When I was a kid, I didn't like raisins because my sister told me they were monkey boogers.
19 hours ago
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year....
A friend of mine doesn't call his New Years resolutions "resolutions"...He calls them "intentions". I like that idea because we all know that we start off the new year with the best of intentions--they just don't always stick. So, with that being said, here are some of my intentions for this new year:
1. Eat healthier
My son has been a vegetarian for over a year now and I've honestly been inspired by him. I'm not saying I'm going to throw away all the beef in my garage freezer (I love steak way too much for that!) But in researching vegetarianism and learning to make vegetarian-friendly dishes for him I've discovered that I love a lot of the wonderful flavors in meatless meals. I realized how many tasty things you can do with vegetables besides just heating them and plopping them on your plate next to your meatloaf. So although I'm not planning on giving up meat, I definitely plan to add more vegetable-based dishes to my meals.
2. Get more exercise
Yeah, I know....this is one that everyone says they're going to do. But I am in the middle of an honest-to-goodness freak out about what has happened to my body lately. After years of never having much fat on my body, even when I was pregnant with my son, I am now dealing with the "muffin top" syndrome...and the reality that I am collecting fat around my middle like a hungry squirrel storing up nuts for winter. My Wii Fit game is gathering dust on a shelf and the last time I laced up my walking shoes was several months ago (although I try to attribute this last phenomenon to the colder winter months.) Maybe it has something to do with the days in my early twenties when I worked at a health club and taught aerobics three times a day (after riding my bike to work), but I have always kind of prided myself on being physically fit. I can honestly say that this is the most un-fit I've been in all of my adult life. This must change. I guess it will kind of go hand in hand with intention number one. If anyone out there who happens to be in close proximity to Nampa is looking for a walking partner, let me know! (It's so much easier to stick to these things when you have someone else who wants to do the same thing and can hold you accountable.)
3. Be more self-confident
I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way in my life I started caring way too much about what other people think about me. And I started second guessing myself a lot. I'm sure it was somewhere around those awkward years during junior high school when I overheard the boys at school talking about me...("too bad about her face")...Or maybe it was when I was a single mother and was so worried about making the wrong decisions, afraid that I would permanently ruin my son's life. Possibly sometime during my first marriage when my overweight husband used put-downs as a protection mechanism to lash out at others before they could do damage to him.
Regardless of when it happened, I know I need to change this. I need to be proud of who I am. I need to remember that I am very knowledgeable when it comes to what I've learned on my jobs over the years. I need to realize that even if I make a "wrong" decision about something, it can usually be fixed. If I have to ask someone about something I don't know, it's not because I'm stupid but because I'm most likely dealing with something new. I am woman, hear me roar! Ha ha....(Okay, now I need to get that old early 80's Enjoli commercial out of my head....we all remember that one, don't we?)
4. Learn something new
I want to learn how to knit. I guess technically this wouldn't be something new because my mother taught me how to knit back when I was 16 years old. I attempted to knit a scarf for a guy I knew who road a motorcycle (for some reason my 16 year old mind thought that a man on a motorcycle needed a scarf). I think I was a little bit ADD back then because I got tired of it quickly and it ended up being only about two and a half feet long. I remember giving it to him and he just kind of tied it around his neck like a giant bow tie. But now that I'm older, knitting seems like a great way to pass the time when I don't have a book to read. It also seems like it would be very relaxing, once I get the hang of it again. So be forewarned friends and family--next Christmas you may all be getting hand knitted hats, scarves & tea cozies!
Happy New Year!
My son has been a vegetarian for over a year now and I've honestly been inspired by him. I'm not saying I'm going to throw away all the beef in my garage freezer (I love steak way too much for that!) But in researching vegetarianism and learning to make vegetarian-friendly dishes for him I've discovered that I love a lot of the wonderful flavors in meatless meals. I realized how many tasty things you can do with vegetables besides just heating them and plopping them on your plate next to your meatloaf. So although I'm not planning on giving up meat, I definitely plan to add more vegetable-based dishes to my meals.
Yeah, I know....this is one that everyone says they're going to do. But I am in the middle of an honest-to-goodness freak out about what has happened to my body lately. After years of never having much fat on my body, even when I was pregnant with my son, I am now dealing with the "muffin top" syndrome...and the reality that I am collecting fat around my middle like a hungry squirrel storing up nuts for winter. My Wii Fit game is gathering dust on a shelf and the last time I laced up my walking shoes was several months ago (although I try to attribute this last phenomenon to the colder winter months.) Maybe it has something to do with the days in my early twenties when I worked at a health club and taught aerobics three times a day (after riding my bike to work), but I have always kind of prided myself on being physically fit. I can honestly say that this is the most un-fit I've been in all of my adult life. This must change. I guess it will kind of go hand in hand with intention number one. If anyone out there who happens to be in close proximity to Nampa is looking for a walking partner, let me know! (It's so much easier to stick to these things when you have someone else who wants to do the same thing and can hold you accountable.)
