Whisper quiet

Yesterday, I woke up and found that I had lost my voice. It's one of those things that people have been praying for for years. Sometimes the prayers have sounded like a rhetorical question ("why can't she just lose her voice?"). Sometimes they've been like a hopeful suggestion ("you should probably stop talking now or you may lose your voice") even when I wasn't sick at all.So I hope you enjoyed your 24 hours where I was mute.

I called in sick and had to whisper instructions to Lance about the stuff that I had planned on doing.

And then I slept. And slept. And slept.

People were giving me home remedies to help - like drinking warm tea with lemon and honey in it. Or better yet, with whiskey in it. The only alcohol I have in my house is Malibu Rum and cranberry flavored vodka. I felt that adding lemon and honey to either one would've made it less like a medicine and more like a drink that had to have an umbrella in it. Besides, the rum would've made me miss someone even more than I already do.

The good news? The 82 pound gain I had from last week was lost in three days. I was pretty much on a Ramen and cough drops only diet...who says that carbs pack on the pounds? Why, I feel so good I just might make myself a mixed drink...you know...for health reasons.

And we love you, too.

This morning I was checking my email...and I overheard one of our young, new hires talking to a customer. At the end of the conversation, he said, "Okay. I'll fax that to you. I love you too. Bye."

And I was all, "Did you just tell that guy you loved him?"

Panic came over his face and he tried to think of what he might've said that SOUNDED like "I love you too" but came up with nothing.

He's trying to come up with reasons to not call this guy back. I've tried telling him that playing hot and cold like that is just mean. I mean, you can't just ignore someone after you say it... that's just not good customer service!

So I made a sign to hang on the outside of my cube.

It has the name of our company and then:
Largest Valve Manufacturer in the World...and we love you, too.

I'm thinking of having new business cards made up.

A week in review

This past week, I realized I have been getting sick...and lo and behold, I am sick!

I think I spent my time this weekend like this:
45 parts sleep
4 parts partying it up with my fun friends on Saturday
2 parts watching crap I've TiVo'd during the past two weeks
31 parts eating anything and everything in hopes that I'd feel better.

The result? I've gained 82 pounds, am out of Ramen noodles, and now can recite the theme song to "psych" on a moment's notice. Or at least that's what it feels like.

And now I sound like Marge Simpson.

Worse, I've noticed that I am definitely not taking care of myself - this past week was full of stresses, sadness, and irritations. I didn't work out even one day. I stayed up late, I drank alcoholic beverages each night, and ate like crap because I was trying to make my meals quickly. I didn't listen to my body and I didn't take care of it.

I love this quote:
Be good to yourself. If you don't take care of your body, where will you live? -Kobi Yamada

This week, I'm vowing to be better to my body.

Great expectations

Date #3 this week was very much what I expected. He is a very funny guy who has a great sense of humor. We also found out that we like the same random band local to Arizona...small world! It was a fun date. He seems to be more into me than I am to him...and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm just scared, so I'm trying to push through it.

Date #4: I was really looking forward to the date last night. The guy, Mike, seemed genuine, non-pretentious, thoughtful, open to traveling, and...well...a great balance to me.

Even though I tried not to, I had great hopes.

So I got to the place and decided to wait outside. After a few minutes, I decided to check inside. That's when I noticed that he was already sitting at the bar. With a beer. HE ALREADY HAD ORDERED THE BEER. I said something like, "oh - so we're sitting at the bar?" and he was all, "Yeah."

The bartender (who notices that Mike and I are talking and likely together) comes up and asks what I would like to drink. I say what I'd like...the bartender pauses awkwardly and then asks if I would like to open a tab or pay as I go. So I paused. When Mike didn't say anything, I said "I guess I'll open a tab" and the gave the bartender my card. Now, it's not like Mike didn't know that that was going to be a question, since CLEARLY he had just gone through that experience not 2 minutes before. And really? At that point I knew he would have to work a lot harder to actually have a second date with me.

