Just a little reminder that I’m an Amazon Associate! I’m sure most of you know what that means but incase you don’t…If someone uses my Amazon link/search box when making a purchase, I earn a small % of the sale.

I know some of you own the Kindle and I just wanted to let everyone know that associates now earn a percentage on Kindle books sales! We didn’t receive anything for the longest time but now we earn anywhere from 3% – 8%.

My goal is to try and average $250 or more a month. I have it setup in a way that all my earnings from Amazon go straight to my ING savings account. After July I plan on not touching the money. I’m trying to save up enough money to put down on a house. I figure between saving up from Amazon plus my tax refund and other money I have laying around, maybe by the end of next year I can make it happen.

I failed to mention it here but I sent off my oversized Burn Notice shirt to SmarmyClothes to have it destroyed and put back together into something cute. Now I could’ve tried to have done this myself but I have no skills when it comes to something like this. I left it to the professional.

I am beyond excited that I did! Here is what I sent her:

and this is what I got back:

Isn’t it amazing?! I’m beyond thrilled with it. I can’t wait to rock it at San Diego Comic Con this year! Alexis was great to work with. She sent me a few sketches with different ideas and explained to me what could be done and what couldn’t since the image pretty much took up the whole shirt. One idea jumped out at me but I asked if something could be tweeked and she said no problem and explained what would have to be done in order to make it happen. I told her I trusted her since I have no idea how to do anything like this or what goes into it. Plus I had looked at her website and Etsy shop and felt she was the one to take Burn Notice to a new level.

Now it wasn’t “cheap,” I think it was around $65, but it was 100% worth it. Now instead of something I can only wear to bed I have something that I can rock 24/7. It fits perfectly! I can’t wait to order more of her stuff.

I recently bought the new Sony DSC-TX7 and I love it! It’s already passed one major test which is a concert. On the 19th I saw Dierks Bentley and took my new little toy with me. After playing around with settings I finally found the perfect one. The setting I used is called Backlight Correction HDR and it is amazing. Don’t believe? Here are a few pictures of awesomeness:

I’ve never had pictures this clear at a concert before, even before the digital camera age. I’m really impressed with the new setting! Another new feature that I’m sure you’ve heard about is the iSweep Panorama mode. I played around with it at the baseball game yesterday and here’s how it turned out:

It’s not perfect. You can see where it cut the vendors arm near the end but I’m sure that had to do with the fact he was walking at the time. I think it’s pretty awesome though and would be great for pictures of landscapes and cities. I’m looking forward to using it in San Diego and wish I had it when I went to Chicago.

I really love my new camera and I’m so glad I bought it. If you’re in the market for a new pocket sized friend I recommend checking out the Sony DSC-TX7. I bought the “Blue” model but it’s almost black, incase you’re wondering what it looks like in person.

Before I get to the wedding stuff, if you want to hear/see about my trip to Chicago you can do so over at my travel blog. Thanks!

Yes, I’m just now posting about the wedding which happened on May 1st but as you can imagine things have been a bit crazy. The weather was perfect and I’d say the day went off without a hitch. Of course the morning was a bit stressful as we pulled up to the house after getting our hair & make up done at the same time as the photographer was arriving. It happens. After my sister finished getting dressed we then realized we couldn’t find her jewelry. I saved the day of course and found it in one of the many bags that was floating around the house. It seemed like everything had it’s own bag!

After everyone was dressed we did a few pictures at the house both inside and outside. The limo was upgraded the day of the wedding to a stretch Expedition that had a hell of a time getting around our small streets. The driver was a pro though and he made his way to the Church without any issues. The actual wedding seemed like a blur. It wasn’t a full Mass ceremony which was nice because the shoes I had to wear killed my feet! I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a scar on my right foot from those shoes but that’s the price of beauty.

The reception was fun and everyone had a good time. I had to do my Maid of Honor speech and was nervous as well. I made it through it though without crying. Instead of crying I laughed and regained myself and continued on. That’s how I roll. We only had the hall until 6 and we made use of the short time we had. Everyone was up and dancing. It was great to see friends and family we don’t get to see that often.

Anyway, enough rambling. Here are some pictures!

I bought a new camera over the weekend (Squee!) which means I’m selling my old one. There’s nothing wrong with it as I just used it in Chicago while on vacation. You’ll get the camera, 1GB memory card, charger and the USB upload cables. It’s a Sony Cybershot DSC-T20 and you can find the auction here. I priced it based on other auctions and think it’s pretty fair. I’m just trying to get something to help pay for the new one. If you have any questions just ask. Thanks!

and the lovely way of how I found out.

Facebook.

Wait. It gets better.

From his mother.

Yes. I was sitting at my desk on Monday at work and while waiting for something to copy I was checking my Facebook when I see a message from his mother. I open it and it says “Congrats Aunt!” Of course I’m a little WTF is going on since I haven’t seen my sister since last week. She was out of town on her Honeymoon and I was in Chicago. We both returned home Sunday but at different times, by the time I got home she was gone. Anyway….

I go over to a friend and start going off. I mean, really? FACEBOOK!? How the hell did she think that would be OK? After ranting more I called my sister and asked if she had something to tell me. She told me I was going to be an Aunt and that’s when I informed her that her mother in law already told me via a Facebook message. Silence. My sister told his mother not to say anything since obviously she wanted to tell me. There’s only the two of us. She’s my only sister. His mother took away a moment that can’t be replaced or fixed. Ever. Even if they have another child it’s not the same.

