Guilty pleasures: Actor Edition

Back when High School Musical was a thing, I had a flaming hatred of Zac Efron.  I have no idea where it came from, I never saw the movie.  It was the same kind of blind hate I had for popular pin up dudes like basically all of The Outsiders, this was just a different generation of pin up bias.  I never gave that punk another thought.

Then 17 Again happened. (affiliate link) 

I wasn't a Matthew Perry fan (he was kind of my least favorite Friend) so it was whatever Zac did in the trailer was enough to get me to rent it.  I just fell in love with his sweet nature, the way he was able to properly mimic all of Perry's eccentricities showed me that maybe he was actually a decent actor.

Next, I saw him in The Lucky One (affiliate link) where he played a real romantic lead and he impressed me again because he seemed to be stepping outside of his HSM box.  He was, dare I say, swoon worthy?

Finally, came Neighbors with Seth Rogen and he seemed to go back to the college version of his HSM days but in a way that made him totally able to make fun of himself.  I could not stop laughing at him and I'm not going to lie, staring at his chiseled abs that truly looked like marble didn't hurt. Yes, I'm old enough to be his older sister but I'm not dead.

(Source)

From then on, I shamefully saw or rented anything he was in because I knew he'd make me laugh.

When we got to see him and Robert DeNiro in person film Dirty Grandpa  (affiliate link) on our anniversary in 2015 in Tybee Island, GA, my fangirl status had been sealed.  He seemed very professional and sweet on set and not remotely like a diva (divo?) from what we could see.  When it came out, we took a hooky day, went to the theater with a bunch of grandparents and watched a highly inappropriate movie together that had me crying laughing.  Plus it was fun to see our vacation spot from the previous year and see what we could identify by the scenes.

The one I couldn't get the Mr on board with was Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates which I had ZERO expectation for and while the Mr thought it delivered on no expectations, I laughed my butt off from beginning to end because it was so absurd.  I didn't care for the brother but Zac made it so funny, I was crying laughing again.

The other night, we rented Baywatch,  (affiliate link) which was listed as the bomb of the summer...well, before Dark Tower came along (sorry Mr).  It was so bad, the Rock went on a big Twitter fest to defend it.  All I cared is Zac was in it so I was going to laugh and laugh I did.  I mean hello...

(Source)

How sad is it that he looks better as a woman than I do?  Jerk.

Luscious, chiseled, jerk.

Anyhoo, I didn't think Baywatch was near the bomb they made it out to be but I'm biased because I spent more time laughing at Zac than absorbing all of the lame times they tried to make The Rock look good.  (The one liners were a bit much and every shot of him had to look like some action movie.)  Take the movie for what it is...a spoof on a farce.  It's not Oscar material so just go in expecting the worst but hoping for some laughs which is what I got!

I see he's got two new roles including a grown up musical with Hugh Jackman and a movie in which he plays Ted Bundy so those should be really interesting.  It should also put the Mr's mind at ease that Zachy will get type cast.  He says that after every movie that he needs to stop playing the d-bag muscle head.  But as long as he's still making 'em, I'll see 'em because life is too short not to enjoy a guilty pleasure every now and then.

Who is your favorite guilty pleasure actor?

(This post contains affiliate links.  Should you be awesome enough to buy through them, I may receive a few cents commission at no additional cost to you.)

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Strap on the walking shoes!

While we were in Cincy, Trip Advisor told me that apparently, we should make Jungle Jim's Grocery Store a stop.  Yeah, a grocery store.  When a grocery store website says to allow "2-4 hours on your first visit" then color me intrigued.  Should you decide to make it a road trip, bring your walking shoes because there's 200,000 square feet to peruse!

I figured we'd bring a cooler and if there was anything we couldn't live without then at least we'd have a way to bring it home.  So this is what you're greeted with when you walk in.

Talking corn on the left and over to the right (out of frame) is some swinging soup can over the regular groceries.  I admit, my pics aren't going to do it justice because we got so caught up in oohing and ahhing over everything that I probably overlooked some major things I should've taken pics of.

They had stuff I've never seen before like these hot cocoas...

