As Advertised

Yeah, yeah, I go long periods of time with no posts, and then suddenly I post twice in one day. Oh well. This post is brought to you by a bored shopkeeper. :)

Last night I was having some Kashi crackers as a snack. I was looking at the box, and I noticed that the cracker on the front had a stalk of wheat or some such grain embossed on the cracker.


So I wondered, do the actual crackers have that design on them? So I started looking at them as I ate them.


Huh! They really do have a little design in there. AND, they are about the same size as the ones on the box!


Good job Kashi. You pass my truth in advertising test. Could you please make the rain stop now so that the store gets busy and I don't have the time to study your products quite so closely? Thanks so much.

K had her baby!

Remember how I went to San Antonio to help K drive back to Virginia before she had her baby? Well, the baby came on Sunday morning! Her name is MacKenna Izze. The middle name is at the insistence of K's husband. He liked the name of those fruit sodas. Silly boys. Anyway, here is the obligatory picture.



I think she is beautiful. Like for real beautiful, not just I tell anyone who has a new baby that it is cute. :)

A Good Day

I just want to say that today was a very good day.

Pop!

That is all I heard at about 12:30 yesterday. There I was, happily jogging along. All of a sudden I heard/felt a pop, and then I was falling over with pain. I had torn my right calf muscle. A friend took me to the urgent care, and three hours later I was leaving with a positive prognosis and good muscle relaxers.

Apparently I'm lucky that it was just a muscle tear. It didn't involve any ligaments (particularly my ACL,) nor was the bone disrupted. That means no surgery. Whew! I'm crutching around right now. The doctor says I should start stretching in 3-5 days and just listen to my body as to how quickly I can do more.

I'm particularly mad because I was starting to work out with a personal trainer and felt like I was making faster progress. Now I really have to get my food under control. Here's to hoping I have a speedy recovery. Right now, I'm off to find another muscle relaxer and my bed.

Happy Easter!

I'm such a loser. I slept through church. Maybe that is what I really needed today though. I still feel bad about it. I don't know when I last missed church on Easter. But, that's not exactly a happy thought. So, let's move on to something pleasant.

In 2007, I was in Italy during Lent. There were some AMAZING window displays.

This is an example. Look at that hand painted chocolate egg! I was supposed to go back this year, but it just didn't work out for me. I hope I get to go back soon.

Have a great day!

I feel like I've lost a friend

For the past five or six years, I've considered my mom to be one of my best friends. I felt comfortable telling her honestly how my life was going and how I was feeling. A couple days ago though I feel like I lost that friend. While it is true that this year is turning out to be hard, I am struggling and working through things. My dad has never supported my decision to try this business, but at least I knew my mom was supportive in the sense that she wanted me to be happy.

Fast forward to two days ago, and I get an e-mail from my dad that he co-signed with my mom's name. It is all about how there is a job opening in their town (halfway across the country,) and how I should hurry if I want to apply for it. WTF? First of all, while I don't love St. Louis, DH is from here and we are clearly not going anywhere any time soon. Top that off with the idea that they are all ready to count me as a failure, and I was spinning. I've never felt so put-down, unsupported, and basically crappy from them in a long time. It reminds me of when I asked my dad if he thought I was pretty, and he responded that I wasn't a model. That one still haunts me.

There goes that friendship. I'm literally sitting here crying about it. I know they love me, but their current way of showing it is not what I would call positive. I don't need puppy dogs and rainbows. We all need reality checks from time to time. But let's be realistic here. Telling me to move across the country is not constructive in the least. It is only negative and hurtful, and right now I am feeling VERY hurt. I guess my family has now been relegated to the "everything is fine" category.

This post is brought to you by the letter...

I loved that part of Sesame Street.

Anyway, I saw this game on Angie's blog and asked to play. She has assigned me the letter G, and I will now list 10 of my favorite things that start with G.

If you want to play, just post a comment with a way to contact you (blog or e-mail,) and I will assign you a letter.

So, without further ado....

1. Grover

What can I say, thinking about the alphabet and all that made me think of Sesame Street. And so, here is one of my favorite characters.

2. Gelato

Mmmmm. Italian gelato is so amazing. Not only does it taste like heaven, but the stores always have such beautiful displays.

3. Google

Come on! This is only the best search algorithm ever! Plus, how can you not love the funny things they do to the home page for holidays and big events?

4. Geldings
Well, it can't be fun for the poor horse. Mares are just too moody for my tastes, and stallions are too volatile. All of my horses have always been geldings, and I suspect that is a trend that won't change any time soon.

5. Green Bananas

OK, not totally green, but like these in the picture. I really dislike when they get mushy and black.

6. Golden Retrievers

The last dog my parents had was a Golden. I named him Sigfried. He was so good. I miss him, and I know my parents do too. I actually love all dogs, but I needed a g, and DOG clearly doesn't fit the bill.

7. Girlfriends

Everybody needs friends, and there are just things that only other women will understand.

8. Green Vegetables

I LOVE veggies! In fact, when I was a kid, I would turn away hot dogs, hamburgers, and all that stuff in favor of broccoli. What can I say? I was a freak.

9. Gum

Seriously! I love gum. I am always popping in a piece, and I get mad at myself if I don't have any in my purse. There is no good reason for my love, but, it is what it is.

10. Gouda

What a delightful example of one of my absolute favorite foods. Cheese is the best! Gouda is fabulous because it has such a smokey flavor and it melts very smoothly. One of my favorite uses for Gouda is macaroni and cheese. Mmmmm.

If you want to play, just leave me a note and I will gladly give you a letter. I promise not to hand out Q, X, or Z. Unless you make me mad. :)

Random Thursday

• It's raining. Thank goodness it isn't snowing.

• Why is Bread Co.'s Soup for a Group (3-4 servings) almost the same cost as two bowls of soup? I realized tonight that I could get almost a whole week's worth of lunches for $9.99!

• Speaking of Bread Co., soup in a bread bowl is now the same price as just a bowl of soup. Now, if you eat at the restaurant, you get less soup in a bread bowl than you do in a regular bowl. However, if you get your soup to go, you get everything separate, and you end up with the same amount of soup PLUS the huge bread bowl. More bread than I need, but I'm always looking for a value, and they usually give you a side too. What I did last week was take the bread bowl home for our bread with dinner and ate the apple as a side dish.

• I leave for San Antonio on Sunday!!!!! I'm so excited on several levels. First, I get to see a woman, K, who is more like my sister to me than my brother is like my brother. Does that make sense? Second, I am totally having dinner at Papasito's. Mmmmmm. Fresh, handmade tortillas, amazing margaritas, and salsa that doesn't take like catsup. God I miss Mexican food. This also means I get to take a couple days off. I haven't had one of those since Christmas. I'll be helping K drive to Virginia, but it will still feel like a vacation.

OK, so this wasn't totally random since half of the post was about Bread Co. Let's see, what bizarre thing can I find on the interwebz.

This website details so much of what is wrong with society. Not something I can look at every day for amusement, but does at least deserve a smdh.