Exploration Trip Extravaganza!!!

We decided we wanted to start visiting interesting places around Texas. We want to get pretty pictures of this beautiful country and we'd like to have a bunch of fun along the way. So, that's what we're gonna do, starting today.

We're starting at one of my favorite places in this entire state- San Marcos! My fiance and I both went to school at Texas State (or better known as Southwest Texas) and that's where we met and fell in love. We both love it and have thought many times about moving back and starting a business.

(photo: www.ssmrocks.com)

For now, we'll settle for a fun filled day of pictures and good times. Woooooooo hoooooooooooo, Exploration Trips, here we come!!!

I Dream of Sang

Last night, I had a dream about my friend, Sang...

She was on a commercial and looked quite glamorous. She was dancing around (with an umbrella, I think) and 4 of her friends walked in all chic-like and started dancing with her (very eloquently, of course).

It was funny and crazy strange to be sitting on my dream couch watching my friend dance on my dream T.V. It was also kinda sad- in the dream, I wished I was dancing with them...

Sang, if you're ever on a commercial and they let you invite as many people as you want, let me dance with you.

=)

Work Is a Balancing Act

... if you're sitting on an ab ball all day.

(Photo: www.yogamaendy.blogspot.com)

That's not me but it looks kinda close because I've been sitting on a gray ball at work for 3 weeks now. And I have to say, there's something to it...

While looking for something while Googling, I found a picture of someone sitting on an ab ball at their desk. It looked cool and I thought I may be able to do some ab toning at work instead of day after day of bad posture. I did have my doubts about my ability to sit on it for 8 plus hours but figured I should give it a shot.

I asked my boss if it was cool, brought it in the next Monday, and I decided to test drive it on Saturday; I sat on it for 9 hours and was a believer by the end. My back didn't hurt like it usually did after a day of slouching at my desk- I was just sore from using back muscles I hadn't used in a looooooong time. Nice.

Now, it's been 3 weeks and it's gets easier everyday. The first week, my back was sore everyday- not painful sore (like before) but more like an 'I just exercised by butt off' sore. I definitely recommend it. I think I was the first at work to bring the ab ball but a friend followed suit and I believe more are starting to see the light. Someone told me their doctor said it was really good for their back and recommended that they sit on one as well. Pretty neat.

What do you get outta it?

1) Back strengthening which equals better posture- there's no where to lean and it's not so easy to slouch.

2) All day ab toning- there's no way to NOT use your abs because you have to hold yourself up and use your abs to move at all times.

3) All day leg toning- again, there's no way to NOT use your legs because you have to hold yourself up and use your legs to move at all times.

4) Focus and fun! You're bouncing around while focusing on work (instead of back pain and poor circulation problems) and having an absolute ball! Get it? Hehe.

It's great. Do it. And check out this woman's ball story and this awesome article on the ball.

Legal

It's official.

Jer is 21.

So......

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Jeremmmmmmy, Happy birthday to yoOOOooOOOOoOooOOooooOOOooooOOOoooOOoOu!

I didnt get to finish this yesterday! I am so ashamed and may never forgive myself.

Happy Birthday to the coolest bro-n-law in the world. You rock our socks off.

Toothbrush Lifts

Wanna get in some leg and butt toning twice a day while doing something you already do (or should be doing) everyday?

Do leg lifts or squats while brushing your teeth!

I do leg lifts in the morning and in the evening while I brush my teeth. I do 30 to the side on each leg and then 30 to the back on each leg. That's a total of 60 on each leg each time and a total of 120 a leg everyday- all while I brush my teeth!

(photo: www.fitsugar.com)

(photo: www.health.howstuffworks.com)

Also, if you make sure to do at least 30 to the side and to the back on each leg, you'll ensure that you've brushed your teeth for 2 minutes. Woo hoo!

I saw some major difference in about a month. =) Do it. Good luck!

Wasting Time?

Our brief time on this earth and it's all so unknown. It's so strange- we're blind to all and are susceptible to any and everything. We have some control but in the greater scheme of things, we really don't. No matter your religion or lack thereof, you can't deny that anything could happen to anyone at anytime.

I constantly worry and am continuously worrying about worrying. I'll never know when it'll be the last time I see someone I love...

