Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Wordless Wednesday - WTF

Today is designated for Wordless Wednesday posts, but with the following picture I'm contemplating changing it to WTF Wednesdays.

You can see why.

Puking

Have you ever vomited so hard and long that you couldn't take a breath and for a brief second you thought you were going to die from puke inhalation?

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Thanksgiving!

In all things give Him thanks.

Wordless Wednesday

Veterans Day

On Veterans Day we honor all,

who answered to a service call.

Soldiers young, and soldiers old,

fought for freedom, brave and bold.

Some have lived, while others died,

and all of them deserve our pride.

We're proud of all the soldiers who,

kept thinking of red, white and blue.

They fought for us and all our rights,

they fought through many days and nights.

And though we may not know each name,

we thank ALL veterans just the same.

Happy Birthday U.S.M.C.

Happy 236th Birthday

to the United States Marine Corps.

OOHRAH!

An Orgy Wonderland?

I don't think the new T-Mobile commercial was well thought out. 

The commercial's jingle is "Walking in a 4G Wonderland" 

which, when sung, sounds like "Walking in an ORGY Wonderland".

Way to go T-Mobile!

My Idea Of The Perfect Popcorn Kernel

My idea of the perfect popcorn kernel would be one in which the hull of the seed has been completely removed before it is popped. That way all you're left with is the delicious corn kernel, ready for the flavoring of your choosing to be added, consumed without ever having any hulls stuck between your teeth and gums. Perfect.

Redenbacher, make it so.

Yep! It's Been One Of Those Days.

Creepy Nadia G

Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen

The Cooking Channel's newest show.

The woman on this show is just outright creepy!

Halloween

It's Cheaper Than Therapy

“Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions.”

                                                                                                                                     -Mason Cooley

Tooth Whitening

Why, when people whiten their teeth, do they only whiten the teeth in the front of their mouth and not all the teeth that show when they smile?  

Wordless Wednesday

Two And A Half Men - The New Cast

Two and a Half Men

It has now been a month since the new season of Two and a Half Men began, and I'm still not sure if I'm digging it. 

The shows producers took a big risk in replacing Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher. It feels as though the show went from The Odd Couple and morphed into Dumb and Dumber. The polar opposite personalities and the banter between John Cryer (Allan) and Charlie Sheen (Charlie) was the best part of the show. 

The Odd Couple                                 Dumb and Dumber

I'm not yet willing to give up on this show so early on. I LOVE John Cryer and the rest of the cast, and I hope this show improves. I still believe that had the show replaced Charlie Sheen with John Stamos - a bad, dirty, sexy John Stamos - that the viewers would not have batted an eye at the demise of "Charlie".

John Stamos

Only time will tell.

"Charlie"...  you are missed.

1980's Flashback #2

"Jump"

Van Halen

#1 Way To Destroy A Bromance

BROMANCE

A bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men. BFF's.

Q: What's the number one way to ensure the death of a bromance?

A: Denigrate and/or alienate his wife.

Wordless Wednesday

Do You Avoid Your Ex?

Tonight I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother. In the episode, Ted (the main character) is dumped on his wedding day. He deals with his feelings in the days and weeks following the event by bottling them up. He pretends the relationship never happened and he and his friends go about avoiding any and every place he feels he might run into his ex. Towards the end of the show he and his friends are having dinner at a restaurant, when in walks his ex. They proceed to hide under the table until his ex picks up her to-go order and exits the restaurant. Ted and his friends decide they have hit rock bottom and Ted finally decides to confront his feelings. The episode ends with the narrator saying something like "You can keep your feelings bottled up, you can shove them in someone else's face, or you can just let them go. Only then will you be able to move on." 

I have never felt the need to hide from an ex or avoid any places where I might run into one, and I don't really understand why others do.

I found an article http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-an-Ex-in-Social-Situations-Without-Losing-Friends  that I thought had some good points and might be helpful for those who, for whatever reason, avoid their ex. Here's the article...

How to Deal With an Ex in Social Situations Without Losing Friends

Breaking up is never fun. If it were there wouldn't be so many country songs about it. If you have recently broken up with a boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse here are some tips to keep you approachable, fun, fabulous and social in all your social networks. It isn't the break up that matters, it's how you deal with it. By following these rules you can make sure you're still invited to all the fun parties, maybe even by the ex's friends instead of the ex.