Here are the stats from the date:
Number of total minutes on the date: 124
Number of beers he ordered: 1
Number of beers I ordered: 1
Number of minutes into the date I was ready to leave: 15
Number of minutes it took me to finish my beer: 35
Number of glasses of water I had after I finished my beer: 4
Number of minutes it took him to finish his beer: 119
Number of times he said the word "stalker": 6
Number of times I had to explain the difference between being a stalker and being persistant: 2
Number of questions he asked me: 2
Number of times he said "I don't get why I'm not getting dates...it's not like I'm picky!": 1
Number of times I told him that the above comment probably wasn't appropriate on a date: 1
Number of times I inwardly rolled my eyes: 532
Number of times I wondered why I am doing online dating: 16
Number of minutes between his empty cup hitting the coaster & me driving off the parking lot: 4
Number of dates we will go on again (with each other): 0

UGH.

Learning at work

Some co-workers and I were having a conversation about Obama's recent closure of Guantanamo Bay.

As we're wrapping up the conversation, a co-worker asked a question...

Mark: So wait, what *is* waterboarding anyway?
Me: Mark, I'll show you later.
Mark: Ha ha...that's what she said.
Ryan: It's actually a bedroom activity.
Mark: No....that's can't be right? Can it?
Me: Nothing about waterboarding is right.
Ryan: Then you're doing it wrong.

And.....SCENE!

Date 2 of 4

Last night I went on date #2* for the week.

The great thing about the dating process is that I have found that who they are is actually pretty clearly represented in their emails and profile. Like I THOUGHT that the guy last night would be very nice, sweet, understanding, and kind. And he was. We went to a bar that is about 4 blocks from my house. In fact, I've ridden past there several times on terrifying trips to REI so that I could bike on the paths around there. Curiously, I will also be meeting date #4 (Thursday night) there. I figure that as long as the hostess doesn't say something like, "hey - aren't you the one from Tuesday night?" I'll be okay.

Anyway, the guy from last night WAS very sweet. He's originally from Romania and although he's lived in the states for 10 years now, he hasn't lost his accent. We talked about music, what we do for fun, winter sports, old jobs, beer, directions around Denver, family, what his favorite things about New York and Romania are and even about what his least favorite things about those places were. All of those topics took 20 minutes. I was there an hour and a half.

My favorite two parts of the conversation were these:
me: So - where in Denver do you live?
him: I live in a place called Aurora. It's a suburb of Denver - just east of Denver.

What you need to know if you don't live in Denver, is that everyone has heard of Aurora. :) It was cute.

The second was this:
me: So, what type of music do you like?
him: I like Megadeath, Metallica...and....Michelle Branch.

Quite the spectrum.

The date tonight is with a guy that I went out with last week. He's funny, and I think we're on the same page on a lot of stuff. While I don't know what tonight will bring (am I the only one who thinks that chemistry sometimes takes a date or two to figure out?), I am confident that I will laugh and have a lot of fun.

It's turning out to be a busy week, but so far, I'm having a great time.

*haha. I wrote #2.

Juggling guys is harder than juggling balls

And seriously? I suck at juggling balls.

Here's the thing: I get some of the guys names confused. Because some of them we end up only swapping an email or two before one or both of us lose interest. And some of them have confusing usernames...like "justcallmephil" but his name is actually Gene. Just kidding. I don't think I would date someone whose name was Gene.* But I can't fault them too much - because my username is a variation of "coloradodaisy" and some people assume my name is Daisy EVEN THOUGH I don't have any pictures of me next to the Duke brothers OR "The General Lee" posted on my profile. I mean, I plan to show him those pictures later!

All I'm saying is that keeping the dates, their interests, etc. separate is getting a tad confusing. Now, I recognize that I'm sounding whiney after I posted last week about being worried of not having more interest. But that's the thing. I'M A CHICK. Which means that I can change my mind at the drop of the hat and use that excuse that I'm a chick. Yes...using that cop out IS a beautiful thing. It's like compensation for cramps.