I was intrigued but not enough to buy them since I like straight up hot chocolate but would've gotten a sample pack if they sold them in singles.

They had old school candy too...

They had one of those old Elvis' crooning animatronics from Chuck E. Cheese back in the day but I was so mesmerized by him I forgot to take a pic so I found a video for you online.

Lest you think I was only looking at junk food, I was also admiring some beautiful Easter Egg Radishes.

Their exotic fruit and veggie department was jaw dropping.  The mini pineapples were my spirit fruit.

Then you get out of the regular grocery store and into the international market which is just as big, if not bigger and you can find food from literally anywhere in the world.

We were even happy to see a tiny section devoted to Hawaiian food!  Of course World Market can scratch the itch on some of those but we saw some of our favorite Aloha Maid's and had to pick some up!

They had all of these kinds of weird vignettes all over the place that were quirky and fun but obviously, we were amongst regulars because no one really seemed impressed by them.

You could get pretty much anything you want there from sodas that provide you with a whole month's worth of sugar in one sitting...

...to scary ass candy that makes you feel like you've taken an attached entity home with you.

They also have a pretty impressive organic, gluten free and health food section at the end so you feel better about all of the crap you've probably put in your cart.

I think we spent 2 1/2 hours wandering the place and had it not been so crowded, I would've liked to have spent more but I guess that'll have to wait until another road trip.  It really is quite the spectacle and I feel like their prices go to support some of the power it takes to run some of the attractions. They don't have great prices but if you need some kind of specialty item, this would be the place to go for sure.

There's just too much to list here so if you're bored, check out their website to see some of their offerings including festivals and cooking classes.  I wish we'd known some big BBQ fest was going on there because we got rather mediocre BBQ elsewhere just before we went.  Pfft!

What's your favorite food specialty store or an item you have a hard time finding at a regular grocery store?

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A road trip to a galaxy far, far away

So the Mr is a big Star Wars fan.  I was too back in the day.  Matter of fact, he and I had the same Darth Vader shirt as kids.  Kismet.  I was keeping an eye out in the sci-fi universe for something I could surprise him with.  When I saw someone talking about this exhibit he went to, I thought it would be fun to plan a road trip and make a day of it.

So off we went to the Cincinnati Museum Center for the Star Wars and the Power of Costume exhibit.

The Mr seemed thoroughly confused and I don't know if he thought I was dragging him to some cosplay thing or something but he had an energy of "what are you getting me into?" emanating from him.  I wouldn't drag him to a cosplay deal without a proper costume.  (By the way, no masks, face paint or light sabers, etc are allowed so basically it should say 'don't even bother.')

It had screen-used costumes from all of the original movies starting with Obi Wan Kenobi.

Actually, after the movie, it had been loaned out to other movies all the way up to The Mummy and then they lost track of it until 2005 when it had been discovered hanging with some monk's cloaks! (Not on the tour, just a search of the internet confirmed what the Mr recalled hearing.)  It's next to Queen Amidala's outfit from The Phantom Menace.

We got the audio tour because I read reviews that it was worth the extra $5 and it certainly was!  All of the corresponding numbers that you entered that started with 1 would have Mark Hamill giving commentary about what you were seeing.  The kids also had numbers that started with a 2 and we learned real quick to ignore those because they were two highly annoying random people who were talking with their vocal fry trying to sound hip.  It was enough to make you want to punch a wall so we learned within 30 seconds never to push the kid's version again.  We were also surprised how many people didn't splurge for it and then looked at us with envy as we were looking at certain things or pieces on the wall that were pointed out to us via the audio device.

I loved the Darth Maul vignette since he was my favorite character from the prequels (even though like many, I'm not a fan of the prequels).  It was very interactive and showed scenes from the movie behind it, you could push buttons and make their light sabers light up.

They had the concept art for him which varied from creepy clown...

...to literally the stuff of nightmares.

I was quite happy to see Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia robe and I was anxious to snap a pic.  Well, the camera didn't want to work on her exhibit and had been working fine up to that point.  I took it as a fun prank from the afterlife and rebooted and finally got the pic.

They even had her little digital watch.