Lately, I've been thinking about how I approach life and how the world approaches life... we should enjoy every second, we should make the most of each and every day... but do we follow through? I'd like to think that the majority of the world lives for today and is blessed by every moment they have on this beautiful earth, but it sure feels like it's slowly slipping away...

Let's change that!

All These Dang Questions...

How do you know which way to go, what to do, how to be?

How do you figure out what's best in life?

Life is a pile of questions upon questions and the answers are never really known.

Weird.

Rip-off in the Skyy for Maaama *amy sings*

#1- American Airlines charged Mom $150 to change her flight date. It's even more crappy that it was $50 at the time of her original flight but they charged her $100 more when she went to get the new ticket.

On top of that:

#2- American Airlines chaNged Mom's ticket price even though she had to pay a cancellation fee- they charged her another $150!!

So all together, my Mom paid $300 more and the total cost of her ticket was more than $600!!!

Ridiculous.

If you think that's pretty flippin' ridiculous, don't fly with American Airlines* and please tell EVERYONE you know!!!!!! (*American Airlines- the actual airline, not American in general.)

Bye-Bye Cokes, Hello Stevia!

I lost 20 lbs!!!

Yep, 20 whole pounds and it's all thanks to my new diet. I'm on the 'No Coke Diet'. Well, I guess it's more of the 'I'm Not Gonna Drink 5 Cokes A Day Diet'. In 2 and a half months, I've only had 14 cokes and the weight has dropped off.

A few months ago, a couple of coworkers shared some really good soda facts with me. The thing that got me was that if you drink ONE soda a day for a week, you'll have gained 1 pound at the end of the week. I did some of my own research and decided that a pound a week OR MORE was definitely not worth the sodas I was consuming.

I can honestly say that I had a coke problem. Seriously.

All soda is extremely bad for you, and most people don't know that diet sodas or sodas with any kind of artificial sweetener are worse than a regular coke. Aspartame decomposes into formaldehyde, methyl alcohol, formic acid, diketopiperazine and other toxins and we're fatter because aspartame suppresses seratonin and makes us crave carbohydrates. Always look at what you're buying- if the ingredients include Aspartame, Sucralose or Saccharine, DON'T BUY IT! Please note that Sucralose is totally different than Sucrose (table sugar). Check out this article on Diet Coke and Aspartame. Pretty scary.

We're always told two sides of a story and who really knows what to believe but me personally... I think I'll believe that the natural sweetener is safer than one made with chemicals. What about you?

No worries though! Please look into this awesome sweetener called Stevia. It's a natural sweetener and is way cool. I've been using it for quite a while now and have decided there's no good reason to use anything else. The two kinds I use are SweetLeaf and Stevia in the Raw.

SweetLeaf is awesome and is loaded with fiber!!!!! I highly recommend it.

Sweetleaf® Sweetener™ Facts:

• Stevia extract comes from the leaves of the Stevia plant
• Sweetleaf® Sweetener™ is the only all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener with a zero glycemic index
• Quality leaves are 30 times sweeter than sugar in their unprocessed form
• Pure glycosides that are extracted from the Stevia leaves are 250 to 400 times sweeter than sugar
• Contains no chemicals like sucralose or aspartame (found in other name-brand artificial sweeteners)
• The only Stevia sweetener to acquire GRAS status (FDA designation for substances determined to be safe in foods by competent scientific research)
• Sweetleaf® Sweetener™ is pure from plant to packet – the process used to concentrate the sweet components uses nothing but purified water – no chemicals, additives, enzymes or anything artificial.

Common Worldwide Uses:

• Sweetener in soft drinks, beverages, desserts, sauces, yogurt, ice cream, cereals, toothpaste, mouthwash and baked goods
• Any recipe that calls for sugar or sugar substitute

Sweetleaf® Sweetener™ products include:

• 50-count box of individual packets
• 100-count box of individual packets
• More great products coming soon!

Where to find Sweetleaf® Sweetener™:

• In the sweetener or natural product aisle of your local grocer
• Health and natural food stores
• Online at www.sweetleaf.com

For more information on Sweetleaf® Sweetener™:

Wisdom Natural Brands
1203 W. San Pedro St.
Gilbert, AZ 85233
(800) 899-9908
www.sweetleaf.com

The Twilight Craze...

I love, love, love, love the Twilight book series.

It's so cute. It's lighthearted and mysterious. It's simple and fun.

