Super Bowl XLIII ~ 2009

MZ and I went to one of the best Super Bowl Parties yesterday and it was one of the best Super Bowls I can remember as well.
Danielle and Randall had a couple of groups at their house, Tailgating folk and Work folk... Such a great crowd all around.
Nothing could beat the great food either - Randall is a superb cook, he made yummy grilled chicken, chicken wings, pork loin sandwiches with a super tasty oniony peachy something sauce and appropriately coined "heart attack" potatoes - they have cheese and bacon and all kinds of other artery clogging additives - YUMMMMMM! There were about 6 kinds of dips and chips, etc. AND AB made "Death by Chocolate" which brought all the goodness together! I didn't really care who won and didn't have any loyalty to either team so I wore my Bears shirt and my Cowboy boots with the rationale that neither Arizona nor Pittsburgh played the Bears, so of course the Bears would have won it all, and well I have to support the Cowboys, why not? There were some pretty passionate Steelers fans and then some pretty passionate fans who would have cheered for anyone but the Steelers, I can't say that anyone there REALLY REALLY wanted the Cardinals to win because they cheered for them all season long, they just wanted to see the Steelers get crushed. Oh well...

And really, everyone knows I really only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials! I was a bit underwhelmed this year. There were some good ones, but nothing I was super excited about. I did LOVE the Miller High Life 1 second ad and the Careerbuilder.com ad with the screaming woman and the Koala bear. Budweiser had some good ads as well, a fetching Clydesdale and then the circus pony one... the 3D ads were pretty cool too!

What was YOUR favorite ad?

All in all, no matter who won, after the week our community has had, it was so nice to all be together, warm and with electricity!
Thanks to R and D for hosting a great gathering!!!

Paint the Town Red '09

Two weeks ago, MZ and I went to Paint the Town Red, a local fund raiser for the American Heart Association. It's a great fundraiser for a great cause and I personally like it because they have vowed to never move the event to Benton County! I will always go to anything that makes that type of promise to me!
Zack and Lauren joined us at Paint the Town Red as well...

One thing MZ and I have decided to this year is to go to more fund raiser events rather than just going to a bar, this is good for a few reasons:

1. We would spend just as much money going to a bar, so it might as well be going to a good cause - especially if they are "open bar."
2. I get to play dress up which is ALWAYS fun!!!!!!!!!!
3. Neither of us smell like lung cancer at the end of the night.
4. It's a good networking .... uh network.
5. Most of the local fundraisers also showcase local restaurants so we get to try all kinds of local food!

So, I'm planning out the rest of the year and trying to find some good fund raisers to attend!

Even more exciting, almost $120,000 was raised which is 30% more than last year. That's quite an accomplishment considering the state of our economy.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

I never really gave a full recount of Christmas. It was a very nice holiday season this year. My mother was elated because my sister is finally home from Chile and so now, we can start celebrating holidays again. Secret yay for me since we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving… MZ and I went to a few parties. I am sad that neither or our offices had work parties – those always make for a good story.
Here's a recount of some of the those more social events...
One party we went to has a tradition every year of playing Dirty Santa with Alcohol – where everyone brings an alcoholic gift and then we play the mean swapping game with all the libations. Last year we were supreme winners in that MZ got a bottle of Glinlivit and I got a rather expensive bottle of rum. We acquired the Glinlivit because the guy who brought it wasn’t quite told the full rules of the game and he thought he was more bringing it to drink and possibly share, not to be stolen mercifulessly from someone … but after our calculated rounds to make sure we were the big winners MZ still shared the bottle with everyone. I should say that last year we brought a bottle of Pucker and something else equally atrocious. Therefore, we totally came out ahead on that one. This year I would say we faired pretty well again. We came away with a bottle of Hypnotic and a bottle of some sort of whiskey. We came with some type of off brand Jaeger – yes, it was equally disgusting when shot alone; and I actually don’t remember what else we brought… oh well.
Our Jr. League New Member group had an ornament exchange Happy Hour one evening at Hog Haus. It was a great time and good to see everyone and relax since December was so busy. I really wish more people would have come, it was a great time!