1 Control your venting. Although talking about a situation is often helpful to overcome it talking to the wrong people can get you shunned and avoided. Avoid talking about your breakup and your ex with people in your ex's social circles, co-workers or mutual friends.

• Talk to a therapist
• Talk to a friend not heavily involved with the situation
• Talk to your family
• Especially at work, keep your eye on the job and your talk about something else.
• Don't lie about the break up. You can acknowledge it happened but leave out ALL of the details.

2 Be mindful of your body language when discussing your ex. A casual roll of the eye may send up red flags if you do it in front of the wrong person.

3 Keep conversations with the ex'es friends upbeat and pleasant. Chances are you have a lot more in common than just your ex. If you don't, explain you really enjoy their company and hope you can still get together.

• Don't speak negatively about your ex
• Try to stay positive about your ex in a way that is polite but not suggesting that you want to be together.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions to get to know the ex'es friends better now that you're single. It's fine to suddenly ask what they do for a living, about their hobbies, their personal history etc. Often these details aren't covered when you are "friended in" to a new circle of friends. Ask questions and get to know them on a personal level.
• Don't discuss the break up. Give them a chance to know YOU with out the ex.

4 Always take the high road. It may be one of the hardest things you will ever do. Resist being sucked into negative speak about your ex. If you've been doing it you should stop.

5 Don't expect your friends to pick sides and never put them in the situation to pick sides.

6 Before you enter in to a social situation where you may be asked about him/her you should have a few VERY short answers prepared. If you were together for a while or recently broke up you can expect to have the conversation. Remember, it isn't the break up that matters, it's how you deal with it that will determine who gets invited to all the cool parties.

• Make sure your answers are short, polite, and to the point
• Be prepared to segue the answer into another topic.
• Stay positive
• "No, we're not together anymore. It was just for the best. But I've started this new (school, job, etc.) and I really couldn't be happier."
• "_____ is a great guy but it was just the wrong time for me. I wish him the best."
• "It wasn't easy to break things off but we are both better for it happening."

7 Break ups leave everyone feeling very raw and vulnerable. By not striking negatively at your ex you may avoid being attacked yourself.

8 Always accept invitations to events especially immediately after a break up. This could be how your friends or your ex's friends are reaching out to you. Never let your broken up status keep you away from visiting friends, making plans with his friends or being social. Remember, they are inviting you because they want to share the experience with you. NEVER determine if you will attend a function based on your ex's attendance.

• Unless the ex was long distance you stand a very good chance of running into each other from       time to time.

9 Attend social functions even if they are immediately after the break up. When attending a social function immediately after a break up there are a few tricks to avoiding the ex and having fun.

• If you ex usually arrived late you can arrive very early. In fact, try to get there as soon as the party starts.
• Explain to the host you can only stay for a short time. This will help the host worry less about a break up fight in the middle of a social event.
• Look fabulous--wear a great outfit slightly nicer than what everyone else there will be wearing. If it's casual you should wear a dress or go more dressed up, if it's party you should go all out. Spend extra time on make up, hair, accessories, etc. Always be over dressed instead of under dressed. Remember, you have other plans.
• Take a thoughtful hostess gift. Take a beverage that your ex won't touch and a framed photo of you and the host. Hopefully the host will display it and your ex will have to look at it long after you've escaped the party.
• Hang out and be sociable and great. After a while, explain that you have another event you must leave for.
• If it's a work function, explain you have a family birthday and must leave but you didn't want to miss this party for anything. Apologize for having to leave early.
• Suggest that you and the host get together soon

10 Avoid the "escort" date immediately after a break up. Almost everyone realizes the eye candy on your arm is someone posing as someone special to give people the impression you are taken and not at all phased by the break up. You lose major friend brownie points with this move. Just go solo.

• Your friends may start trying to set you up with someone sooner.
• You'll be the white elephant in the room

11 If you bump into your ex you should be polite, smile, suggest they have a good night and excuse yourself. A social gathering is not the time to rehash old news or to have a conversation with a few drinks under your belt.

• If they try to push a conversation you should insist it happen another day. If they are pushy you should again insist you discuss it the next day on the phone, excuse yourself, find the host, thank them for a lovely time and an invitation to a great event and then leave without saying anything to the ex.

12 Understand your ex may arrive with a date. Don't go running to the door and don't say anything negative about the date. Chances are they don't realize the mess they've walked into. Be polite but start making your way to your "next party".

