youthmystique

Have you ever played the game, Farm Town, on Facebook? Man, it is addicting!

I used to be addicted to The Sims computer game back in the day. It kind of reminds me of that because you can get more crops. I like games that let you add on things like that.

My farm started off really small about a few months ago. I started playing this summer. Now I concentrate on coffee and sunflower fields. I’m up to 50,000 coins. I wish that was real money. That would be nice.

My advice to Farm Town newbies is to plant as much as you can when you start playing. The more experienced you become, the more of a variety of crops there are to buy.

At first I got impatient with the game because I wanted to keep buying more but didn’t have the money. Now, I am a little more chill.

I also own a few animals on my farm: two cats, a dog, a turkey and a chicken.

The music is pretty freaky. That is one thing I don’t like about it. It sounds like a nightmare or a scary movie where a clown would jump out. I play with the sound off.

I’ve been  MIA lately due to the holidays. I had four Christmas parties the other week.

A while ago I blogged about how I needed my e-mail and it wasn’t working at my job. Well, I’ve been having other problems with technology lately.

One of the folders I needed on my server at work got renamed during one of my deadline days. I thought it was completely gone and had been deleted. It was not a good day.

Then I was driving to see my parents and my CD player in my car spit out my Paramore CD and said it was a bad disc. It does this all of the time but it annoys the crap out of me! It wasn’t a bad disc. It’s just that my CD player gets sensitive to specks of dust or scratches.

This evening I was doing laundry and again, technology has kicked me in the butt. I went to get my clothes out of the dryer in my apartment building and noticed all of the lights were out in the hallway except for the emergency lights. The laundry room lights weren’t working either. And…of course my laundry was not dry at all.

So I guess that’s Technology 4, Loislane 0. Sometimes I just want to take electronics and smash the crap out of them like in “Office Space.” (They smash the fax machine. Or is it the copy machine?)

I’m waiting for my laptop to blow up……

I went to four Christmas parties this week and man am I ever tired!

At work we had our office party. Then I went to a Christmas party for the organization I belong to. Then I went to my future brother-in-law’s party Friday and last night I went to our friends’ wine Christmas party.

My advice to those of you that have holiday parties to attend, try to plan your gifts and wardrobe ahead of time. That way you’re not running around and stressing right before the party.

Also, you may want to grab a bite to eat before the party, especially if you are planning on drinking. Drinking water during the party is also a good idea. I should have had a lot more water last night. I don’t feel sick or anything today, just tired and a little dehydrated.

Partygoers should also be careful about drinking different kinds of alcohol. I came across a few people last night that were drinking wine and then beer. They were pretty sick. Watch your shots too. Those can have an effect on you in a hurry.

And always, have a designated driver or stay over at the party.

I slept until 1 p.m. today. That is the latest I’ve slept in a looong time.

Winter is an awesome thing when you’re still in school. A snowstorm or sleet usually means a delay or snow day for children. They get to have fun sledding and making hot chocolate.

Not for us working folks though. There’s not really a snow day when you have work to do.

Sometimes it’s easier to leave from work early if the weather’s going to be bad. Not really for journalists though. The news never stops. Sometimes the weather is the news.

We had some sleet in the area I work in yesterday. I was really nervous about driving but luckily since we had rain, it was just slushy. We had snow earlier in the week and that was scary when I was on some back roads.

Guess it’s time for me to accept that winter is basically here. I just get annoyed because whenever we have bad weather, it’s not enough to keep us inside for two days. It’s just enough to be a nuisance, to make driving miserable.

I’m not a person that exercises all of the time, but I do like to occasionally take walks outside the apartment and go to the park. I can’t really do that in this weather.

What about you? Does winter annoy you or do you like it?

Our work e-mail has been down for the past two days. It finally came back on today.

I can’t explain to you how frustrating it is not to have e-mail as a member of the media. How am I supposed to get news tips, event listings or other correspondence?

Freelancers also submit their by e-mail. I had to call our freelancers and give them my alternate e-mail address.  It wasn’t a big deal because I don’t mind talking to most of the freelancers.

I felt so lost the last couple of days. I’m used to getting at least 40 e-mails a day. Most of the time they are about accidents, road work and Google alerts. And the scams telling me that some rich person died in Nigeria or England or wherever and left me a bunch of money.

E-mail is just so convenient even for our office communication. Managers send us messages keeping us updated on policies and other things we need to know about. It’s so much easier sending an e-mail than walking 10 feet to someone else’s desk.

I pray that my e-mail stays connected so I’m not in the dark again.

I’ve decided to participate in giving fellow bloggers Lemonade awards. You readers can feel free to do the same.

Here’s the gist or rules for recipients:

The rules of this award for recipients:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I decided to elaborate on why I have chosen the following people. This isn’t one of the rules. Just thought I’d give readers an idea of what the blogs are all about.

1.       http://dratiffarid.today.com

This blog has a ton of information on health subjects ranging from how to cure the hiccups to asthma. Dratiffarid is in his final year of med school. By reading his blog, you can tell that he is passionate about helping people stay healthy or spreading awareness on topics we might not pay attention to like we should.