Ice Storm '09

Since there is NO ELECTRICITY… I’m updating my blog until my computer battery dies: via MS Word then can cut and paste when the power comes back which will hopefully be very soon, but I’m afraid it may be days.
Ice storms are bad. These are not like snow storms, no pretty white fluffy snow to play in – just ICE – everywhere. I have lost every single tree in my yard. And we’re not talking little new trees – these trees are at least 40 years old and they are gone. Its so sad.

Don't know why some of these are upside down.... but here's a just a snippet of destruction!

I lost power on Tuesday morning and still don't have, they don't know when it'll be back on either.

A couple of weather letters

Dear weatherchannel.com and Weather Channel iPhone app:

Why are you so different?
In this case, opposites DO NOT attract - they irritate us all!
Yesterday as I was tracking the pending ice storm, I was getting totally conflicting reports. wc.com said that there was only a meager 4% chance of precipitation at 4 pm while the iPhone app for the weather channel stated a whopping 80% chance of precip - ice, sleet, freezing rain... basically threats of armageddon actually, yet the computer base forecast was light and airy...

Please get it right going forward, especially as we move into TORNADO season here in Northwest Arkansas!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Dear channels 5, 7, 8 & 9:
THANK YOU!!!
Of all my years here in NWA, this is one of the few times that you all agreed AND you were all right!
NWA was ready and prepared and you are definitely to thank for that!
Good Job!
Here's hoping to even more shared and complete info agreement going forward!!!

Fabulous Friday!

Friday is always oh so fabulous but this on is especially fabulous because it's been one heck of a week!
So the goings on are...

• there is apparently a dancing albino Scottish pony troupe in town... probably won't attend that but ya know... maybe some one will - if you do - please let me know how that one goes.
• Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boy's will be making a 2nd appearance at George's Majestic Lounge Saturday night... and we will miss it for the 2nd time
• Drumline is at the WAC
• OZARK POETS AND WRITERS COLLECTIVE: Begins its 15th year featuring local, regional and national wordsmiths and providing an open mic for community writers. Readings are held at 7 p.m. the last Tuesday of every month at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville. Admission is free, but a hat is passed to support the artist and to defray expenses for the monthly event. The open mic is limited to four minutes for each performer. 443-2080 - this could be super fun!
• The Hogs take on Auburn - dear goodness please let us win a game...

Those are a few of the things happening, for more info check here (Fayetteville Free Weekly) or here (Fayetteville Flyer).

Friday:Arsaga’s Crossover: Scott HarrisonBoom Boom Room: Elise Davis BandFroggy’s: Randy Crouch, 1 oz. Jig, Ringo Alcoa BandGeorge’s: Lucero, Cory Branan, Eoff Brothers, FOS Project,Goodfolk: WheatfieldGypsy: Joey Farr and the Fuggins Wheat Band, TastebudsSmoke & Barrel: Lucio’s Grown FolksSpeakeasy: DJ GregTangerine: DJ JuxTeatro Scarpino: Salsa/Swing DancingWalton Arts Center: Drumline

Saturday:Arsaga’s Crossover: The Philly JoesArsaga’s Gregg: Scotty WaltersBoom Boom Room: Bob Kramer IncidentFroggy’s: Black Water, Bombay BlackGeorge’s: Mixmaster MikeGypsy: Pope County Bootleggers and Deadman FlatsSmoke & Barrel: Matt Smith and GuestsSoul: JazzSpeakeasy: DJ GregTangerine: DJ JuxTeatro Scarpino: 70’s Dance Night

Sunday:Common Grounds: Nathan Hancock, DJ SoulFreeDickson Theater: Drag ShowGeorge’s: Ben Miller BandGoodfolk: Eliza GilkysonGypsy: The Bling Grenades, The Inner Party, Lethal Red, AugerPesto Cafe: Shannon WurstWalton Arts Center: Brian Regan

Bring your ID

I take my ID everywhere I go – mainly because I always carry my purse – I just feel naked without it and all my crap. I don’t yet have an entourage so I just have to make sure I have a lot of shit to follow me around – that’s my rationale at least – HA! Laugh… I’m not that shallow… that was funny, please laugh.