There were so many outfits that Natalie Portman got to wear as well as her decoy and hand maidens and it was fascinating to see the inspiration for these pieces from the material to the hairstyles.

Of course the iconic metal bikini outfit Carrie wore as Jabba's slave was there and it's worth the $5 for the audio tour just to hear the story Mark tells on that one.

It was cool to see Boba and Jango Fett too.  Boba was always one of the Mr's favorite characters.

I think we both got a little gushy inside seeing the droids...

My favorite exhibit was seeing Han and Chewie.

You could even feel Chewie's hair in a sample they put out.

The evolution of Palpatine was pretty cool too...right down to his fingernails.

Gorgeous dresses Natalie Portman was lucky enough to wear, there were too many to show them all.

We liked the detail of the robo-hand in the wedding costumes.

Darth Vader was there but it was the 2005 version.  Still iconic but I was really hoping for the original.

Of course, we got to see Yogurt Yoda as well.

I liked it way more than I thought I would.  It was really interesting to see how your favorite characters evolved from a drawing or how bits of one drawing for one character were used for another one.

It was cool being able to see the dresses up close to see detail since they were in glass cases.  If you leaned too far over the platform for the older costumes, the museum workers would head your way.

At the end is an awesome Kenner toy exhibit that's tied in with it that shows all of the old action figures including Chewbacca who went in with the Mr when he had his tonsils yanked as a tyke.

It's $6 for parking, $24 per adult and $5 for each audio wand.  I think it's a little borderline pricey and should've thrown in the audio wands for free given the price but whatever.  It's partnered with LucasFilm and the Smithsonian so it's worth seeing.  The exhibit is open until October 1st and you have to buy tickets for a time slot so I'd suggest getting them online like I did.  We got there earlier than our slot and they moved us to an earlier time with no issue.  It was 90 minutes for us to truly lollygag through the whole exhibit and feel like we took everything in.  We were in no hurry and it wasn't so crowded that we couldn't get the pics we wanted and everyone was very courteous to other guests looking at something.  Many were people our age and it was sweet seeing dad explain to his kids with enthusiasm of who the characters were and why they wore what they did especially from the 70's/80's movies.

If you're a Star Wars fan at all, you absolutely should go see this within the next month before it goes away.

Are you a Star Wars fan?

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Warp speed weekend recap

Dang, this weekend did a big ol' swirlie down the toilet.  I'd been planning a surprise for the Mr for a few months and didn't tell him until the night before.  Actually, I just told him we were going somewhere to thank him for his hard work with helping me with work stuff and gave him zero clues.

So in the wee hours, we were off to Cincinnati, Ohio.

There was a special exhibition that was showing there and I ended up taking so many friggin' pictures that I'm going to do a separate post on it tomorrow.  But one of the cool things was this little toy company exhibit attached to it at the end.

I always wanted one of those projector thingies as a kid.  I think I knew people who had one that I longingly wished for so I enjoyed it vicariously through them.

We found a road side farm stand and the Mr stocked up on some peaches.

I found some pretty adorable Chrismas stuff hanging out just waiting for me to buy it.

We had an early dinner and I was able to get a turkey dinner which I always tend to crave this time of year like a weirdo.  By the time we got home, we were beat but the Mr went straight into gaming and I went straight to bed.

We slept in until 10:15 am...damn that felt good!

What did not feel good was watching the original Stephen King's It.   (affiliate link) I didn't realize it was going to be a 3-hour extravaganza and I had plans to knock out a little work but didn't get to it in time.  So that, along with the fact that it wasn't very good IMO, put a twist in my undies because now it was 4 pm and we still had to do grocery shopping, work out, make dinner and I had to sit and chat with y'all so I was feelin' the pressure.

We did a 20 minute HIIT and 30-minute free weight session and I had some pasta heating in the oven that I'd thawed and put on delay start so it was only a 10 minute prep time for dinner and I was thankful for that.  The Mr did my fruits and veggies for the week and made his lunch and then we collapsed and it's 8:30 pm.  YEESH!

What did you guys do this weekend?

(This post contains an affiliate link.  Should you be kind enough to buy through it, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.)

