My Fat is Crying

I saw this slogan on a Bondi Band the other day and it came to mind after my workout last night. Certainly not glamourous but it sure felt good! 

Sweat is my Fat Crying!

I should have taken a picture of my back, I was soaked! Even though I used the treadmill to avoid the 111 degree weather, I was drenched.

Should we say it together?......eww! 

I gross myself out. ;)

Words to Live By

It's been one of those days...actually, it's been of those weeks. I saw this image on another blog and it struck a cord.  Too often, fear plays a bigger role in my life course than I would ever want to admit. I over analyze, worry about what other people think and fear the unknown more often than embracing the change.

If you don't like something, change it. It sounds like such a simple concept but how often are we frozen in place by fear of the possibilities and the unknown that we just stay in the exact same place afraid to move forward?

Saying Goodbye and Personal Struggles

I haven't been posting very much lately and I apologize for my neglect to this blog.

Last week, my last remaining grandparent passed away. She was 92 years old and lived a long and active life. She will be greatly missed by our family.

Ethan received these flowers from his daycare.

Mason Cousins

some of the great-grandchildren

My father and his siblings.

The preacher did an amazing job at the funeral service. He mentioned, during the service, the special game Grandma and Ethan played with marshmallows and that really meant a lot to me. It was so nice to have almost all of our family together again and paying tribute to the woman who corner stoned our family.

Changing Gears

On a completely different note, I've been really struggling with some personal issues right now. I have been avoiding posting on the blog for the fear of revealing too much and later on regretting it. I admire those that can lay everything out there and share their inner, most personal, feelings and struggles. I'm not that type of person. I worry about being judged and what others will think of me far too much.

Yesterday, I was angry about the situation. Today, I am devasted and depressed. I feel like it takes all my energy to project a normal, happy person to the rest of the world and, most importantly, my son. However, on the inside I'm crushed and feeling betrayed and hurt. Laundry is piling up, dishes aren't done and work isn't getting done but I just don't care...I just can't care right now.

I'll be back with puppies and rainbows soon enough but, for now, I'm needing time. I know I'll get through this struggle and will end up stronger in the end and with a better sense of self.

Thank you for letting me share with you, my blogging world friends, and for your support even though you know not what you are supporting or the details of what caused this situation.

Engagement Anniversary

Yesterday was the anniversary of our engagement. Six years ago, Jim proposed and we started building our life together.

I went to a PEO meeting yesterday evening and Karen Rankin had the program. She did a wonderful presentation on the history of Valentine's Day. Everyone at the meeting was invited to share their favorite Valentine's memory. Out of the nine members that were present, I think six shared that they were engaged over Valentine's Day. This prompted me to remember that we also got engaged at this time and I shared our engagement story.

Jim proposed to me on February 15, 2004. We had been dating for about four years at this point, since we were in high school.

I had accidently found the receipt for the engagement ring, when Jim purchased the ring in April 2003. I knew he had the ring for almost a year before he finally proposed. It was such a torment to know that he had the ring and to have to wait for him to pop the question.

Every holiday and special date came and went with no proposal. I would get my hopes up every time - 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, my birthday, etc. Still there was no ring. I was getting pretty impatient by this point.

Valentine's Day was approaching and was tired of getting my hopes up and then not getting that ring on my finger. I'm not the most patient person in the world. I told Jim that I thought Valentine's Day proposals were over rated and unoriginal. I didn't actually feel this way but I was trying to prepare myself for not being proposed to during the most romantic day of the year and having my hopes crushed and ruining Valentine's Day for us.

Little did I know, Jim had been planning on proposing on Valentine's Day. I ruined it and still feel badly for pitching my little hissy fit and ruining his plans. This was a wonderful lesson in patience. Sometimes it's good to let go of my controlling tendencies and let things happen and not try to dictate how and when they should happen.

So Valentine's Day came and I have no idea how we celebrated. The next day came and I was in a very sulky and foul mood. I had really hoped to be proposed to, even though I had specifically said that I didn't want it. Irrational and bitchy, I know, and I'm ashamed at my immature behavior.

Jim worked hard all day to cheer me up. I finally got over my bad attitude and we decided to take a walk to the park. (We were living in Hays, KS at the time and went for a walk to Frontier Park that was about a mile from Jim's apartment.)

We checked out the limestone fireplaces that are in the building located behind the playset in this picture. The year before, on Valentines, we had grilled hamburgers and roasted marshmallows in this pit and had carved our initials. We searched for our initials and I was delighted to see that they were still there, a year later. Yep, we vandalized public property - shame on us.

We then walked across the bridge at Frontier Park. In the middle of the bridge, Jim asked me to marry him. He didn't get down on one knee, that's not his style or personality. He held me close and whispered it in my ear. It was intimate, private, personal and perfect for us.

Of course, I said YES!

I still love my ring, the man who gave it to me, and it was worth the wait!

As Seen on TV = As Seen in My House

"Set it and forget it"!

"It will have you saying WOW every time"!

If you spend any amount of time watching TV, you likely recognize these taglines from popular infomercials.

Infomercials are one of my guilty pleasures. I am a sucker for all things "As Seen on TV." From the slick salespeople to the gimmick bonus offers, I fall for them over and over again.

I will watch certain infomercials repeatedly for the pure entertainment. My favorite infomercial right now is for the GT Xpress cooking gadget. Love that sales pitch lady and, of course, I have one so I have to pick up her recipes like Stuffed Soup that she demonstrates during the presentation. I mean, come on! How can you resist a product that delivers delicacies like stuffed soup and cakes with mini candy bars hidden in the middle?

I can remember watching the infomercial for the Ronco Food Dehydrator over and over again as a little girl in the late 80's. I wanted to make the fruit roll ups and beef jerky so badly that they demomstrated! I also remember that half way through the presentation he would stop to demo his spray on hair product for balding men and his pocket fishing rod for outdoorsmen on the go. This man is a genius.

My first infomercial purchase that I can remember was buying this little makeup cube that was pitched by so called celebrity make up artist, Victoria Jackson. If I recall correctly, this little cube of makeup cost me almost $80. I was in high school at the time and making $5.75 per hour working at Alco. That's a lot of after school hours to get this prized baby in my hands. I was sure that I would have celebrity worthy makeup results! Any of you that knew me in high school know that was not the result. The makeup in this cube was greasy, thick and nasty. I think I wore the makeup once and then the cube went untouched.

I have found some As Seen on TV products that do live up to their hype. I find that I either love or hate the products and it's about a 50% success ratio.

I am the ashamed owner of a wide variety of infomercial hyped products. Everything from the Total Gym to the Pedi-Egg. Here are some of the products I have collected for over the years. Staggering isn't it?

I still haven't gotten the food dehydrator that I've been pining over all these years. I'm not too keen on the amount of space it would take up.However, looking for an image of the commercial online, I found that the original 80's infomercial is on Youtube. Of course I had to watch it again and revisit the man and commercial that originally got me hooked.

What "As Seen on TV" products have you fallen for? Any good ones that I should add to my collection or bad ones I should stay away from?