My sister (23)and my mother (50)apparently don’t have the same feeling about their belongings… they never ever never bring their id’s or purses or debit cards or anything with them if they go out. They don’t feel the need, but I say, what if you’re in a horrible accident and you are not immediately recognizable – then potentially if you have your ID on you, it might be easier to contact your “next of kin” or something - assuming it survived the firey hot mess. I know it’s morbid sorta but these are the things I think about!
I guess it normally proves to be in their advantage because I can’t remember the last time either of them picked up the tab when they were out with me…. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm? Note to self – free beer may be better than being recognized after a fiery crash.

TOPIC CHECK (who hasn’t taken her drugs today) – so we went to dinner as a “family” a while back, my dad orders a bottle of wine for the table. The snarky little hippie waitress demands to see everyone’s ID – uh oh – this WILL NOT END WELL! Feisty mom retorts back with “really, no you don’t” waitstaff disliking father pops off that well he will just vouch for my sister – I immediately crawl under the table and enter the fetal position, but I left my ID on the table – I figured I’d need that wine super soon! Well the shithead waitress says that NO ONE drinks until she sees EACH ID – really? Power trip much? I have my ID – I’m legal – give me my f-ing drink! Crying sister feins alcoholism and is escorted back to the house to reclaim her ID (if she can find it…) and …………… it gets better! Hold on tight!

Scene: me, mom and our good buddy silencio sitting at a table in an Italian restaurant – yeah the song goes a bottle of red a bottle of white – what’s missing from the equation? My f-ing drink!
ME: “She’s gonna check your ID.”
Mother: “NO, she’s not!” emphatically and might I mention loud.
Waitress: “YES, I am” oh she shouted across the room… I can feel my teeth grinding down to my gums…I text my sister to ensure she also grabs my mothers purse…
Father and sister return with both ID’s – wine arrives, W checks “the ladies” ID’s – then GRAVE mistake, she does not even check for my dad’s ID – my mother gets up, dislodges his ID, chases W down and slaps it on the counter… CHECK THAT BITCH!

I started praying a novena that there might only be one bodily fluid in our food and not multiple….

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger!!!

I know, I know – I’ve been a very bad blogger this week! However, don’t feel sad, my blog is not the only thing I’ve totally ignored most of this week – I haven’t shaved my legs in longer, so there…

What a week it’s been! I can’t yet blog about the Inauguration of Barack Obama, for I’ve not even watched the Inauguration yet… yep, that’s how behind I am! I can say that I got an officially “signed” Barack Obama Sharpie® today at the BlogWell Conference in Chicago from the Sharpie® lady – who was super cool even before I knew she had free Sharpies.®

More to come on the BlogWell Conference in a separate post… but I tweeted about it so if you need instant grat – twitter search #BlogWell and you can read the entire days entries from all the participants – I will say that the internet reception in the venue was much less than desirable, especially since this was a conference dedicated to digital and social media.

On Wednesday, Robin Miller of the Food Network was on-sight to film some short video segments for some upcoming items. It was a great day, but very busy. Segment shoots are always very tedious and make for a super long day, or few days as they all roll into one. I should start by saying that instead of watching the Inauguration live, I was out shopping for items to create a “homey” looking kitchen and other items that would make a good quick change as well as pretty plate presentations without looking super dated in 6 months, because I hope to keep using these segments for a long time to come!!! Here's the before and after... it doesn't look all that exciting in still but the shots look great! Also, the flowers are from BLOOM in Bentonville - a fabulous local florist!