Anyway, this dating thing is actually pretty fun right now. Like, it's nice to realize that there are some really great guys out there. And it's nice to realize that there are many different options. The guy I went out with last night? I'm sure girls would crawl all over themselves to date him. He is a drummer in a nationally popular band. But he can't put four words together in less than 2 minutes. And no, he wasn't nervous. Stoned? Maybe. He talked to me about how he can get groupies at pretty much any time. Um...nice. Way to tell me something that makes me regret my shaking your hand at the beginning of the date.

He was just weird. And I couldn't care less! Well...I take that back. I used some good joke material on him last night. Not to wow him, but more because I was having an "on" night - like I was funny. And he was just staring at me, blinking slowly, clearly not getting my funny stuff. And I cared about that...because I was all THIS IS FUNNY STUFF AND IT'S THE ONLY THING I HAVE!

The date ended with him walking with me to my car. He said, "I've always wanted to ride in a MINI." And I said, "Oh! The MINI dealership will totally let you test drive one - you should try one out." After his comment about he wanted to sit in the passenger side of one I responded, "Well, I'm sure they'd let you sit there if you wanted to do that too." And then I looked at him with my most innocent expression, blinking slowly as if I didn't know what he was hinting at.

See?

It sucks having someone stare at you, blinking slowly, clearly not getting what you're talking about, doesn't it?

*Gene is a fine name.

Stand aside...or you might get hit by lightening

I ended up sending Rex an email last night warning him of my comments (see the post below)... I came to work and talked about it with Larry (who also used to live in Oklahoma). He asked if I remembered living in Oklahoma. Yes...I vaguely do. And he was all, "um...yeah. People probably found that offensive." But I guess I felt okay still because it wasn't like I am Kathy Griffin and I told Jesus to "Suck It." I don't think that what I wrote was blasphemous...just more casual than what we're used to reading in the Bible.

Anyway, I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I called him at lunch. My call went straight to voicemail...which I thought was a bad sign. He called back and I talked to him... he said that he took the comments down. Apparently he thought they were funny, but he knew that the old ladies wouldn't. And he asked me the same question that Larry did...which was: were you drinking?

(sigh)


The answer is NO. And like I told my friend Rachel, I'm proud of that. It takes TALENT to comment about Jesus without drinking. And where did I get that talent from? It was a GIFT FROM GOD.

Seroiusly, I can't stop

My friend, Rex, has just joined Facebook. And he is lovely. Really. But he's changed a tad since I knew him and dated him. For instance, he used to think that my sarcasm was oh-so delightful. Now, I'm not so sure.

Anyway, when I knew him, he worked for a Christian hospital in Oklahoma. Rex just moved to a small town in Kentucky where he is likely trying to be friendly and business-ish with people there. That is, until he added me as a friend on Facebook.

Tonight I read that Rex added the Facebook app to his iPhone.

My first comment:
I am so jealous of your Facebook app on your iPhone. I know, it's bad to be jealous of other people, but I bet when God came up with that rule, he wasn't talking about apps on iPhones. I mean, come on! You know those disciples would be all about texting each other these days and you KNOW they'd want an iPhone to do it on. Something like "OMG... Did you see J-Dawg totally turn that water into hooch?" and then they'd add an LOL because people do that even when they don't laugh out loud. I bet even God shakes his head at how many people use LOL when they're not actually laughing out loud.

So then I thought to myself that perhaps Rex and his conservative friends might not appreciate my humor.

So I added a follow-up comment:
Know what else? They probably would text OMG though...but only AFTER they recognized that he was God. They would not, however, probably be very into the UrbanSpoon app. And also? I'm sorry if what I'm writing is not acceptable.

And I hit "post."

