Friday, February 27, 2009

It Pays to Procrastinate

That was the lesson I learned yesterday while I was sitting at my desk at work, listening to my favorite radio station X96.

Let me back up.

Alyse, Andrea, and I will be going to the Fall Out Boy concert in April and I was supposed to buy the tickets a long long time ago but I just haven't gotten around to it. American Idol has just monopolized my time, well, that and all the other shows sitting on my DVR waiting to be watched. Life is so hard.




So back to yesterday, I heard on the radio that they were giving away tickets if you could unscramble the words in the title of a song. They've been doing this awhile now and I had no intention of ever playing because you just can't get through by telephone. But yesterday I just went for it.

I dialed and it was busy. Redialed....busy. Redialed...busy. Redialed..."Hello X96?"

At that point I freaked out and yelled "20 Dollar Nose Bleed!"

I was so loud that I'm sure I woke up my sleeping nephew 40 minutes away! Lo and behold I won! I was so excited but after my little screaming about nose bleeds, people were beginning to peak into my office to see if I was being raped, so I tried to calm myself down and started whispering instead. The radio guy probably thought I was a freak!

I won tickets to the Fall Out Boy concert! Woot! Woot! It's a good thing I'm a procrastinator and didn't buy the tickets a few weeks ago like I had planned! After I hung up with the guy I heard myself on the radio and about died, I sounded like a blubbering idiot!

So now I have a problem. I won two tickets but there are three of us going. To whom do I give the other ticket? Here are my options...

1. Give it to my baby sis Alyse who is a single starving college student but doesn't have a family to feed. Wait, scratch the starving part, she still lives at home, but she needs her big sister's help to get back out into the dating world after having one boyfriend for years. She needs to go out and have a good time, but she was planning to pay for the ticket herself anyway.



2. OR Give it to my fabulous friend Andrea, who after all beautified my hair this week with her genius coloring ability and I think I totally under tipped her! Plus she works 2 jobs, but she too was planning on paying for the ticket herself. (Yes I totally stole this pic from her blog)



3. OR give it to my little sis Lindee, who I had already invited but she couldn't go because she needed to save her money to buy her school books. She has admitted she's not a huge fan of Fall Out Boy but has expressed her jealousy that Alyse and I are going without her.



Decisions, decisions. If you know me, I cannot decide by myself so I need your help!


Who should I give the extra ticket to?


UPDATE: Lindee has now written her plea on her blog of why she deserves the free ticket.

UPDATE #2: Alyse (the baby sis) has now written her plea in the comments as Anonymous. By the length of her comment I think it's time she gets her own blog don't you?

Thursday, February 26, 2009

I Set My Standards High

Since my husband started his diet, he has inspired me to start a diet as well. No, I don't shoot up every morning like he does, I have enough PMS as it is! I'm keepin it simple and doing weight watchers.


I've always associated diet with guilt.


Usually what happens when I say I'm dieting is I continue to eat the same things I always do, I just feel guilty about it. But not this time, I'm determined to shed the unwanted pounds!



Alot of you have asked what the HCG diet is that I mentioned in my last post. My husband has lost 30 pounds on this diet! I'm definately not the expert but I'll give you a little info and if you want to learn more just go here.

HCG stands for Human Choriogonadotropin, the hormone produced by pregnant women in the early stages of pregnancy. Research suggests a small, daily hCG injection results in a weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs per day, and often more, when accompanied by a very low calorie diet of apprx 500 calories.

HCG works to mobilize fat for utilization by the body only when there is a significant decrease in calories and fat. A starvation state must exist for HCG to work. For weight loss, we use a very low calorie diet to trigger HCG to help rid the body of fat. Because HCG mobilizes fat and makes it available to the body as an energy source, it naturally reduces appetite. So, even though, you are taking in fewer calories, your body is able to access the energy you have stored. Most people have plenty of energy and feel good while on the program.