Tuesday evening I had a delicious meal at Shogun with a few of our agency team and my boss. No, the immense amounts of food and butter and rice and noodles at Shogun is so not on my diet plan, but I’d been running my ass off in the cold and super tall boots all day so whatev… I ran extra Tuesday night and Wednesday morning so I feel like I made up for it.

Back to the shoot – we had the Corporate Marketing team there – all 2 of us and 2 agency team members, along with Robin, a local makeup artist, camera crew and kitchen crew including a food stylist. The last thing we needed was more “directors” especially those that referred to themselves as such. Nevertheless, we managed, even literally with too many cooks in the kitchen to wrap 10 minutes ahead of time! And I yet again got to over use my favorite phrases “Quiet on the set” “ACTION” “CUT” I also had to revert to a few “Shut the hell up’s” too … We shot about 8 segments in total during the day. When we broke for lunch we had the joys of utilizing our in-house chef team, which did a fabulous job! It’s so nice to have our very own version of craft services just a few feet away at all time! By the time 5 o’clock rolled around I was beat – I don’t even really remember making it home and up there stairs but I woke up about 7 pm and feeling refreshed, went for a run.

We’ve got another Robin Miller video segment shoot coming up in a few weeks and I really hope it goes just as smoothly – she’s such a joy to work with! I’ll also be going to NYC with her in just a very few short weeks for a project!
Interesting little piece of trivia – she loves her some ghetto rap and hip-hop! I will totally be making a “mix tape” for the next shoot. I was not aware of her music taste so I wasn’t prepared – I do have to say that Pandora and Slacker came to the rescue – such great (& free) iPhone apps with unlimited access to all types of music any time of day!

Get out your Razors!

This is a friendly reminder to all the lovely ladies out there to get out your razors (or wax or whatever else suits your fancy). For Monday, 1/19 is the LAST DAY OF BUSH!

Must give partial credit to AD for this, she sent me a reminder text a few weeks back.

On a more serious note:
I hope everyone plans to watch the Inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday. It is an amazing time in all of our lives and I hope you are able to share it with those in your life!

Little Black Dress Brigade

I thought I'd do a little promoting and PR today for my very good friend Ari and her business partner Mandy.
They live in Central Arkansas and have a great "full-service" boutique design company that specializes in floral arrangements and wedding planning as well as some super swank party creation and orchestration!
Their company is Little Black Dress Brigade, here is their latest newsletter as well. If you can't read it, just simply click on it and it will take you straight there!
I wrote about their talents in a previous post... LBDB did some beautiful things for JC's wedding in April.
They are very fun gals and great to work with so I've heard, although I've not worked directly on any events with them, I've had the pleasure of attending plenty. Please check out their site and subscribe to their e-newsletter!

This is a prelude to a new chapter on graciefabulous.com - I'm going to start FABULOUS FRIDAY's - showcasing all things I consider fabulous going on in the local/ semi-local area. Not to say that everything else on here isn't truly fabulous, but I want to be able to focus on some local businesses, events and happenings that are truly FABULOUS!

LA Commerical Shoot: swimming pools... movie stars...

