) to the "Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels" web site. (See link under "Web Pages I Like") The main part of their web site that I always go back to check on is their cover art snark. Here's a little sample for the cover of a book called "Thong on Fire":

Sarah: That’s one way to refer to gonorrhea.
Candy: When I saw that cover, I immediately heard Wolf Parade singing “Sometimes we rock and roll, sometimes we strip at home and it’s just fine, this thong’s on fire, this thong’s on fire, this thong’s on fire, this thong’s on fire.”
Anybody else? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Then the comments that the readers send in are enough to keep you in stitches for hours:

Dear me...I fear perhaps, her thong is on fire due to all the horrible chafing from that butt floss...did you see this was from the author of “Thug-A-Licious” ? Hmm...nothing’s sexier than knockin’ boots with yer baby daddy after he gets out of the pen. -Mamanice

And my personal favorite, from Amy F.B. E.- I can’t get past Thong On Fire. Holy shit. I shouldn’t be surprised at the utter horrendousness of that title since its predecessor was called Thug-A-Licious (didn’t he tour with Eminem last year?), but still. That’s one damn lousy title for anything other than a STD prevention manual!
“Are you a shameless hussy? Do your friends refer to you as the Revolving Whore? Are you physically incapable of seeing anything oblong without humping it madly, regardless of who’s watching? Have you not yet lived down that incident with the blow up doll, the waffle iron, and the church pew, despite moving to another state? Can you read at a 2nd grade level? Well, this is the book for you--THONG ON FIRE!
“This stirring novel teaches you ways to prevent a recurrence of that inconvenient green discharge from your Magic Vajayjay, as well as detailing methods for reducing that irritating twat chapping caused by fucking every doorknob in Home Depot! Order your copy today--only $19.95 in this special TV offer--but wait, there’s more! Act now and get not one, not two, but three extra-strength, silver-studded, faux leatherette condoms! Make your men howl with pleasure… or is it pain?… as they penetrate every one of your glistening lurve grottos. And that’s not all--we’ll also throw in this industrial-strength energizing and disinfecting spray, specially formulated for the tired and overused ladypocket...”
Oh yeah. I can’t wait to read it.

This web site is definitely worthy of saving in your favorites if you enjoy reading sarcastic review of REALLY bad cover art. http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/C12/