2.       http://extramoney.today.com

It’s obvious from the site’s title to see what this blog is all about. It’s very useful to readers, especially at a time like this. Check out this blog to find out how you can make extra money online by reading e-mails, writing articles, etc.

3.       http://threetimesabridesmaid.today.com

This is a very entertaining blog about being a bridesmaid. My favorite thing about this blog is the “Ugly bridesmaid’s dress of the day.” I get a good laugh out of that and think, “What the heck were these people thinking?”

4.       http://stuff123.today.com

This blog about stuff is very entertaining. Bozoplay has recently written about online gaming and telemarketing. He also gives readers tips on how to live on a budget.

5.       http://alaskalivelaughlove.today.com

It’s interesting to learn about Alaska from this blogger when you live on the East Coast. While some of us enjoy warm temperatures and the beach, this blogger enjoys Alaska and snow. She’s been living in Alaska for about 27 years according to her bio.

6.       http://maninthemoon.today.com

There’s a good reason this blog is on the Today hotlist. The blogger writes about what life is like being a man surrounded by females. I guess us girls can be a bit to handle sometimes so I can empathize with him.  (Basically, during that “special” time of the month.)

7.       http://dairyfreeliving.today.com

Have a milk allergy? Are you lactose intolerant? This blog is definitely for you! The blogger gives tips on dairy free Mexican and dessert recipes.

8.       http://apoetsview.today.com

If you are a poet or a fan of poetry, you should check out this blog. The blogger also has a passion for photography.

9.       http://frugaltips.today.com

Another blog that will help you save money around the house.  The blogger helps you find foods that are more filling and gives you other tips like washing full loads of laundry.

10.   http://todaystyle.today.com

Get your fashion and New York fix on this blog. Fashiona likes to blog about what the stars are wearing and has recently written about the fashion “bible” Vogue.

I started to decorate the apartment with Christmas stuff about a week ago. My inlaws (or future inlaws) came over so I wanted to bring our little fiber optic tree out of the closet.

I like snowmen decorations a lot so I have like three of those. One I received as a present last year during a work Christmas party.

I’ve grown to like Thanksgiving a lot more than Christmas because of having to figure out what to get family and friends.

Some people are so easy to buy for like my sister-in-law. It’s almost like shopping for me. Haha But on the other hand, buying for the men in my family is difficult.

It’s also kind of difficult to get into the Christmas spirit when the economy is so bad.

The other day when I looked out the window, I started to feel that Christmas spirit. Many of our neighbors have their houses decorated. It’s neat to drive or walk around the neighborhood to see the lights. (It’s also free except for that gas part! That’s a plus!) Seeing those lights is like a glimpse of hope. Even though times are tough, people are still lighting up their lives with Christmas decorations. It’s enough to put my Grinch-like attitude aside for a few moments and try to see the beauty of this time of year.

I don’t know about you, but I am a slacker when it comes to Christmas cards.

My mom is all organized when it comes to sending the cards out. She’s smart enough to write them out the day after Thanksgiving.

I have received Christmas cards from friends, so I know it’s not only a Mom thing to do.

I already sent out a few. As I was writing them out (while my mom was writing out hers) I realized that I didn’t have all of the addresses I needed so that was annoying. I guess I’m so busy with work, blogging and other things that cards have slipped my mind.

Some people send really neat cards with long letters on how their family is doing. They are more like newsletters than cards. Those are the kind that are neat to get.

I love getting Christmas cards and other nice cards. It’s nice to get mail that isn’t a bill.

Hopefully I will get the rest of my cards sent out soon. And hopefully they get sent out before Christmas.

How is everyone else doing with their Christmas card lists? And Christmas shopping? I have a good handle on my Christmas shopping for once.

During the past couple of years, there has been many movies made about superheroes: Spiderman, Daredevil, Superman, The Hulk, Batman, Iron Man, X-Men, etc. (I never read the comics and have only seen some of the movies.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about superheroes lately, especially after watching “X-Men III: The Last Stand.”

I think my favorite is Spiderman. It probably stems from watching a Spiderman cartoon back in the day with my brother. Peter Parker also works for a newspaper as a photographer and is a geek so he attracts me in that way.

Clark Kent also is pretty geeky and works for a newspaper. I guess the thought that he was born different, on a different planet is something I don’t find as exciting. Peter Parker was a normal person before he gained his superpowers. I also like the fact that in the second movie he loses his powers and second guesses himself. It shows insecurity and that even Spiderman doesn’t have all of the answers. And maybe that we all have choices and things that cause us to be inspired or be the people we choose to be.

I saw all three Spiderman movies and the latest Batman movies. I had trouble watching the third Spiderman movie because of how evil he was.

My fiancé says that Batman is pretty cool because he’s so selfless. You can see that from the latest movie, “The Dark Knight.” I don’t want to give away details because I don’t want to spoil it for people who haven’t seen the movie. I am so stoked that the movie is coming out on DVD. I will have to buy both of the latest Batman movies.

I want to drive up my traffic and experiment with the blog, so I’m trying out the new entrecard thingy. I’m going to post it on here and see if this works. If you have any tips, let me know. I know how to use the computer for blogs and e-mail but I don’t consider myself the most computer savvy person.