After I got off the phone with my sister she must’ve called the MIL because a little while later I had another message from her apologizing and saying she didn’t mean to upset me. Really? I told her I didn’t accept her apology and that she took something away from us. I then deleted her.

She was TOLD not to say anything! It’s not like she sent a mass message out saying she was going to be a grandmother. I’m not some fucking 3rd cousin or friend from work. I’m her ONLY sister. I’m her OLDER sister. WTF was she thinking? I mean, FACEBOOK!? Seriously? My friend at work said she’s never seen me that pissed. She’s right, I don’t think I’ve ever been that pissed before.

Thankfully it all happened close to quitting time. I was able to hold it together until I got home and told the parents what happened. They were shocked as well. I spent a good 30 minutes crying and I don’t cry easy. I need to be really upset to cry.

This stupid *insert whatever you want here* has only been “part of the family” for about 2 weeks and she’s already pushed my buttons and pissed me off.

But I’m going to be an Aunt and that’s exciting and happy news!

Just wanted to say I’m still around. It’s just been super crazy lately. I’ll be sure to make a decent post after I get back from Chicago this coming weekend.

This upcoming weekend is pretty busy. I took off Friday to go to Orioles Opening Day which I’m really excited about. It’s going to be a long day though as one of the radio stations has something starting at one of the local bars at 6:30am. Yes, 6:30am. It might actually be 6am even, I can’t remember exactly. The game itself isn’t until 3:05pm. I’m actually going with a friend and I’ll be staying at her place Thursday night to help save sometime.

Saturday is a big Maryland SPCA Fundraiser. I actually have to stop by the SPCA in the morning to pick up t-shirts and goodie bags for the pack. I’m picking up some items to sell as well. Then at 1:30 I have a hair appointment which isn’t anything special. I’m just getting my hair colored and getting it styled. Why styled? Because at 5:30pm I have a fundraiser at Howl At The Moon downtown for the Maryland SPCA. It’s from 5:30pm-8pm and I’m hoping for a great turnout. I’ve been pimping it on Facebook and Twitter. Sounds like another long day.

Monday is yet another fundraiser at a local bar. We did this one last year and had a pretty decent turn out. We’ll earn 15% of sales if people remember to bring in our flyer. We mainly get donations from people who just feel like handing us money. Hey, that works for me!

If you’re out there in Bloggerland and obviously can’t make it to any of the events you can still sponsor me! You can donate via this link. I appreciate every donation and I know the Maryland SPCA does as well. We’re probably not going to make our goal this year but that’s ok! Every little bit helps! Please be sure to share the link with your friends and family. The March for the Animals is only 13 days away! You still have plenty of time to donate. If you’ve already donated I thank you!

Saturday we had the surprise bridal shower for my sister and it went pretty well. Everything came together very nicely and the location was great. We were able to have the shower at a local yacht club for pretty much free. It was such a beautiful day weather wise that the location just added to how great the shower was.

The shower was to start at 2pm and I was worried that she might arrive early or ontime. I’m not sure why I thought that seeing between her and her fiance’ they’re always late. I told him earlier in the week not to have Ang there until around 2:30. I wanted to give people time to get there before she did. Well, that was a silly concern. They didn’t get there until almost 3:30! I guess better late than early.

Gifts. I’ve never seen so many gifts before in one place. Seriously, it was crazy. We used a pool table as the gift table and that was covered plus gifts surrounded the table on the floor. It was pretty awesome though knowing they won’t need to get much once they get married and buy a house. Here’s just a short list of what she snagged:

Grill
2 Slow Cookers
Toaster
Toaster Oven
Brita Water Filter
Bathroom Towels x 4343984
Coffee Maker
Picture Frames
Bathroom Stuff (soap dish, shower curtain, toothbrush holder, etc)
Holiday Decoations
2 Plastic Totes
2 Laundry Baskets
Hangers
Table Cloth
Bakeware
Pots & Pans
Various Glasses
6 Gift Cards (Target & Bed Bath Beyond)

That’s just a small sample. She pretty much got everything on her list. We also asked everyone to share a receipe and she received tons of receipe cards plus a few cook books. Another thing we asked people to do was to bring along a household item they might need and they did pretty well there too. She got some cleaning supplies, canned goods, paper towels, tissues & other items they’ll need. Now they just need to find a house.

All in all it went really well. This was the 1st time I met any of his family and they seem OK for the most part. Now we just need May to get here to get all this over with!

Oh and if anyone is wondering where they pull all their stuff…they have a storage unit. Thank goodness because there isn’t any room at the house for it!

A few days ago I ordered a print from the very lovely Robin. She had posted the image on her Facebook page in a polaroid style and for whatever reason I fell in love with it and had to have it. She even edited the original image to try and get the same effect that was on the Facebook version.

Here’s the picture I fell in love with:

Here it is framed and happily displayed. I have it hanging in my room above my bed. Well, above the side of my bed because the head of my bed isn’t against a wall but that’s neither here nor there.

It’s called “Ring Around The Kerry” and she took the picture while on a visit to Ireland. Isn’t there just something about it? As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. Thanks again Robin for letting me purchase such an awesome picture!