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What I'm Reading This Week #34

Happy Friday y'all!  It is the weekend and it's time to par-tay!  You probably spent the week getting adjusted to school schedules whether you have kids, teach kids or drive to work with a school zone along the way.

So let's rule the school with...

Not Cooling Down After Your Workout? Here's How That Messes With Your Body  (I need to get better about this.  We'll do a few wimpy stretches but not like we should be doing.)

38 Simple Ideas For Taking Care of Yourself When You Need It Most  (These are AWESOME!  Bookmark it!)

These Are the 5 Fruits You Should ALWAYS Buy Organic, No Matter What  (I buy strawberries and apples organic but it's hard to find some of the ones on the list)

How to Get More Out of Every Workout Without Actually Working Harder  (This is an excellent tip and I need to get in better practice of making it habit)

100+ Inspiring Kitchen Decorating Ideas  (I would literally collapse from vertigo if I put gingham on my ceiling!)

How to Stay on Top of Birth Control While Traveling  (Good info!)

Long-Term Gum Disease Linked To Alzheimer’s Disease  (Break out the floss)

How ‘Natural’ Is Stevia, Anyway?  (Oy)

Beyond the Lattes: 30+ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Treats, Snacks, and Foods  (It's coming!  Actually some of it is already here!)

'Dirty Dancing' premiered 30 years ago today — I visited the hotel where it was filmed and found a depressing tourist trap  (Wow someone either has some seriously high standards or zero imagination.  While obviously, you're not going to be replicating "the lift" in the dried out lake, I would be more than happy to stand at the gazebo, I remembered the chain posts even if they didn't and just to see the resort and Baby's cabin would make the trip worth it.  (And I'm not even a huge DD fan) Would I go this weekend for anniversary weekend, no but cripes, be happy you visited some movie history and stop whining!  *steps off of soap box*)

'80s pop stars: Then and now  (Sigh, don't even look)

Foo Fighters Rickroll festival with the real Rick Astley  (Warning: language but so worth it.  Once again, Dave Grohl is who I want to be when I grow up)

It's supposed to be cooler this weekend and I am ALL about that!  I plan on getting us the heck out of the house and enjoying it!

What's on your agenda this weekend?

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It'll never really be gone

I was thinking about my grandma yesterday more than usual.  I thought about what my answer would be if someone asked me what one thing I missed about her most.  Instantly I knew...her support.

Obviously, the Mr is supportive and is proud of me and will tell me so but long before he came along, there was Grandma.  She may have never been an overly doting grandma but I always knew she loved me but more importantly, she supported me.  When I was eight years old and my parents were divorcing, I decided I wanted to make my mom a dinner to make her feel better.  Grandma was coming over so I would make something for all of us.  I wanted it to be nice and I think I might've even been a nerd and drew an invitation for Grandma to give to her before she came over.  I made pork chops, I think potatoes and some kind of veggie or salad.  This isn't unheard of these days with kids growing up on Food Network but this was the early 80's and that's a pretty lofty dinner for a kid who had never made something so extravagant off nothing more than an idea.  Mom was still upset and was on the divorce diet of not eating.  So when it was dinner time, I think she took a bite or two and was telling me how good it was but got emotional and excused herself.  I'm sure Grandma wanted to follow her but she stayed with me and continued eating dinner.  Since I was a kid obviously I didn't know not to take offense that mom didn't want dinner and I think Grandma knew it would be more important to stay with me because imagine if both women got up and left and it's me and the crickets.  HA!  I wasn't mad at mom or anything but I worked hard on dinner and was seeking approval.  (Some things never change, do they Mr?)  She told me several times how good dinner was and she was impressed I wanted to make something so fancy.  It encouraged me that I should continue with my culinary ideas and is part of the reason I'm veering the direction I am.

