Friday Thoughts

Due to some Kix-related drama this week, I never got around to writing Wednesday Thoughts (which I suspect may be running its course). But I figure today is a good day to do some updates and some random thoughts (which is what W. Thoughts is usually for).

First and foremost, Ann suspects fraud in the voting process for the Kix poll. She's accused people of double voting on multiple computers, and suggested I demand that people who voted "yes" explain themselves. I, myself, voted yes and explained that my reasoning is that I think "kid-tested" is supposed to imply that the kids also approve. She didn't accept this.

For my Lost friends - what did you guys think of Lost this week? Also, if you haven't checked out the Lost Diary yet, you should. It's pretty funny and gives a good recap every week. I have a million and one questions for the writers of Lost, but there is one that I really, really want answered: What is the Smoke Monster and who controls it? When are they going to answer this!?

Moving on...due to the fact that one of you sent me a virus (kidding), I've had to sit at a certain skipper (who shall not be named)'s desk all morning while my computer is being de-bugged. This wouldn't be bad except that said skipper has one of these chairs:

Suffice it to say, it's been an interesting morning. I'm just trying not to pop it, as another co-worker did to his ball chair. He let his arm drop with a pencil in his hand and, POP! Hmm...come to think of it, maybe I should take all those push pins out of my pocket as a precaution.

Last thought of the morning: how old is too old to have a celebrity crush? Do you have one?

Kix Kontroversy

The last couple of days, Kathy has been bringing in Kix cereal for breakfast. Surprisingly, this has led to some unexpected controversy.

Unbeknownst to Kathy, Kix elicits a bad reaction from Ann who has been harboring bad feelings for the slogan "Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved" for years. Her argument is that it "makes no sense" and that she's not convinced that the kids actually like Kix just because they tested it. She argues that it's the equivalent of "Justin tested, Kathy approved" and she feels strongly that she can't be the only one out there who feels this way.

I told her I'd put it on the blog and get your feedback. I'll put a poll on the side. Obviously this is very important, so make your voices heard!

This diet is making me hungry

A couple things I've learned from dieting:

1) I like food.

2) I don't like feeling hungry.

So I'm looking for some healthy recipes - either for meals or for desserts. If you have any you'd be willing to share, I would so appreciate it! I'm not trying to imply that you should be on a diet. You look great, really. I just thought that maybe you might have some healthy recipes.

Ahem...moving on....

To get the ball rolling, here is a healthy recipe I've been enjoying lately. It's from a weight watchers cook book:

Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Wraps

cooking spray

4 oz. uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)

1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

2 tsp minced fresh ginger root

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup thinly sliced bok choy

1/2 cup thinly sliced red pepper

1/2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms

2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 leaves bibb lettuce

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add beef, ginger, and garlic; cook until beef is browned and onion is soft, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5-7 minutes. Add bok choy, pepper, mushrooms, and soy sauce; cook, stirring occasionally, until bok choy is wilted and pepper is tender-crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Spoon about 1/2 of beef mixture into each lettuce leaf.

(Serves one)

To serve 4, increase quantities to 1 lb beef; 1 cup chopped onion; 2 Tbsp ginger; 2 Tbsp garlic; 1 cup bok choy; 1 bell pepper; 2 Tbsp soy sauce; 8 leaves lettuce.

Cure for the winter blues

It seems we've reached that point in winter where we've all had enough. Winter was charming during the holidays, expected in January, and has now overstayed its welcome. I think we would be more tolerant of it if it hadn't been so awful to us in January. The news of 4-8 inches of snow tomorrow is, to say the least, unwelcome. Even the idea of staying inside wrapped up in a Snuggie or two isn't comforting enough for me at this point. I think it's time for happy thoughts.

The rest of this blog post is dedicated to things that make me (and hopefully you) smile. Let me know if you have any others.

First, have you seen the website failblog? It features pictures and videos of things that would be considered a failure (in a funny way, most of the time). Every now and then they post a "win." Here are a couple pictures from that site that made me laugh this week:



Why is there a pit of some sort under that slide!? And I love how the Kool Aid Man is saying "Oh yeah!" Classic. Since Ann is the one who originally showed me this site, I feel I should post her all time favorite fail:


Moving on, here's a hilarious video Kathy sent me. It's a montage of all the singing clips from the Office:



I think I should also share some of our altered pictures from work. The first is a picture of me on a date with John Mayer. I really like his music, but he kind of seems like a d-bag (excuse my french). (The scary thing is that the person originally in this picture was Miley Cyrus!) The second is a picture of Justin as a member of the Jonas Brothers. Sorry about the quality of the pictures - I took them with my cell phone and was laughing at the time so they're a little shaky. At the top of this post is a picture Justin and I found of Kathy from her high school year book.