One of the fun parts of my job is that we make commercials – well I should say we work with lots of groups and pay lots of people lots of money to make commercials – but I totally say I MAKE COMMERCIALS… So in December (yes this is a backdated post), after about 2 months of planning and organizing and WAY TOO MANY meetings, we headed out to LA to shoot our commercial for a new/semi-new product launch!
As I’ve mentioned before, there is absolutely NO JOY in flying out of Northwest Arkansas – it is nice only because there are only about 5 gates so there’s no worry about gates changing or getting lost. However, EVERYONE who works for Walmart (or their thousands of vendors located here) JBHunt, or Tyson uses that one single airport.
So, me being terrified of security – not flying, just security lines, I got the airport super early! 6 am out of XNA to Dallas, then on to LA – all smooth flights, no breaches of security! We landed in LA where it was cold and rainy, hmmmmm just like what I left at home, albeit 20 degrees warmer but still cold for SoCal.
We were staying in Santa Monica at the uber swank Viceroy, where I had high hopes of seeing famousness… we checked in and then headed straight to the studio to meet the cast and crew and review the next couple of days. We had our meetings on the original set of the I Love Lucy Show, which was cool, except we saw absolutely NO STARS – bummer. We went through every step of the process and every frame of the commercial, which took a long time actually – for a: 30 commercial. After many hours at the studio, we headed back to the hotel in the fog and rain to get ready for dinner.
We went to a brand new spot in Venice – AK. A Swedish fusion restaurant. I know what you’re thinking – really? SWEDISH – don’t they pickle everything? I had the same reservations, I’ve been to Sweden, I’ve eaten the “cuisine” and of all places available on my first trip to LA = this probably would not have made my top 100 for sure. However, it was really quite tasty! We had about 20 people at dinner so we had chef treatment and the food and wine and wine and wine just kept coming!
The next day, we actually had quite a bit of down time. I had brought my running shoes with great aspirations to run on the beach, especially since I’ve never seen the Pacific Ocean.
On a side note, MZ travels to LA quite a bit as his HQ is there. He’s always talked about how it sucks because you stay on central time, no matter what. Surely I thought, I could beat it! I’m invincible right? I totally figured that since I stayed up too and had a full day, my internal clock would adjust accordingly.
NOPE! 4 am (6 am CST) wide awake! So I watched TV until the sun came up, said HI to Robin and Diane on GMA, snapped some pictures of the sunrise over the ocean and headed out for my beautifully anticipated run. It was about 40 degrees out which was pretty warm for me, so I was peeling off layers of clothes as I passed SoCal locals running literally in their ski gear. I giggled and continued on my way to Venice Beach. It was so pretty on the water. I ran back to the hotel through the little neighborhoods and all the gorgeous beach houses. I made it back alive and emailed my boss who made fun of me to begin with for emailing her that I was leaving and where I was going – ya know, in case someone got me.
That afternoon, I met up with my team and we went to lunch at the famous Lobster on the Santa Monica Pier. I had a lobster BLT = fabulous! Then we met up with some more of the agency team and drove around for a bit of site seeing – we drove through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Then we headed to the shoot location to make sure everything was moving smoothly. It was crazy – the crew had completely taken apart someone’s house for this commercial – just a regular person – turned out their kitchen was for “rent” so to say for needs such as ours… We were only there for a couple of hours – not bad for a full day in LA! That night we went to dinner at Capo which was right across from our hotel – it was a wonderful steak place and we all had a super tasty dinner!
The next day was shoot day! We were up early (yes I even ran before) and headed to the location where craft services had already been for a few hours with the rest of the crew – it was great to have them all set up there fixing whatever anyone could want for breakfast – I had an egg white omelet, nothing better than an omelet made out of the back of a food truck! Shooting went ALL DAY LONG! And it was super cold – all the crew were wearing their ski gear all day, it was wild! Finally one of the guys on set lent me his jacket because one we were out of the sun, video village was down right frigid! We wrapped about 8 pm with about 30 cans of footage and lots of new catch phrases: Quiet on the Set! ACTION!!! And CUT IT! All of which were said with delirious glee for quite sometime after. That evening we just hung out in the Viceroy bar, again hoping to see some celebs, apparently they don’t come out in the cold – or they all head to Aspen or something because even on a Friday night – NO SIGHTINGS! I had a super early flight on Saturday – 2 flights (connect in Dallas) of which I did not have a confirmed seat on… fun times the Saturday before Christmas let me tell you. However, I made it home all in one piece with no worries and a few bottles of wine from SoCal.
The commercial should start airing soon, so I’ll be sure to post it for all to see – but YOU will see it on TV as it’ll be in every market. One spoiler though – Walt from ABC’s LOST is in MY commercial – although he would never tell me what the F is going on on that damn island… trust me, I tried to pry it out of him.

Welcome to the Gracies!

I'm doing a lot of projects that revolve around Internet search terms so I thought I search myself - this is the coolest thing I found! The Gracie Awards - named for Gracie Allen... "Say Goodnight Gracie." I've attached the link below so you can find out more about it as well!