Throughout my life, whenever I would talk to her about my thoughts, ideas and when some of those ideas turned into businesses, she was the first one telling me I could do it.  She was the one telling me I had a good head on my shoulders and she was never worried that I wouldn't make the right decision. When I got published for the first time with a photo, she asked where the magazine was carried and the day it came out, she ran to the store and called me when she got it.  It always made me so happy to know that she respected my decisions even if they weren't ones that she would make herself.  She knew my limitations and reasons why I'd need to not have people in my life that were close to her.  It was understood that I would never try to change her opinion toward these people because I didn't need that and it wouldn't be fair to ask but she also knew that I couldn't emotionally handle the drama those people had the potential to bring.  It was amazing to have the kind of unconditional love that I had from her because there are truly so few people who "get you", accept you and your flaws and love you anyway.

While I can't get that validation I so desperately would love to have, when I do something that I know she would be proud of, I still feel it.  It's not the same of course but it's nice to still feel that she would approve and be excited.  It's a big way that she's still with me.  Her love and support transcend all that she's going through and when she's gone, I can imagine it will still be the same which means she'll never really be gone.

Who was/is the one person (other than your spouse) that supported and loved you unconditionally?


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Discontinued

If you're a Trader Joe's shopper like we are, you are all too familiar with that word.  As I was looking for the chili hot jam that I've come to depend on for my healthier version of Chinese food, I got that sinking feeling.  I couldn't find it.  So I went up to the dude with the clipboard and asked if they still carried it.  "Aww, noooooo.  {feigned sympathy} Our little supplier couldn't keep up with the demand year round so we've had to knock it back to seasonal."  I know this as code for "you will never see this item again, sister." Look I know their whole stance on this discontinued crap "if we carried everything, we'd never be able to bring you awesome new items!"

Stuff your new items up your (insert orifice here), Joe.

Here's the graveyard of just some of our past faves:

I know there are at least five or six more but these are the ones that were favorites for years and shouldn't have been going anywhere so they were a particular kick in the gut.  Oh yeah and their chipotle hummus that they booted when the sriracha craze hit.  (Thank God that's mostly over)

It's to the point that one or two more crucial discontinuations and we'll end up being seasonal only customers.  Truly nothing is safe when they discontinue stuff they've had for 5+ years.  I tried making their chipotle potato bites and they were nothing like theirs.  They were the perfect side dish.  Oh look, here's a picture of them...

Sigh.  They were the perfect little bites.  Jerks.  I even remember asking about them and the excuse was they were "too popular."  Scuzi?  Yeah, that made sense.  Bitter, party of one.  We won't even go into the chicken arancini I can no longer easily throw together...

Okay, I'm getting more irritated.  LOL

What TJ's favorite(s) have they yanked on you?  (If you don't have a TJ's near you, it can be any product that's been discontinued)

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That was it?

So, who saw the eclipse yesterday?

I knew the cloud cover was going to probably poo poo the celestial event for me and I didn't really care one way or the other.  Honestly, I was just glad the news was focusing on something other than our world going to Hell in a flaming hand basket for a few hours.  

The Mr was kind enough to gleefully make me a card stock viewer...

You know so that I didn't burn out my retinas attempting to see anything if curiosity got the better of me.  (It wouldn't because seeing it live and ruining my vision isn't on my to-do list.)  I was more hoping that he could see it because he was so excited about it. I would've been in kindergarten when the last one happened but nothing sticks with me so if we did a similar project, it didn't implant in the memory bank.  The Mr has very vivid memories of it so I thought I'd humor him and try to watch it through his paper contraption.

I was able to see it in the reflection of my windshield and I never looked directly at it but through the phone enough to make sure it was focused and look away.  This was as eclipsed as it got:

Womp, womp.

Oh well.  It was something fun to break up the day.  The Mr called me from work to tell me about his experience which I'm sure he'll relay in the comments.

Did you get to see the eclipse?  Did you make any old school contraptions to view it?


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Whirling Weekend Recap

Happy Monday all!