Autumn

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

as I have seen in one autumnal face.

                                                                                                    -John Donne

A season of falling leaves

And hibernating trees

Of gathering and hoarding

Of frosty, sparkling, misty mornings

A season for crunching and munching

For chestnut roasting

And crumpet toasting

For bonfire flames dancing

In the midnight air

A season for listening

To racing winds whistling

Through sleepy undressed branches

And for children chasing the host

Of whirling, twirling fallen leaves

It's (NOT) A New Day... YET.

It has now been four months since my post about being bombarded with Jennifer Hudson's Weight Watchers commercial, and how much I loathe it. Yet, it still goes strong. 

This is how I'm feeling about it today.

Weight Watchers, PLEASE put someone new in your commercials. If I have to hear them, at least use someone I wouldn't mind hearing or seeing. 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Josh Radnor

Josh Radnor.

My latest favorite actor.

He's funny, witty and adorable on How I Met Your Mother. 

His reminds me of a younger John Cusack.

And who doesn't love John Cusack?

Wordless Wednesday

BOOKS: You Are Your Own Gym

It's never too late to start exercising.

Book Description

From an elite Special Operations physical trainer, an ingeniously simple, rapid-results, do-anywhere program for getting into amazing shape.

As the demand for Special Operations military forces has grown over the last decade, elite trainer Mark Lauren has been at the front lines of preparing nearly one thousand soldiers, getting them lean and strong in record time. Now, for regular Joes and Janes, he shares the secret to his amazingly effective regimen—simple exercises that require nothing more than the resistance of your own bodyweight to help you reach the pinnacle of fitness and look better than ever before.

Armed with Mark Lauren’s motivation techniques, expert training, and nutrition advice, you’ll see rapid results by working out just thirty minutes a day, four times a week—whether in your living room, yard, garage, hotel room, or office. Lauren’s exercises build more metabolism-enhancing muscle than weightlifting, burn more fat than aerobics, and are safer than both, since bodyweight exercises develop balance and stability and therefore help prevent injuries. Choose your workout level—Basic, 1st Class, Master Class,and Chief Class—and get started, following the clear instructions for 125 exercises that work every muscle from your neck to your ankles. Forget about gym memberships, free weights, and infomercial contraptions. They are all poor substitutes for the world’s most advanced fitness machine, the one thing you are never without: your own body.

Eat My Dust!

To the guy to my left who was driving the Ford Mustang, who intentionally sped up to keep me from changing into his lane, I say the following three things:

1. Your lane was turning left and mine was going straight. I had no intention of changing lanes.

2. Ha! Ha! My car is faster than yours. Bite me!

3. How does it feel to sit at the red light as I float on by? Dumbass. EAT MY DUST!

...

Why are some people so competitive and discourteous while driving?

Forever In My Garden

IF I HAD A single flower FOR EVERY TIME I THINK OF you,

I COULD WALK  forever IN MY GARDEN.

I Love Lucy!

Paying tribute to Lucille Ball on what would have been her 100th birthday.

Thank you for all the laughs.

<3  I LOVE LUCY  <3

O Retired?

Oprah is retired from daytime TV.

When are the networks going to replace that time slot with another program?

Family Time

One of the biggest joys in life, for me, is when my whole family sets aside time to get together.

With the lives of families being so busy these days: both parents working, kids in school and activities etc. the time spent as a family as a whole has dramatically decreased. Everyone is too busy running in opposite directions. It's rare, and sometimes difficult, for many people to come together for a meal, let alone for a full day.

I find this time of gathering to be very important for the well-being of myself and my family, that we have kept one tradition (of many) alive... having dinner together. It doesn't matter how hurried our day has been, when it comes time for dinner, everyone is seated at the table. The cell phones are put away and  the TV is turned off. We share our day or week with each other, help each other solve any problems and just be there to listen and enjoy each others company. This has greatly solidified the bond we have with one another and I would never trade that for anything in the world.

Designated family time should be an important part of everyone's day.

What family traditions do you share? 