I know if I did that on any of your "walls" you'd likely be slightly humored. But somehow I don't think this is going to end well...especially because he has a lot of old ladies that are on his Facebook account from his old job. His old job at a CHRISTIAN hospital. Seriously. There is an old lady named GWEN. And the old ladies have big hair. I didn't see a lady named Eunice, but I bet she's on there too...right next to Bea Arthur. I'm trying to tell myself that they don't even know what "the kids" are playing with these days so they can't possibly be frustrated with me. They don't know what LOL or OMG means. At least I hope not.

And I can't delete my comments. So now I'm stuck. It's kind of too late to call him but I feel like I should warn him and tell him to erase my comments because I swear, if some little blue-haired lady dies of horror at what I wrote and ends up going to heaven just to try to not let me in, I will be so bummed when I die!

I don't know how to fix it. Just in case, I think I'm just going to practice pretending that I don't know why he would de-friend me.

My mailman is dead

Okay. Technically, he's not...yet.

But my mailman is about 108 years old. And he gets pissy when we don't shovel our walkways because then it gets icy and he can slip, fall, and die. I, personally, feel for him. So I try to shovel my walkway. In fact, I even keep my shovel out there so I can do a quick scoop up so he won't have to deal with the snow. Tonight, I went out to do so and realized that my shovel IS GONE.

Someone stole my frickin' shovel off my front porch.

And now my mailman is going to die. I'm trying to believe that it's not my fault, but I can't help but feel responsible.

The weird thing is that someone shoveled my front step. What kind of frickin' WACKO place do I live where people steal shovels and but still manage to shovel your walkway?!?!? It's like passive aggressive craziness.

The thing that sucks the most is that I use the same shovel to shovel out a pathway out my back door onto the deck and to the "backyard".* That way my dog can go out the back door and completely ignore said path and then track in the snow all through the house.

To sum up: Thanks, a-hole. Thanks a lot.

*I think the term "backyard" indicates a space with grass, sod, or mulch larger than my MINI. If that is the case, I don't actually have a backyard. I have decking and a postage stamp sized poop zone.

I'm doing it...

I'm officially embracing this whole dating thing. Whether I want to at times or not. The advice that some of you gave of "wait for longer than two days" was sound. Turns out I'm doing pretty good afterall. Larry gave me a better perspective...it being "So what? If you only get one more email for the rest of the time you're on match, and he turns out to be the guy you marry and love forever, who cares how many emails you got before him?" And I found it hard to argue with that.

While I haven't seen anyone online yet that just wows me, I'm going to try. Mostly because I don't enjoy being scared of things...and I try to conquer things that seem like they have a hold over me.

So, wish me luck. Although my intention is NOT to roast the guys on here, if something funny does happen I'll be sure to blog about it. I mean, sheesh...if you can't laugh at my life, who will? :)

Things I'm slightly scared of

Please note that this post is entirely different than another one that I could've written about things I am VERY scared of. That post would contain mice, having a thing attacking my face in my car, a re-occuring dream about the Honey Nut Cheerio Bee chasing me around a house, and roaches. The bug kind not the rolled up kind. Which is not to say that bug roaches can't be rolled up. I don't know. I've been too scared to try. Also, since I was looking for pictures of the bee, the best one was of him in the Macy's parade. A HUGE BEE AMONG PEOPLE. That would be terrifying for me.

Anyway, after my last post and even getting a comment from one of the gals FROM BlogHer, I am a little nervous about how I accused them of not putting my posts up for months. But the truth is, every time I looked (which was often) I didn't see my headline...so I just assumed that there was one reader for each group of bloggers. And the one assigned to me died. Or she totally pissed someone off in corporate and they decided to blacklist her suggestions. Anyway, I feel like I should apologize, only I realize that I didn't really ever rant about it - I was just happy I was back and featured. So even though I WANT someone from BH to read it, I guess I'm a little in awe that they are people too - and can post on your blog. OOH! Maybe it's because it kind of reminds me of the thing you do in a bed (sleep) and # guy. Yep. Maybe that's it. Only I don't think Jenny would take a dump in my house. She seems rather nice.