I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way in my life I started caring way too much about what other people think about me. And I started second guessing myself a lot. I'm sure it was somewhere around those awkward years during junior high school when I overheard the boys at school talking about me...("too bad about her face")...Or maybe it was when I was a single mother and was so worried about making the wrong decisions, afraid that I would permanently ruin my son's life. Possibly sometime during my first marriage when my overweight husband used put-downs as a protection mechanism to lash out at others before they could do damage to him.
Regardless of when it happened, I know I need to change this. I need to be proud of who I am. I need to remember that I am very knowledgeable when it comes to what I've learned on my jobs over the years. I need to realize that even if I make a "wrong" decision about something, it can usually be fixed. If I have to ask someone about something I don't know, it's not because I'm stupid but because I'm most likely dealing with something new. I am woman, hear me roar! Ha ha....(Okay, now I need to get that old early 80's Enjoli commercial out of my head....we all remember that one, don't we?)
I want to learn how to knit. I guess technically this wouldn't be something new because my mother taught me how to knit back when I was 16 years old. I attempted to knit a scarf for a guy I knew who road a motorcycle (for some reason my 16 year old mind thought that a man on a motorcycle needed a scarf). I think I was a little bit ADD back then because I got tired of it quickly and it ended up being only about two and a half feet long. I remember giving it to him and he just kind of tied it around his neck like a giant bow tie. But now that I'm older, knitting seems like a great way to pass the time when I don't have a book to read. It also seems like it would be very relaxing, once I get the hang of it again. So be forewarned friends and family--next Christmas you may all be getting hand knitted hats, scarves & tea cozies!
Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
HP Printer Giveaway!
As some of you know, I am a HUGE fan of Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. (See link to her blog in my blog list...)
Well through December 31st she's doing a giveaway contest for a free HP Printer! Check it out here:
Pioneer Woman's HP Printer Giveaway
Now, if you don't want to enter because you want to give me a better chance to win it, then that's okay. ;) Seriously though, good luck to all who enter!
Well through December 31st she's doing a giveaway contest for a free HP Printer! Check it out here:
Pioneer Woman's HP Printer Giveaway
Now, if you don't want to enter because you want to give me a better chance to win it, then that's okay. ;) Seriously though, good luck to all who enter!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Homesick...
I've been going along just fine lately--working, getting ready for Christmas, keeping up with friends on Facebook---but suddenly tonight, as I was sitting here by myself in the living room it hit me...I miss my family. I've been living in Idaho for over 14 years now and everyone feels so far away. I see others around me who have family close by, some even still living with their families. Our family is spread so far and wide throughout the U.S. and it would be impossible to be close to them all the time.
In some cultures, families live together from birth until death. The old take care of the young and eventually the young take care of the old. Meals are taken together, hardships are worked through together and celebrations are rejoiced together. It's tough to do that from thousands of miles away.
I know I've missed a lot of moments with my family. I can't turn back the clock and stop everyone from living their lives and moving on. But I would give anything to snuggle with my sister in my dad's big easy chair again, her in her soft cotton nightgown and me in my warm Winnie the Pooh pajamas. To watch my brother practicing with his cheerleading squad in our backyard, in awe of how grown up he seemed. To drive my dad's '84 Camaro for the first time on a lonely highway through Utah, just the two of us on a four state road trip. To learn how to two-step with my mother in our living room, the two of us laughing at stumbling over our own feet.
We all move on and make our own lives. I just wish we all could have made them a little closer together...
In some cultures, families live together from birth until death. The old take care of the young and eventually the young take care of the old. Meals are taken together, hardships are worked through together and celebrations are rejoiced together. It's tough to do that from thousands of miles away.
I know I've missed a lot of moments with my family. I can't turn back the clock and stop everyone from living their lives and moving on. But I would give anything to snuggle with my sister in my dad's big easy chair again, her in her soft cotton nightgown and me in my warm Winnie the Pooh pajamas. To watch my brother practicing with his cheerleading squad in our backyard, in awe of how grown up he seemed. To drive my dad's '84 Camaro for the first time on a lonely highway through Utah, just the two of us on a four state road trip. To learn how to two-step with my mother in our living room, the two of us laughing at stumbling over our own feet.
We all move on and make our own lives. I just wish we all could have made them a little closer together...
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Own Sponge-Worthy Episode...
Any Seinfeld fans out there? We all remember the "sponge-worthy" episode, right? Elaine's favorite birth control, the Today sponge gets taken off the market.
ELAINE: Well, Kramer was right. My friend Kim told me the sponge is off the market.
JERRY: So what are you gonna do?
ELAINE: I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna do a hard-target search. Of every drug store, general store, health store and grocery store in a 25-block radius.