Wordless Wednesday

To Upsell Or Not To Upsell

On a day recently while running errands, I found myself standing in line to pay a bill when I overheard a conversation between a customer and the employee behind the counter. As the customer approached the counter, before taking a seat, she mentioned she was there to make a partial payment on her overdue bill. Key words: overdue and partial payment. The employee behind the counter, without missing a beat, proceeds to then give the spiel of all the additional products that the customer could add to her [already overdue] account. After the customer politely declined, the employee continued without ceasing until the customer got upset and walked away. Of course, not until she received her receipt - until then, the customer was trapped having to listen, unable to fend off the attempts of the upsell. Needless to say it made me a little agitated as well. When it was my turn to make my payment, I stopped the employee mid-sentence and squashed the spiel. 

I understand that part of the job of an employee is to upsell all the products they offer, but when is it okay to upsell to someone who has an account that they already can't afford? I find that to be in bad taste.

What's your opinion?

10 Reasons To Dislike Social Networking Sites

10 reasons to dislike FB and other social networking sites, in no particular order:

1. Nothing on the internet is private.

2. You never really know who has access to your profile and its content.

3. The internet is full of scammers, stalkers, Ex's, and companies all wanting information about you.

4. You can never trust someone else to keep your personal information private. Some people have no filter and post everything publicly rather than in an e-mail, even when asked not to do so. They pay no mind to the fact that you have not posted your own birthday, city you live in, family names, school, place of employment etc. yet they post it in comments for all to see.

5. People who know you know what you look like. Plastering the internet with your face only invites others to steal your photos for making fake profiles, stalkers to keep tabs on you and creeps to target you with scams.

6. Too many people post pictures of their friends, family and acquaintances without first asking for their approval, with no concern as to whether they like the picture, let alone want their picture posted. This could be a friendship breaker for some.

7. You have friends/family who add people they don't know to their profile. Some are their real identities, and some pose as someone else to obtain information about you and the people you know. 

8. You have friends/family who befriend someone they "met" on a game or elsewhere. Upon finding they have things in common,  they divulge every detail about themselves.

9. Your friends/family create their own fake profiles, adding them to their regular profile for the purpose of being deceptive. They want to increase the number of friends on their list to make them seem more popular, they use it for games or for stalking others etc.

10. The applications that are offered and can be added to your profile - specifically FB's 6 degrees of separation application - among others, is disturbing. You have no idea how closely connected you really are to people (past and present) that you don't like and have no desire to connect/reconnect with, until you use it. By then, it's too late. You've been found. 

Use caution when using the internet and social networking sites. If you add someone to your profile who you have never met in person, don't give them personal details about yourself or your friends/family. If your friends/family ask you to keep their information quiet, do so. Pay attention to and respect the amount of information your friends/family post about themselves; don't break their trust. Be smart. You can have fun and still keep yourself and your loved ones protected.

They Tried To Make Her Go To Rehab

Amy Winehouse  9/14/83 - 7/23/2011

They tried to make her go to rehab but she said "no, no, no"...

and then she died.

How sad.

E-mail Forwarding

If someone has entrusted you with their e-mail address and you don't e-mail them with any frequency, don't e-mail them forwards/junk/spam either.

Contrary to popular belief, you won't be cursed by an unforwarded chain letter, you haven't really won anything, and the stories and videos are usually only funny to you.

Don't do it.

Where's The Customer Service?

Long gone are the days when retail stores took pride in providing quality customer service.

Are retailers so confident in the products they sell these days that they feel they can take advantage of their employees and provide poor service to their customers?

I'm becoming more and more frustrated and dissatisfied that I am more familiar with the products in my favorite stores than its employees, who are usually thrown into a job with little to no training. Whenever I am searching for an item, I never ask for help from an employee because I have found that 9 out of 10 times they are inadequately trained and will say they do not have the item, only to find it myself shortly thereafter. I am either relentlessly hounded with the latest store promotions or completely ignored - there is rarely an in-between. In the instances where I do find a helpful employee, I know I will never see them in the store again; employee turnover is constant. These are some of the reasons I have left a store empty-handed. I have no problem setting items down and walking away from a purchase due to poor customer service.

The blame rests on the store owners and its managers, not its employees. Many companies (high and low end) and the managers they hire can be greedy, ruthless tyrants. Little is offered to employees ie: decent pay and hours, health insurance, benefits, incentives or praise. Ingrained in each employee is the mentality that they are a dime-a-dozen. If they don't meet predetermined sales goals, credit card /email sign-ups and aren't "flexible" in every aspect of the job ie: availability, cross training and menial tasks, they are met with a reduction of hours or termination. It's no wonder why productivity and quality of service is so low.