Also, like Tom Rooney suggested in the comments, I now have lots of Christian ads on my blog. And really? That's way better than what they were before...but do you know how long it took me to get A-S-I-A-N P-R-O-S-T-I-T-U-T-E off of that side bar? Probably right up until they were replaced by ones about Christ. And despite my funny attempt at a prayer the other night (which was more accurate than you'd like to think), I actually am spiritual and a Christian. But somehow having that side bar spouting all of that makes me re-think what I'm typing about in my blog. Like if I had to link to all the times I KID about being drunk, I don't know that I could. I just hope that God realizes that he made me like this. Did anyone have a flashback of that "I learned it by watching YOU Dad!" pot commercial that used to play in the 80s when you read my last sentence? No? Just me? Okay then.

So the last thing that I'm slightly scared of is online dating. I have done some serious thinking about this, and I think it might be because my last significant relationship ended with him cheating. I've definitely forgiven him, but really...isn't that the ultimate rejection? The only other person after that relationship was one that couldn't really even be classified as a relationship. And let's just say that in some ways it was not safe, but in others, it was very safe. I didn't have to worry about us running off and getting married any time soon. I guess what I realized this morning is that I have a genuine fear about dating. And my associated fear is that by me standing on the sidelines (something I haven't really done too much of in my life) of the dating game, players are passing me by - good ones that I could have a genuine relationship.

What am I doing about it? I made myself join match.com a few nights ago. So far I've had 550 views...which in my mind is actually quite good. I've had three emails and one wink from those 550 views. Which tells me that my profile picture must be rockin' but either my verbiage sucks or my other pictures suck. Or maybe it has nothing at all to do with me, but rather there just isn't any chemistry in our two profiles. AND this is where I start worrying that it IS about my weight. Which sucks big time. I want to turn off the idea that things get better when I lose weight. That when I'm thin and healthier, guys will fall all over themselves getting at me.

Is my fear based on rejection? Is it based on the idea of being successful and actually having a life that consists more of work, Facebook, blogging, and taking pictures of stupid things in El Paso? WHAT is it?

I don't even know. But I've resolved to figure it out. I can't exactly be healthier in my mind, body, and soul if I leave this be. I need to fix my fear of dating. AND more importantly I need to stop the mindset of how much better and easier things will be when I'm thinner. Because that has an association with it - that being me as I am now is not enough. AND I AM. I just need it to sink in.

P.S. Sorry this post is so long. It didn't start out with that intent. Thanks for bearing with me.

BlogHere and other words that should end in 'e'

First, I am thrilled that I'm now back in the good graces of my ad service - BlogHer. See, they feature the posts that they like right underneath the banner. Truthfully, some of the posts that they feature are L-A-M-E but that might be because I don't have the same taste as other people. I've also found some great authors from time to time that I've added to my ever increasing google reader.

So look- look under that ad right now (it'll likely change soon) and notice that it has "Note to all single guys" underneath it. THAT IS MY POST. That means that people that are bored at work are more likely to stumble across my blog and read that post. Somehow, I think it also might be for ladies that read it thinking that this would be some long in depth post - likely to make you think. I can't help but feel that they are likely to be disappointed with what they find.

Anyway, they used to "feature" me kind of often - but nothing for the last several months. I even tried showering, but to no avail. So whatever I did or didn't do, I'm thankful.

Secondly, I'm bummed that I am an idiot. Before you hit "add comment" to write something like "Yeah, Anne, we know...but we love you anyway" let me clarify. In my quirky me post, I wrote that I have issues with the word potato. It needs an 'e.' Maybe it's because my name has a silent 'e' on it - so I think many words need an extra 'e.' Or maybe it's because I have a brain tumor and can't re-learn how to spell words. I DON'T KNOWE.