For 57 years, AWRT has served as the voice and resource for women in the electronic media. And for more than three decades, the Foundation of AWRT has been a leader in celebrating and honoring programming created for women, by women and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the industry. The Gracies strive to encourage the realistic and faceted portrayal of women in entertainment, commercials, news, features and other programs.

And here's what I would look like if I were an award... I think it needs a bit more sparkles, but it'll do! =)Other sites I found were:
www.graciefilms.com - producing the Simpson's - I always love when the Simpson's is over because I love the tag line for the Product Company!
www.goodnitegracie.com - a jazz and martini bar trio in Michigan... who knew??

Down a weight

YAY! I'm very excited to write about this - I've lost as much weight as I work out with if that makes sense!

It also puts me into a new weight category - 1 .... blank.... 9 - I'm very glad to quit looking at the 1 blank 0 on the scale!!!

Water Update

Again this morning, I have my full 2 liter jug thing of water filled to the brim ready to be consumed throughout the day. I noticed that everyone seemed to be congregating around the fridge, so I stuck my head out my pod fully expecting to see Jared Leto or someone because their commotion warranted some Jared Leto... nope - they were all staring at my jug of water with cucumbers and lemons in it. It's really not that strange looking. I'd take a picture of it but then they'd know it's mine and at this point I'm not ready to reveal that. They were all freaking out about who it belongs to... "who's is that?" "who has time to make that?" "what's in that?" "I bet its some super diet water..." seriously that went on for about 10 minutes - all with the fridge door wide open...

Well it's mine, ladies - I have time to make it because I get to work early and have all the ingredients prechopped in a bag and dump them in the jug and fill with water - not so much time consuming, definitely not as time consuming as standing there in a group gawking at it.

I'm wanting to find something super weird to put in the fridge tomorrow to keep the onlookers further entertained and intrigued - I will soon become the woman of mysterious fridge finds... stay tuned!

Baby Milo

Here are pictures of MZ's new nephew - Milo Joseph.

Everyone is home now and healthy!

Welcome to the world, I can't wait to meet him in person - I love other peoples babies! =)

I've been robbed ... already ... at 8:26 in the am on a MONDAY!

I am pissed!
This morning I made this cucumber water stuff that I read about last week on "le petite blog." I bought enough supplies for a weeks worth with the thought of slicing and dicing the ingredients before coming to work and mixing it up in a little container to keep in the fridge not 10 yards from my desk. I was very successful in actually dragging my fat ass out of bed this morning, running 2 miles, doing my weights and abs AND had time to shower (bonus for you!) and cut up my concoction - I even put my make up on at home rather than in the car ... and drum roll... I was AT WORK at 7:15.

So... I made my drink mix while my oatmeal was heating -I was super industrious this morning.
About 10 minutes ago I hear someone (whom I don't care for) say "who's cucumber crap is that" - it's a shared fridge - I have no problem with vegetable water occupying it -much better than the stinky sour kraut that was in there last week (not mine). Then I got up to get a refill on the oh so tasty***sarcasm*** water - HALF GONE!!! The lovely questioner from 10 minutes prior decided to help herself...
REALLY? REALLY? (thanks Seth and Amy for that sketch)

Today is a good day!

Today is going to be a good day! We have all made it through the first full week of 2009, go ahead and pat yourself on the back and your neighbor and/or pet (whatever) too!

It's going to be 60 degrees here today in Northwest Arkansas, I have a cute outfit on today and I have managed to drop 4 pounds this week!

MZ is back home from LA and we have a super laid back weekend ahead of us. Hopefully he'll have exciting news coming soon!!!

My project I've been working on since August will OFFICIALLY LAUNCH on Saturday-ish! Wahoo!!!! Don't want to jinx it so I'll have to keep it a bit of a secret but it's exciting, for me atleast.

If you notice to the right - the link to Blogwell 2009 - I'll be there in a couple of weeks - for work, not my own personal blogging, but I hope to learn tons. Anyone else going? If so, let me know!