This episode always made me laugh every time I saw it. It cracked me up how crazed Elaine got about trying to find her sponges.....until I experienced a similar situation today.
(Warning to any men reading this blog....this is where I talk about "girly stuff". Avert your eyes if talk about periods & tampons make you queasy).....
So today I was already in a cranky mood because I'm on my period and feeling crampy & bloated. I was down to my last tampon and had to make an emergency run to Albertsons near my work at lunch. I wandered down the feminine hygiene aisle until I came to a very conspicuous empty space in the shelves. This is when I noticed that the tags on the shelf under this empty space said "O.B." on them. Um......that's my brand.....this is weird. So I corralled an employee (female of course) over to the empty space and said, "Can you tell me if you have any of these in the back?" To which she replied, "We don't keep anything in the back. We've had a lot of women asking about those, but we haven't got them at any of the stores. There must be a problem with our warehouse."
Great.....
So I thanked her and went back to work, crossing my fingers (and legs), hoping to avoid any embarassing situation. Luckily I made it through the rest of the afternoon and after work I stopped by Walmart to pick up a box. Walmart didn't even have an empty space, there was no sign of them whatsoever on the shelves. This is when I started to get nervous.
After staring like a deer in the headlights at the non-existence of the very thing I needed, I got my cell phone out and did a search for the O.B. company. I called their 800 number and this is how the conversation went:
ME: "Is there some kind of problem with the O.B. tampons? I can't seem to find them anywhere."
OPERATOR: "Yes, I apologize, but there is an issue with them and they have stopped production while they're working on it."
ME: "Stopped production??!! But this is the only brand I use! Are they going to start making them again?!"
OPERATOR: "After working on the issue, they were able to correct it in all but the Ultra absorbtion product, so they expect to bring back all absorptions except that one....byyyyyyyy......spring."
ME: .............."Excuse me......did you say SPRING??"
OPERATOR: "Yes."
ME: "Are you SERIOUS?! What am I supposed to do until spring?!!"
OPERATOR: "I apologize for any incovenience...and to be honest, because the O.B. product is fairly unique to other brands we really don't have a substitution to recommend to you at this time."
ME: "............................."
OPERATOR: "Ma'am, are you still there?"
ME: "Um.....yes....but what am I going to do?"
OPERATOR: "I'm sorry, I really don't know what to tell you. You can try doing a search online to see who might still be carrying some of the product. I understand that women tend to be very loyal to their brand. One woman who called said that she saw a box on Ebay selling for $105.00.....and it had bids. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
ME: "no."
I left Walmart and immediately called one of my friends and went on a rant....
ME: "OHMYGOD, they've discontinued my freaking tampons!"
FRIEND: "Can't you use something else?"
ME: "I've used the same brand since I was 14! They aren't bringing them back until spring! I don't know what I'm going to do....holy crap, I'm going to have to revert back to the Little House on the Prairie days and call in sick for a week every 28 days because I'll be just lying in bed bleeding out, not taking any visitors. I'm going to have to roll up rags & twigs."
FRIEND: "Just go look at the smaller, less frequented stores. Maybe you'll find some there."
This was about the time reason started sinking in....
(Thanks Merlinda, for giving me a verbal face slap to calm me down...)
I drove to a small independently owned grocery store and almost did a Snoopy dance when I walked down the feminine hygiene aisle and found several boxes on the shelf. I immediately thought back to Elaine and her Today sponges...
PHARMACIST: Can I help you?
ELAINE (with little hope): Yeah, do you have any Today sponges? I know they're off the market, but...
PHARMACIST: Actually, we have a case left.
ELAINE (excited): A case! A case of sponges? I mean, uh...a case. Huh. Uh...how many come in a case?
PHARMACIST: Sixty.
ELAINE: Sixty?! Uh...well, I'll take three.
PHARMACIST: Three.
ELAINE: Make it ten.
PHARMACIST: Ten?
ELAINE: Twenty sponges should be plenty.
PHARMACIST: Did you say twenty?
ELAINE: Yeah, twenty-five sponges is just fine.
PHARMACIST: Right. So, you're set with twenty-five.
ELAINE: Yeah. Just give me the whole case and I'll be on my way.
Okay, so I didn't buy a case of O.B. tampons (mainly because they didn't have a case)...but I did buy the only two large boxes of my prefered size and a couple of boxes of another size too, just in case. I brought my small armful to the cashier and tried not to feel too self conscious as I set them on the conveyor belt. I didn't want to come off as some crazed woman preparing for period armageddon. When she started ringing them up I said, "I feel the need to explain that the company has stopped production on these until spring."
The cashier just looked at me and kept ringing them up.....Yeah, I'm pretty sure she thought I was a loon....
ELAINE: Well, Kramer was right. My friend Kim told me the sponge is off the market.
JERRY: So what are you gonna do?