Anyway, today, I was catching up on my reader and decided to comment on Charlie Hill's blog (which is typically a funny twist on weight loss efforts) - Back to the Fridge. His writing is very funny and I'm not just saying that because he can quote "The Princess Bride" like no one else I've ever been around. I'm saying that because he has an 'e' on the end of his name too.

In the my comment on his post for today I totally spelled potato with an 'e' and then hit publish. Only while re-reading it did I notice my typo. And then commented again where I tried to convince people that that's how we spell it in Colorado. I even added "Look it up." Which is a great tool I've learned when you want to prove your point but figure that the people reading it might not take the time to do so. Not that Charlie's readers are lazy.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I am an idiot. Also, I heart BlogHer again.

Jesus used to love me, but now I'm not so sure.

Good news! This blog is not about another sexual experience of mine in a church.

Last month my sister gave me a book that she had gotten for free at a librarian conference. All I remember her saying was that it was a murder mystery and also a Christian book. I wanted to read it - and I like reading just about anything (except the instruction manuals to ANYTHING) especially when I'm getting ready to fall asleep. It helps to relax me and keep my mind off of things that might stress me out and have me tossing and turning. So I started reading it a couple of nights ago. The book is "Isolation" by Travis Thrasher.

It oscillates between sweet sappy Christian stuff (the husband is a missionary who thinks in Italic print to God) and...well...evil horror.

I'm only about 45 pages into it and I can't read any further.

Two nights ago I read about how the wife thought that she saw someone creeping up the stairs from her kitchen into her son's bedroom. She was sure this invader was going to kidnap her son. And even though she knew her husband would think that she was crazy and "having another episode, she followed the guy up the stairs WITH A KITCHEN KNIFE. She got ready to stab the person and then her husband shook her awake and she became aware that she almost killed her son.

Last night I read a part where she was in her car watching the snow fall and then realized that dark mud was appearing on her windshield. She turned her windshield wipers on high only to find out that the smearing was coming from flesh hitting her windshield. It was blood and flesh. "A thick gooey mass hit the side of her window, and something that looked like intestines slithered down the glass"..."suddenly the smell and the grime and the light-headedness and the knot in her stomach were all too much. She keeled over and threw up on the floorboard of the passenger seat."

Mmmmmm.

THEN in the next chapter her son (Zachary) gets a call where a guy on the phone calls him by name.

The call is filled with the guy asking questions about the son - including asking how old he is. At one point the guy asks, "Do you want to know something, Zachary? Do you want to know something I know?"..."You're never going to see your ninth birthday, Zach. You're never going to get off that mountain in North Carolina. Do you know why? Because you're going to die up there, Zach. I've seen it. You're going to-" and then the kid drops the phone and runs into the closet.

So I'm sitting there, reading at midnight last night and my heart is pounding and all I can think to do is rationalize.

I am not an 8 year old boy who just got off the phone with a creepy man.
Today when it was snowing, I never thought it was flesh hitting my windshield.
While I've never had the desire to do so before, I am certainly never going to North Carolina.

But seriously, the thing I couldn't get over is that THIS is supposed to be a Christian novel. And I can't see it. Even if it's some weird "sorry I doubted you, God" type book, I can't see how this level of horror would appeal to anyone that I have ever gone to church with.

I found myself literally praying to God last night because I was so scared.

Saying stuff like, "Hey God. Are you there? It's me, Anne. Wait...is that similar to a book title? It totally is! Wasn't that the one where that girl got her period? Yeah. I thought so. Anyway, speaking of things that freak people out, I just read part of this book. A CHRISTIAN book. You know, like they took your kid's name in vain? Anyway, it was totally creeptacular. And now when I close my eyes I see flesh. And I don't even have a passenger side of the car handy for me to throw up in. Seriously, God. I'm going to have nightmares all night long. So I know how I told you that I wanted Josh Hernsberger to eventually regret never liking me when we were in the 4th grade? Well, I'm willing to trade that wish for a night of sleep that does not involve sleepwalking, killing a kid I don't have, seeing flesh hit my windshield, or being an 8 year old boy with a creepy man on the phone. Is that okay? Alright then. Peace out. Also, thanks for dying for me. Oh, and I'm sorry for stealing a pack of Bubbleicious from the PX when I was 7."