On Wednesday night, the stars aligned and Lynn and Lindsey were able to meet me for dinner. Despite them making fun of me because of my "jaw" issue, a good time was had by all.

Happy Friday to all, and to all a great weekend!

Don't drink the water...

I got the cutest dress last night at Francesca's to wear to Heather's baby shower this weekend!!!

And speaking of baby showers - there was quite a lull among the group - most people remained pregnant-less for a few months. Well apparently every one's New Years Resolution was to have another kid... because this year, baby shower season is going to come close to rivaling last years!!!!!

MZ's sister had her baby boy on Sunday 1/4 so he is now Uncle MZ to little Milo Joseph!!!

That's all the baby news I have for now...

Lord, it IS hard to be humble...

... when you're an Arkansas Razorback Fan!!!

I went to the Arkansas - Texas basketball game last night, what a great game!!!
We all know the Arkansas - Texas sports rivalry (see previous post here... from football season)

Quick, short post - sorry - but great video! hehehe!

All I wanted for Christmas...

...was a Snuggie made out of a ShamWow...

...alas, all I got was a silly iPhone.


Just kidding - well no, I really got an iPhone - but it is far from silly! MZ definitely surprised me with this and I totally love it. I though it would be hard to end the love affair with Blackberry. HA! NO! Done and done.

I have had some issues getting ALL of my contacts over but other than that, I've adapted very well and am absolutely loving it. MZ is the best present giver ever!


So back to the Snuggie made out of a ShamWow - you have to admit, it would be kind of handy. And if you don't know what either of these are, then you clearly didn't watch any football over the past week because they advertised for these items endlessly! So much so, that now after anything that's said, it's always followed with "it's made in Germany, it has to be good." That's the catch phrase for the ShamWow. I'm not certain that there is a catch phrase for the Snuggie except that creepy family at the soccer game that all look like those Gregorian Monks off that CD from the early 90's. MZ also feels this is a dual purpose necessity for me, as I'm always cold and walk around with a blanket and let's just say I'm just a tad bit clumsy - for instance I spilled ketchup on the carpet the other day - straight from the bottle - no one still quite knows how it happened - very mysterious!!!


Welcome back to reality everyone. This is going to be my first full 5 day work week since well before Thanksgiving!!! Wish me luck!

Resolutions Schemzalutions

This is the first thing I saw when I opened up my google reader today - I LOVE IT!!!! Not sure where "Sasha" got it but it's hilarious and unfortunately true for me.

So some of my New Years Resolutions are as follows, I'll probably think of more:

• visit my Grandmother more, she lives in the same town and I only see her on holidays because some of my family can't get along - that is not my problem - I get along with them just fine and should not be influenced by their bickering.


• drink less, I can't say that I've ever really had heart burn but after the 2 bottles of wine I put away on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I think I may have experienced it - not cool... so for that and other reason (one being MZ "teasing" me about being an alky) I'm going to drink less. My first step is that NO I do not need a glass of wine while getting ready to go out and henceforth drink more...


• on the flip side I would like to somehow find a better appreciation for "real" wine... I love me some cheap sweet wine - such as Moscato. I would like to be better educated if nothing else - I hate being at dinner and not knowing what kind of wine to order and not just the rule of what goes with what, because I honestly think one should drink what they like not what is "etiquette appropriate" but I don't really even know what's out there and what means what....

• Read more - at least read one book more than what I'm supposed to read for book club.
• Become a better conversationalist - I'm just no good at asking questions of others - yes I know I'm a brat. But sometimes I really feel like people only ask "how are you" or "how was your weekend" because they feel like they should - most of the time they don't care and I hate just saying "good" just to provide an answer and then starts the back and forth - most of the time I really don't care to share or care to hear, so now you'll know if I ask you a question - I genuinely mean it, I do really want to know... hey it makes sense in my head.
• Run more

So that's some of my resolutions - I think they are achievable.