Now I want to thank Angie for sharing some of her Weight Watcher secrets with me and now I want to share one with you! I found a great Weight Watchers recipe for Potato & Canadian Bacon Chowder. It is really yummy and keeps you full and it's only 3 points!


Potato and Canadian Bacon Slow Cooker Chowder

Ingredients

2 cup(s) potato(es), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large carrot(s), diced
1 cup(s) leek(s), chopped, white part only
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
4 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
1/2 cup(s) uncooked barley
1 piece(s) bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 oz Canadian-style bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
2 oz fat-free half-and-half

Instructions
In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, carrots, leek, garlic, broth, barley, bay leaf, thyme, pepper and bacon; cover and cook on low for 6 hours.



Stir in evaporated milk and half-and-half; heat through, uncovered, about 10 minutes. Yields about 1 2/3 cups per serving.





POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 360 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy


This is one serving:



It passes by my standards:

It's easy
It's yummy
It's healthy
and most importantly,

It doesn't give you gas!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I Sure Could Use A Brownie Sundae Right About Now.

Blogger and I have kissed and made up. I've apologized for my selfish behavior and blogger apologized for being such a B to me yesterday and now all is well in bloggy land.




So the hubster started that crazy HCG diet that everyone seems to be on these days. Ya know, the one that you have to shoot yourself up every morning with a foot long needle?





Yeah, that one.


Well the first week he was on it he started acting so weird. He was just blah! He was getting irritated very easily and was just so unhappy and depressed which is SO unlike Al! I'm like wait a second, I'm the depressed one who eats a whole carton of ice cream in one sitting, not you!


So he called his HCG doctor who explained that the shots he was taking contain hormones and apparently the dose was too high for his body, causing him to have, get this, MAN PMS!


Yes, my husband was suffering from PMS!





Oh I about died when he told me that! Luckily they lowered his dose so he no longer is acting like a premenstrual woman. So besides the occasional brownie craving, he is back to his normal happy Al-self, thank god! Lord knows our household can barely handle one PMSer let alone two! We all know what happens when I have PMS...


Monday, February 23, 2009

Love Hate Relationship

I haven't been able to post all day because the beloved blogger is freaking out on me!

Grrr... Doesn't blogger know I must post pictures with every post?

Guess not...so stay tuned I guess.

Bloggers fault not mine :)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

My Lazy Ass Post

Brought to you by facebook. Please pardon these pictures, I don't yet have a scanner!

My Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?.....Never went to prom, but my first dance I went to was with Ben (Crap I forgot his last name) and I can't believe I'm posting this picture on the internet!




2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? .....He never officially broke up with me, he just disappeared into thin air and I haven't seen him since...long story.


3. What was your FIRST job? .....Good old PPP (Peter Piper Pizza)


4. What was your FIRST car?.....92 Red Honda Accord with a smashed in bumper my parents bought me & my brother to share.

5. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? .....My lil sis Lindee, she left her school books over at my house last night, very typical. But the good news is that she has to come over tonight to get them and for a bonus she's taking me to a party while our hubbys play Halo 3!

6. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning ? .....My dog, does that count? He had to go potty, then Lindee after she sent me the text.


7. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? .....I don't remember, but here's my picture:



8. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? .....To Texas with my fam to visit my cousins.


9. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? .....My very first best friends were Lindsey Kerr and Andrea Stanger. Andrea dropped me once she started sixth grade (I am a year younger) I was no longer cool enough for her. I'm still friends with Lindsey however we haven't talked for a long time.


10. Where was your FIRST sleepover? .....Probably Lindseys house. I loved sleeping over there because she always had white bread, peanut butter & Count Chocula Frankenberry cereal. All of which were banned from my house growing up.



11. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? .....After my dog, it was Alex, the hubster. Whenever he wakes up he can only open one eye so it looks like he's winking at me. He says the lights are too bright in the morning.

12. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?.....Actually in, was DeAnna's. I think that's the only one I was in. Well besides my own. Speakig of DeAnna, here is some old pics of us from Jr. High! BFF KYDN DAMEZ FOREVER DE!





13. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? .....Made me a mocha and watched a rerun of 90210 (the college years)

14. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? .....Blink 182 with my big brother and his wife. I was always the designated driver!

15. FIRST tattoo? .....None, but I did get a fake tattoo on my hand of a butterfly one time.

16. FIRST piercing? .....I was about 6. Then got 5 more holes in high school & college, I was such a rebel.

17. FIRST foreign country you've been to? .....Cancun Mexico


18. FIRST movie you remember seeing? .....The Goonies


19. When was your FIRST detention? .....I don't think I ever went to detention, but I was sent out in the hall one time for being too loud in class.


20. What was the FIRST state you lived in? .....Utah


21. Who was your FIRST roommate? .....DeAnna Marie Cluff, Liv Stutzman and Heather Livingston Good times!


22. FIRST pet? .....Gerbils, way too many gerbils. I bought them from a girl at school for 7 beaver pelts. Yes, beaver pelts (fake currency in 4th grade) She swindled me into buying both gerbils because she convinced me they would get lonely if I didn't. I'm still a sucker!

She's the one on the very bottom right hand side. Don't let that innocent look fool ya! She's a gerbil shark!



23. Who was your FIRST kiss? .....Bradly Thompson Mr. Disappearing Act

24. FIRST place you called home? .....Layton, UT


So there's my little Facebook tag that I decided to share on my blog because I am too lazy to write about my amazing & eventful life.

And if you already read this on face book.....deal with it.


Thursday, February 19, 2009

No Longer A Slacker Sister...

Fine Lindee, just because you're the spoiled child!


A few weekends ago my cute Dad took his girls, me & my sisters, to spend a night at the Homestead Resort just for a little getaway and quality time. Of course Lin brought her sweet lil Logan with her so we knew it was going to be quite a party!





And yes, Logan yet again has no pants. I think his dear mom here is just getting him prepared for his future career of sumo wrestling.




I don't know how this happens but when you get me and my sisters together, for some reason we resort back to being 12 year old girls. Here we are in all our maturity:




From left to right we have the lil sis Lindee, the big sis me, and the baby sis Alyse.




The evening proceeded in three stages.

Stage 1
Stuffing our faces with the assortment of treats that Dad always provides. We have no shame and things get really messy when we all get together. We played Apples to Apples with a make shift barrier to keep the pantless baby from ripping the cards to shreds and throwing them into the fireplace. We also turned on The Bee Movie to help distract the baby but unfortunately it distracted Lindee too, the queen of ADHD.




Stage 2
Splashing in the tub with Logan. We are not hard to entertain, this two year old is always the life of the party! And at this stage is where Dad slowly starts to wear down, I have no idea why that happened.




See? Who isn't entertained by this? You can rent him for your next big party as long as you pay me in advance and feed the little guy or at least let him drink out of the toilet. Oh, and you can't tell his mom.

Leave me a comment if you're interested.




Stage 3
Dad passes out from pure exhaustion as we continue to get more hyper by the second. Dad should know better than to fall asleep with us around, what did he expect would happen?




While we were torturing Dad in his sleep, little did we know that Logan went and peed in the corner of the bathroom. Way to go Lin! This potty training thing must be working!

Lindee is a woman of many talents and is determined to teach her son the most important skills in life.




This is when I begin to realize that Logan probably spiked our diet coke because I can't explain why or what is going on here.




Yeah we don't remember much after that, I think we all passed out at that point. But surprisingly we all servived the night so in the morning we were able to go check out the ducks that stick around in the middle of winter and the huge crater that Homestead is known for.




This is inside the crater, it was very cool! The water is 96 degrees so people are swimming and scuba diving even during the winter. It's 60 feet wide and 65 feet deep.




It was so foggy since it was winter but this is what it looks like in the summer:




So there's our crazy weekend with Dad.

Lindee, you may no longer call me a slacker sister!