And I woke up this morning with no pain and also no visions of bloody sugarplums.

So Jesus does love me after all...

Good news? If you want a great bedtime story, please just email me and I'll totally send one to you FREE OF CHARGE.

The first test is the most rightest

So remember when I did a little test on my blog to see what written level it was at?

Well, I did. And apparently I USED to write at a genius level.

Now? I'm simply writing at a high school level.

TV Reviews

I'm blaming it on the Backstreet Boys post. They obviously think that I'm IN high school.

(sigh)

Or I'm just getting stupider. Either way, I'm frustrated with my declining status. So I'm going to start whipping out some BIG words. Like ubiquitous, inconsequential, philandering, onomatopoeia, and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

I'm just not that into this movie...

About 5 years ago, Oprah had Greg Behrendt on her show talking about his book, "He's Just Not That Into You." It actually was a line that he shared with one of the writers on "Sex and The City." She apparently found it so profound that she helped write it into a show. The episode was even named the "He's Just Not That Into You."

The book was fantastic. Really. I hear SO MANY WOMEN griping about their boyfriend and then defending his lack of calling, etc. the next. This book helps clear these types of situations up. If you haven't read it, basically it's book that goes through chapter by chapter all the ways that guys are hinting to you that they are not into you. Think of it as a brutally honest 12 step program. It was very helpful when I read it 4 years ago and as I'm entering the dating world, I'm debating re-reading it.

BUT.

They've decided to make it into a movie. I think this was an asinine choice, but who am I to talk about what should and should not be made into a movie. Who wants a book of lists to be made into a movie? Besides every chapter is about a different thing. So unless they have totally different scenarios set up, it's going to be about one SERIOUSLY stupid girl who dates an a-hole. Even if they have different characters, I don't get why that would be something I would want to watch. They'll be acting out the scenarios of all the different ways guys dick you over (and not in a good way) with no continuity. It'd be like a sketch show made into a movie.

Also? It was embarrassing enough BUYING the book to take it home and read it. I'm certainly not going to buy a ticket to see it in the movie theater...or worse rent it on a lonely Friday night where the guy at the Blockbuster store KNOWS you're just going to go home, microwave a Lean Cuisine, and then practice writing Mrs. Paul Rudd* in your journal.

Ahem.

Not that that has happened to me recently.**

I'm just saying, I don't get why they're going to ruin a perfectly good book with a movie that has already been a book and a TV show. The worst part is? They've got about a ZILLION famous actors in the movie. Maybe I'll be surprised and wowed by the reviews - so much so that I'll shell out $15 for the movie...but I don't think so.

*SNL this past Saturday night was a re-run where Paul Rudd hosted. AND Justin Timberlake did the "Single Ladies" skit. Seriously...so.very.funny.

**items rented on NYE: Ghost Town, This is Spinal Tap, and Stepbrothers.

A little change

One of my favorite gifts I received this holiday season was a key chain from my aunt.

She gave one to my sisters and I when she was down for the graduation celebration in December. It's monogrammed for each one of us and as you might have noticed, it has a penny and a quarter on the keychain. When we opened the gift, all three of us looked up to her in slight confusion.

She explained that all of our successes that the three of us have had has been due to just a little change. And she wanted us to know that with a little change we can be unstoppable. We can accomplish all of our goals.

I know, it's a simple idea. And admittedly it's a little hokey. But I like it. :)

With all the talk this time of year about big New Year's Resolutions, I keep going back to the "little change" idea. We all don't have to make these big insurmountable goals because a little change each time adds up.

Here's to hoping that you push yourself to change in those little ways so that you will be healthier - mind, body, and soul by the end of 2009.

It's going to be a great year!