It was quite a weekend of both extremes around here.  Friday I was finishing up some work that ended up taking me much longer than anticipated and I blew past the Mr's wishful cut off by about 5 hours so he could get to cleaning.  Oops.  There was nothing that could be done though, I had to power through.  When I was done, he got to doing his part and I did mine and then we had to workout.  Jessica Smith kicked our butts and we customized 3 miles on our favorite workout  (affiliate link) from her and before it was over I was already feelin' it!  After that we ate dinner and I had to make a list for the grocery of all of the stuff we needed for our cookout the next day.  When we got back, it was 10:00 pm and I had to start prepping.  The confidence the Mr had prior to us leaving on how far ahead we seemed was quickly shattered when I began my work.  I was done about 11:15 pm before he could really get in the kitchen to do his part.  It really stinks to love cooking so much but have a kitchen that barely supports another butt being in there with you at the same time.  Sigh.

Saturday I wanted to make sure we got out for a little bit and I even had a timeline put together of when I needed to start preparing some stuff.  We went out for lunch which was meh and that's the third weekend in a row of crappy food for me.  Do I seriously have to cook everything all the time to eat something good???  Then we went to a few stores and putzed around before heading back home.  I needed a nap, like not in the leisurely way, like in order to function.  I didn't actually sleep but I rested my eyes for 40 minutes and then it was time to get to it.  Of course my 20 year old buffet warmer decided to go kaput on me at the wrong time.  I transferred stuff to pots and pans and told the Mr to get it into the garage where it shall await certain death.  I was a tasmanian devil of activity for a good 2 hours even after our friends arrived.  An ill timed downpour meant it was muggy, our outdoor carpet was soaked and a gathering on the lanai would be out.  I was still able to use the grill to do burgers but that was all that happened out there.  We had burgers, dogs, potato salad, baked beans and corn on the cob.  They brought dessert and drinks.  It was a lot of work even with all I pre-made but I thrive on it especially when you see people enjoying what you did and go back for seconds and just get rub your belly full.  We had good conversation and gabbed until just after midnight.  Then the Mr and I gabbed until almost 2 am before I called it a day.

Sunday morning I didn't set alarms and I slept in until about 9:30 am for the first time in I don't know how long.  I was awakened a few times during the night with really bad leg cramps which meant the week was catching up to me.  I asked the Mr if he would be so kind as to dig out the demons and he did so I could walk.  He went down and cleaned up the kitchen the rest of the way and I made brunch.  When we were done,  he declared about 30 minutes later he was tired so I did a wee little bit of work.  When I saw how comfy he looked on the couch, I decided I'd grab a blanket and curl up.  I didn't sleep much but it was nice to just lay there and chill out.  We could've done a ton of other things but chose to be lazy since that's what weekends are for sometimes and it was quite heavenly...until his dentist robo-called us and I decided to start gabbin' with y'all.

So now, we're heading toward 6 pm, the day is gone and we still have a grocery refuel and workout to do and dinner to be eaten at some point.  There goes that chill feelin' I was reveling in.  Pffft.

Oh and I know I have smart readers so I don't have to tell you but just in case someone is tempted...don't look at the eclipse today if you value your eyesight at all.

What did you guys do this weekend?

(This post contains an affiliate link.  Should you be kind enough to buy through it, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you which allows me to keep the blog up and running.)

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What I'm Reading This Week #33

Howdy do all!  It's Friday, in case you needed reminding.  I didn't think you did but still.

I thought it was funny how the Mr took his car in for a recall and while it's "fine" (we won't go there), they told him his front brakes needed to be replaced and while the back brakes looked okay, they'd, I don't know, say a blessing or burn sage over them for $50.  So he could get all of this for the low, low price of $450.  After giggling maniacally, a tip of the hat and a firm "good day sirs", he left and took it to your general car brake/tire place and they said the back brakes looked brand new and they replaced the front brakes for the actual low, low price of $178.  NEVER take your car to the dealer for crap like that...ever.  Only take it there if you have a relative that is giving you some kind of perk or it's work that literally only they can perform.  Otherwise, you'll likely be much lighter in the wallet and leave feeling like you got drop kicked in the teeth.

How's about we drop kick right into...