Retailers, shame on you! You need to treat all employees with respect and forgo game playing. Encourage customer feedback rather than biased management feedback to avoid favoritism, and to determine which employees customers respond well to.  They need to quickly filter out bad employees and be even quicker to motivate the good ones. Don't set unrealistic goals for employees. I would love to shop at a store where the employees are friendly and helpful, know their product, remember my name or face, and I them. I would personally spend more of my hard earned money in a store that truly cares for their staff and customers.

For those honest, helpful, tireless employees who work in retail... keep your head up and work hard. Know that although your store may not appreciate you, others do. Thank you. 

What's your opinion on customer service (or lack thereof) in retail stores? Share a time and/or store where you've received great customer service.

Wordless Wednesday

An "Ex" Is Called An "Ex"

An "ex" is called an "ex" because it's an EXample of what you should never do again.

National Pina Colada Day - July 10

July 10th is National Pina Colada Day.

Cheers!

Dreams

Everyone dreams.

Some people dream of being chased, of showing up to school without any clothing or shoes or are on a neverending airplane ride. Others dream of watching someone die, are rescuing someone or are being rescued and some dreams make no sense whatsoever. The list goes on and on.

I have always found weird dreams to be interesting. Do they occur because the subconscious mind is wrestling with everyday events, situations or feelings, or is it just pure flowing creativity: the weirder the dream the more creative the mind?

I couldn't care less. I've created my own strange movie in my head. To me, it's just entertainment.

What I do find humorous are the numerous attempts and various interpretations of them, and how some try to turn them into something they are not, like with horoscopes. It's all so ridiculous.

Taken from a story posted on today.msnbc.msn.com on 4/1/2007,  Lauri Loewenberg, author of “So What Did You Dream Last Night?” identifies the 5 most common dreams and her interpretation of them:

FALLING

"Since the beginning of time mankind has reported of dreaming of falling the most. First of all, it's not true that if you dream you are falling and you hit the ground you will die. Falling in a dream is a red flag from your subconscious that something in your life — finances, a relationship, career, etc. — is rapidly going in the wrong direction. It means it is time to redirect the situation immediately! Falling dreams are also common for people who suffer from depression."

BEING CHASED

"When something or someone is hot on your heels in your dream, it's a good indication that you are avoiding something in waking life. When you get this dream, ask yourself, “Self, am I trying to avoid a confrontation with someone? Am I trying to get out of a responsibility or obligation? Or is there something from my past that I'm afraid might catch up with me?” Whatever the case may be, the message is the same: Stop running! Face the situation. Get it over with, otherwise the issue will continue to follow you ... and so will your “being chased” dreams."

TEETH FALLING OUT

"This dream is not about your oral hygiene, so don't be calling your dentist just yet! Teeth — to your dreaming mind — are actually all about your words. If you dream your teeth are falling out, it means you need to take a good look at what you've been saying lately because you have been having loose speech! Perhaps you've been gossiping, or saying things without thinking about them first, maybe you are too blunt or you may have said something you wish you hadn't. This dream is telling you that some words have come out of your mouth that should have remained in there permanently ... like your teeth!"

BACK AT SCHOOL

"This is one of those dreams that — even though you graduated 10, 20, even 50 years ago — you still continue to get. Usually, this dream is all about your job! Think about it, school is your first real job where you need to be on time, you need to be prepared and “have done your homework,” you are being tested and scrutinized, you want everyone to like you and you eventually want to move on up to the next level. Sounds a lot like the same pressures of your job now, doesn't it? You'll find yourself back in those cinder-blocked hallways, trying to find your locker, realizing you forgot about your test or even noticing you've got nothing on but your Nike's, when you've got some sort of pressure or scrutiny at your job."

SPOUSE CHEATING ON YOU

"Unless you have a really good reason to suspect your mate of getting his or her pleasures elsewhere, I wouldn't start snooping through his or her drawers and pockets just yet! The cheating dream happens when your mate is spending too much time and attention on something that does not involve you. Usually the culprit is work. But it could also be the XBox or too much time with friends, etc. Whatever the case may be, this dream shows that you are feeling “cheated” out of your time with your sweetie. Let this dream be a wake-up call to you that the two of you need to find more quality time together."

After reexamining any of the above mentioned dreams I have had and the feeling I've had associated with them upon waking, then comparing them with her interpretations,  I'd say they are just one woman's opinion.

It is after all, just a dream.