ELAINE: I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna do a hard-target search. Of every drug store, general store, health store and grocery store in a 25-block radius.
This episode always made me laugh every time I saw it. It cracked me up how crazed Elaine got about trying to find her sponges.....until I experienced a similar situation today.
(Warning to any men reading this blog....this is where I talk about "girly stuff". Avert your eyes if talk about periods & tampons make you queasy).....
So today I was already in a cranky mood because I'm on my period and feeling crampy & bloated. I was down to my last tampon and had to make an emergency run to Albertsons near my work at lunch. I wandered down the feminine hygiene aisle until I came to a very conspicuous empty space in the shelves. This is when I noticed that the tags on the shelf under this empty space said "O.B." on them. Um......that's my brand.....this is weird. So I corralled an employee (female of course) over to the empty space and said, "Can you tell me if you have any of these in the back?" To which she replied, "We don't keep anything in the back. We've had a lot of women asking about those, but we haven't got them at any of the stores. There must be a problem with our warehouse."
Great.....
So I thanked her and went back to work, crossing my fingers (and legs), hoping to avoid any embarassing situation. Luckily I made it through the rest of the afternoon and after work I stopped by Walmart to pick up a box. Walmart didn't even have an empty space, there was no sign of them whatsoever on the shelves. This is when I started to get nervous.
After staring like a deer in the headlights at the non-existence of the very thing I needed, I got my cell phone out and did a search for the O.B. company. I called their 800 number and this is how the conversation went:
ME: "Is there some kind of problem with the O.B. tampons? I can't seem to find them anywhere."
OPERATOR: "Yes, I apologize, but there is an issue with them and they have stopped production while they're working on it."
ME: "Stopped production??!! But this is the only brand I use! Are they going to start making them again?!"
OPERATOR: "After working on the issue, they were able to correct it in all but the Ultra absorbtion product, so they expect to bring back all absorptions except that one....byyyyyyyy......spring."
ME: .............."Excuse me......did you say SPRING??"
OPERATOR: "Yes."
ME: "Are you SERIOUS?! What am I supposed to do until spring?!!"
OPERATOR: "I apologize for any incovenience...and to be honest, because the O.B. product is fairly unique to other brands we really don't have a substitution to recommend to you at this time."
ME: "............................."
OPERATOR: "Ma'am, are you still there?"
ME: "Um.....yes....but what am I going to do?"
OPERATOR: "I'm sorry, I really don't know what to tell you. You can try doing a search online to see who might still be carrying some of the product. I understand that women tend to be very loyal to their brand. One woman who called said that she saw a box on Ebay selling for $105.00.....and it had bids. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
ME: "no."
I left Walmart and immediately called one of my friends and went on a rant....
ME: "OHMYGOD, they've discontinued my freaking tampons!"
FRIEND: "Can't you use something else?"
ME: "I've used the same brand since I was 14! They aren't bringing them back until spring! I don't know what I'm going to do....holy crap, I'm going to have to revert back to the Little House on the Prairie days and call in sick for a week every 28 days because I'll be just lying in bed bleeding out, not taking any visitors. I'm going to have to roll up rags & twigs."
FRIEND: "Just go look at the smaller, less frequented stores. Maybe you'll find some there."
This was about the time reason started sinking in....
(Thanks Merlinda, for giving me a verbal face slap to calm me down...)
I drove to a small independently owned grocery store and almost did a Snoopy dance when I walked down the feminine hygiene aisle and found several boxes on the shelf. I immediately thought back to Elaine and her Today sponges...
PHARMACIST: Can I help you?
ELAINE (with little hope): Yeah, do you have any Today sponges? I know they're off the market, but...
PHARMACIST: Actually, we have a case left.
ELAINE (excited): A case! A case of sponges? I mean, uh...a case. Huh. Uh...how many come in a case?
PHARMACIST: Sixty.
ELAINE: Sixty?! Uh...well, I'll take three.
PHARMACIST: Three.
ELAINE: Make it ten.
PHARMACIST: Ten?
ELAINE: Twenty sponges should be plenty.
PHARMACIST: Did you say twenty?
ELAINE: Yeah, twenty-five sponges is just fine.
PHARMACIST: Right. So, you're set with twenty-five.
ELAINE: Yeah. Just give me the whole case and I'll be on my way.
Okay, so I didn't buy a case of O.B. tampons (mainly because they didn't have a case)...but I did buy the only two large boxes of my prefered size and a couple of boxes of another size too, just in case. I brought my small armful to the cashier and tried not to feel too self conscious as I set them on the conveyor belt. I didn't want to come off as some crazed woman preparing for period armageddon. When she started ringing them up I said, "I feel the need to explain that the company has stopped production on these until spring."
The cashier just looked at me and kept ringing them up.....Yeah, I'm pretty sure she thought I was a loon....
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