Here's one of Kathy from when she was working with Magnum P.I. (He makes everyone who works with him grow a mustache.)


I feel better now. I think I may make a list on the side of this blog about things that make me happy. I'll need it for the next month (or more). I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I did!

Poor little bunny

I'm sick again. Yes, I know - I've already been sick this winter. That's already been pointed out to me - trust me, I don't get it either. As I've been laying in bed, coughing, blowing my nose, refilling the humidifier (well, I get out of bed for that last one), etc... I've been thinking about this hilarious video Kathy showed me awhile back called the "Man Cold." It's from a British TV show, and it's dang funny. Well, it's dang funny for women... I'm not sure what men think.



What do you guys think? Are men really worse than women when they're sick?

Friday the 13th

The title of this post "Friday the 13th" is meant to be read in your spookiest voice. (Did you go back and re-read it?) In all honestly though, I'm not superstitious and I think Friday the 13th is kind of fun. In my experience, nothing weird ever happens, but everyone seems to think it might. Or if something odd does happen, people blame it on the day.

I thought it would be fun to look up other superstitions in honor of the day. Here are some of the funnier ones I found on this website (link). However, I made some of these up. Any guesses as to which are made up?

Pictures of an elephant bring luck, but only if they face a door.

If you rearrange your kitchen magnets into a circle on your refrigerator and put your finger in that circle, your mayonnaise will never go bad.

If a young girl catches a ladybug and then releases it, the direction in which it flies away will be the direction from which her future husband will come. (I caught a ton of ladybugs as a girl and they all flew in different directions - this would explain why I'm not married yet. Why didn't anyone tell me!?)

If you knit one of your own hairs into a garment, it will bind the recipient to you.

If you sing along to "Don't worry, be happy" more than 10 times in your life, you will worry, and you won't be happy.

To drop a fork means a man is coming to visit. (Oops, I just dropped my fork!)

Eat a fish on Friday the 13th while reading a comic book and facing north and your hair will turn red when you're 50.

To cure a sty, stand at a crossroads and recite
Sty, sty, leave my eye
Take the next one coming by.

If you sneeze and cough at the same time, your eyes will change color in two weeks.

Happy Friday the 13th! Don't walk under any ladders today...

Wednesday Thoughts

Well, the toffee poll has ended and the results are in: toffee rules, Justin drools. Although I have to admit, I'm surprised four people said they don't like it! Who else hates toffee? Confess! (Sarah, I know you fessed up, but who are the other two?) I accused Justin of going to the library to vote against toffee on separate computers, but he assures me it wasn't him.

Proof that things seem funnier at night: as I was falling asleep last night, I was thinking about the song The Final Countdown and it occurred to me how funny it is that everyone always sings along with the synthesizer part in that song. I thought, "I have to put that in my blog! That is too funny!!" Then this morning when I remembered it I realized it's not that funny. But here it is the blog. Go figure.

Confession (this one's a doozy): I have been listening to a lot of Pandora at work lately and I've found that when the occasional Hannah Montana song comes on, I often (brace yourself) kind of (ready for it?) like it (the song, that is). I can't help it! Her songs are peppy! Although I'm not sure who I like better, Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus.

But I am proud to admit that I always flip past the Jonas Brothers songs. I'm sorry -I appreciate the amount of time they take to both curl and flat iron their hair, but their songs do nothing for me. At this point you might be wondering what station I've been listening to on Pandora. Keep wondering.

I sometimes wonder if I should write about the more serious parts of my life in my blog. I mean, I have plenty of other things I could discuss with you - I read a lot, I'm a news addict, I have problems, etc... But if you read my blog and don't know me well (or at all?) you might think that my whole life revolves around goofing around with my co-workers and obsessing about Snuggies, when in reality those things only make up about 97% of my life. (PS, I think my Snuggie will arrive today!)

I feel a little exposed now that I told you about Hannah Montana. Just know this: I really do like a lot of cool, well respected music. I'm just foolishly willing to put a few of my guilty pleasures on my blog. I hope we can still be friends. And I promise I only like a couple of her songs. Three at the absolute most. Maybe four.

The science of love

With less than one week to Valentine's Day, maybe you're like me: Valentine-less. I was talking to someone tonight about love, romance, and finding that special someone and he told me about a special he had seen on 20/20. In this program, they were talking with a relationship expert, Helen Fisher (here's a link to the article).

Fisher created a test to determine a person's personality for dating and marriage, which she believes explains a lot about who we are attracted to. She concluded that there are four basic personality types when it comes to dating. Click here to take the quiz and find out your "type."