Do These 4 Things on Monday Morning to Get Rid of Weekend Bloat  (In case you need it come Monday)

12 Tips to Help You Sleep Better Tonight  (Mama needs some zzz's yo!)

Here's How to Feel Energized — Not Destroyed — When You Work Out  (I need to roll before workouts.  I'm tired of feeling like the Tin Man 2 hours later)

Holy Sh*t — Halo Top Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Is Here and It's Unreal  (Based off of some of the reactions alone I'm going to have to try this)

14 Cardio Exercises You Can Do With a Kettlebell That Aren't Just Swings  (Definitely doing these!)

9 Things Only Type A People Will Understand  (A few don't apply but mostly...yeah)

Just Smelling Food Can Make You Gain Weight  (Well, I'm screwed.)

Cookie Butter Oreos Could Be Headed Your Way Soon  (Dear Lord, doubly screwed!)

12 Ways to Ship Anything More Cheaply  (Good tips!)

She’s 98. He’s 94. They Met at the Gym  (Courtesy of The Mr)

Grizzly Bears Followed This Hiker—And He Recorded the Whole Thing  (This would relieve any constipation I may have.)

Here's Why You Should Mute Your Phone When on Hold  (I cracked up b/c this actually happened to me last year when dealing with our insurance company.  Apparently when you call the "agent's" number they give you, you aren't talking to a local rep but a call center full of apathetic D bags who can't answer a simple question (question being "is this covered?" and his response being "file a claim"  Well I'm not filing a claim and getting a strike against my account if it's not even covered.)  I asked for a manager and he put me "on hold" and I promptly began mocking him in the same apathetic millennial voice I'd heard the past 10 minutes to the Mr and the guy was like "I CAN HEAR YOU!"  *trigger activated*  Needless to say he got an earful and no, I hadn't given him my name yet so no hold up in our claim.  Bwaahahaha!)

Bill Murray Relives a Role, Seeing Broadway’s ‘Groundhog Day’  (What a sweet story)

Well, we've got company for the first time...uh...this year?  Oh no, wait, we entertained one night in June so yeah, our 2ND gathering in a year.  We're on fire I tell ya!  *shame*  Still way too much to be done but it'll be so nice to have the house presentable and we'll see how long that lasts.

What do you have on the wish list for the weekend?

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Old school organization

I have been a workin' fool the past week (as opposed to the normal fool I am).  One thing that I think really helped me is having a little notebook to write my to-do's down in.

I know, this sounds like a simple thing and don't they have computers and smartphones and all that jazz for things like that but nope, not for this girl.  There is something about writing down what needs to be done and more importantly, literally crossing it off the list.  There is a satisfaction in it that I have long been missing.  It makes the chaos not feel so overwhelming and as a person who shuts down when that overwhelming feeling kicks in, I must say I rather like this new feeling of not looking for random scraps of paper or torn, stained post it notes to make updates from.  I hope this lasts...a girl could get used to this!

The Mr has been great in making sure he can keep up with what I'm cranking out and then you add that we're having company Saturday and the house needs to be cleaned up and he stepped up.  There has been a big shred pile that has been patiently waiting for weeks, months, almost a year to be put through the shredder.  You know that pile that you look at and go "eh, nope" and walk away?  Oh, maybe that's just me.  I can't count how many times I've cleaned that office and thought "there's no way it can ever get out of control again because really, how much do we use this other crap?"  Well apparently enough to use it wherever it needs to be used, then haul it back up, dump it on top of the table and not in its proper place until we're playing Jenga with it all.  So that's where we are with my workspace.  Jenga.  I need to tackle that since the Mr was kind enough to do the shredding which surprisingly must've taken up a crapload of space because of how clean it was there.  Wait, the closet door was also closed.  Oy...don't even wanna look.

I had to laugh because the Mr said they're doing a potluck at work next week and they wanted to have it on a day he was going to be in so I would make something.  My reputation precedes me.  So I'll see what others have signed up for and fill in.

We did Walk Away the Pounds on mute and had our own music on so it was a little peppier and I put more into it.  I made myself earn the turkey tacos.

On a side note, my usual is to have the Alternative Music Choice stations running all day and when Run by Foo Fighters (affiliate link) comes on, it makes me wish we still had the punching bag hanging up.  If you haven't seen the video, it is hilarious (and probably NSFW).  Sorry, it was on while I was typing so I figured I'd bring it up.

How do you keep on top of your to do list?

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