If you like Harry Potter, you'll probably like Twilight. I don't care what Mr. King thinks of the lovely Stephenie Meyer; I think she's fantabulous.

Look 'em up and see what you think.

Update: My Mama Kicked Shingles' Butt!

Mom informed me that the age to be able to get the vaccine has dropped to age 50! (It was 60.)

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO! Go out and get it (if you're 50) and tell everyone you know!

Keep your fingers crossed that they keep working on the vaccine!

Oh, What a Dream!

Dreams are the coolest.

I love dreams and I love dreaming.

I usually remember most of my dreams. And if not, it's still cool to have that feeling that I had a really awesome dream the night before. If you don't already, put some paper and a pen by your bed so it's easy for you to turn over and write a couple of lines after you wake up from a really intense dream.

I've decided that it may be beneficial to blog some of my crazy fantastic dreams in the hopes that I'll start writing all of them down and maybe it will be easier to remember all together.

Wouldn't that be special?!?

Wooo hooooooooo! Dreams, here I come!!!!

A New Set of Paints

I love art. I've loved to draw since I was itty bitty and have loved every corner of the arts for as long as I can remember. Drawing, dancing, acting, music, singing, painting, sculpting, photography. It's my passion.

I've never taken any painting classes but I've used acrylic paints for a long time to have a little bit of fun here and there. I've never done any serious watercolor paintings and honestly, I didn't know there was any special kind of technique.

I tried my hand at it again and had an awesome time drawing my magical land.

Later, I found out that I have the cheapest set if paints and have no idea what water coloring is all about. Hehe. Luckily, Jon got me a watercolor how-to book for Christmas so I'll be a pro very soon!

Go out, get some tube watercolors (supposedly the best kind), and try it out! More details coming soon!!!!

Googles & Roundhouses & Chucks, Oh My!

I'm still laughing.

I went to Google something today (go figure) and wound up almost peeing my pants.

The search for Play Foam continues and I wanted to Google 'find Play Foam' but didn't get that far before I had to stop and take a screen shot... and a couple of breaths.

Chuck Norris- the third down when searching 'Find' on Google. Flippin' hilarious... Rock on Chuck, rock on.

Floam-ish Lover

That's right... I'm obsessed with a new Floam-like substance.

What is Floam, you ask? Well, it's just the most amazing invention ever invented!!! It's this cool material that's made up of tiny little Styrofoam balls and some sort of goo that holds them together. It's kind of a mix between Play-doh and modeling clay but unlike most other Play-doh-like substances, it doesn't smell or leave any residue.

A friend of mine had some at work and he gave me the last little bit of his. I fell in love. It's the coolest thing to have when you sit on the phone all day and it's awesome to play with at work because you dont have to go wash your hands after using it. I was super excited to be introduced to the wonders of Floam... but I have a tiny little ball and am desperate to get some more.

The problems arise here...

Problem #1 - The original Floam had some major problems and was recalled in 2006. See here. I was very upset when I read all the reports; I fall in love with this stuff and then I find out it could be toxic. Not cool. So, I started doing some more research and realized that I may have something different than the original Floam. Apparently, Floam has been known to stick to carpet, is a bit liquidy when first opened, and needs a bit of a warm-up before it's ready to go. The stuff I was given is totally different. I obviously started trying to find the new and improved version of Floam.

And I found it- it's called Play Foam and I'm in love.

(Photos: www.playfoam.com)

Problem #2 - I found it but I didn't. I can't find it at any store. Jon and I have been to 5 places looking for this Play Foam stuff. Five different places!!! I've seen it online but I hate ordering things from weird little internet sites... it creeps me out.

While looking, I've bought Moon Sand, Glitter Lava, and Fantasma Foam-all in hopes they would be similar to Play Foam. None where anything like it but Fantasma Foam is the closet of the three and is pretty cool in it's own right. It's more like a mix between Silly Putty and Silly String and it's pretty entertaining.

(Photo: Anders Frick - www.spectrum.ieee.org)

I found it at Terra Toys on the 5th and final trip to find Play Foam and I'm quite enjoying it. Terra Toys is one neat store... even if they didn't have my Play Foam.

(Photo: http://allandale.typepad.com/allandale/2007/01/)

Still looking for Play Foam... To Be Continued...