If you don't feel like reading the article, here are some of the details and a brief description of the four types:

Explorers: risk taking

Builders: calm, traditional

Directors: analytical, tough minded, decisive

Negotiators: emotionally expressive, empathetic

When it comes to dating, her findings concluded that:

Explorers go for Explorers

Builders go for Builders

Directors go for Negotiators

Negotiators go for Directors

I took the test and discovered that I am a negotiator/explorer. And based on the description the quiz results gave of the negotiator, I'd say that's about right. So I guess I'll be spending this week looking for a director? (I'll allow that the search *might* take more than a week.)

I don't know if there is any truth to Helen Fisher's findings, but I figured with Valentine's Day this week, it might be fun to take a love/relationship quiz. (Or maybe it's putting salt in the wound?)

If any of my married friends take the quiz, I'd be curious to know how you match up with your spouse as far as the test results go. Also, if you know any single directors out there, send them my way. It's for science.

It's all relative

Cold. Cold. Cold. This week has been so cold. The light at the end of the tunnel is the promise of temperatures rising above freezing this weekend! Happy day. Of course they will dip back down, but a few days of semi-warmth is something to celebrate.

One of the things I love about this time of year is how our idea of what is warm is dramatically different from how we feel about warmth in late summer. In August, if the temperature dips below 65 degrees we put on our sweatshirts and complain about how cold it is. In February, if it gets above 40, people are walking their dogs in short sleeved shirts and shorts. If it gets above 50, we call it a heat wave, open all our windows and wonder if it's warm enough to go swimming.

It's all relative I guess.

But I've lived in Michigan long enough to know that we still have two solid months of winter ahead of us. Which brings me to my good news. I received notice this morning that my Snuggies have been shipped! I've been brainstorming all the things I can do in my Snuggies (I got the second one for free!). The commercial inspired me, but I've come up with some of my own ideas:

Go ice skating (I'll actually wear two when I go ice skating - one in front and one in back)
Wear it at the movie theater
Eat popcorn (or enjoy any snack, really)
Stay warm at work
Cheer on the Pistons at the Palace
Talk on the phone
Trip over it and fall down the stairs
Use a remote control for the t.v. (something I can't do with a blanket)
Go out to eat
Shop at Target without the bulk of my winter coat

Please let me know if you have any other ideas of ways in which I can take advantage of owning two Snuggies! Oh, and if you come over, you can definitely borrow the other one. We can play backgammon!

Wednesday Thoughts

This week is open enrollment for health care where I work. I have been very impressed with the scenarios people think up for the insurance rep who conducts some of the meetings (what if this, what if that...). Here's one I thought of that I'm going to ask at our next meeting:

"What if I'm at home, and I become violently ill and decide to go to the hospital, but on the way out of the house, I discover a fire in the kitchen. I try to put it out but burn my hand, which reminds me that I have to get to the hospital. As I'm running out of the house, I notice a mysterious stain on the carpet but don't have time to investigate. On the way to the hospital, I get in a car accident and break my leg. Which insurance covers the hospital stay? Homeowners insurance, car insurance, or my HMO?"

(One of the details in that story wasn't necessary but I thought the story needed a little mystery.)

I've been dealing with another serious situation at work this week: my coworkers have suffered a devastating loss. The loss of the volcano taco from Taco Bell. I never thought that I would be signing a petition to bring back a food item from a fast food chain - especially a food item I've never actually eaten (too spicy), but I can't watch Kathy and Justin suffer so much. I've never seen Justin like this, staring into space saying, "I remember the last one I ate. It was so good. I should have enjoyed it more. Sometimes when I ate them, I wouldn't even have a glass of water nearby." If you want to join the cause, here's a link to the petition.

In other news, I've always been suspicious of hamsters and now my suspicions have been confirmed:

I'll never trust a hamster again.

Lastly, I've been dealing with another problem this week. I can't get the Pepsuber song out of my head. Ever since SNL started insisting on making a nonstop series of Macgruber sketches, I've had a love/hate relationship with Macgruber. Mostly leaning towards irritation. At the end of the Super Bowl I saw the Pepsuber sketch and for some reason it cracked me up. Am I alone?

Dang Groundhog

Well, the groundhog saw his shadow, and you know what that means. Six more weeks of winter. When did we start trusting a groundhog anyway!? What makes them so trustworthy? Are they ever right? I guess I don't understand the "science" behind it. I think it's time Punxsutawney Phil steps aside and lets another animal start doing some weather predicting. Groundhogs can't be the only animals deeply in tune with weather cycles! Here are some suggestions for replacements.

Nairobi Nick:
Throw a giraffe in the lake. If he swims the long way across, six more weeks of winter. If he swims the shortest distance back, summer's coming early. If he looks really hilarious in the process, summer starts in four weeks.

Magic Hat Mike:
Ask a magician to point at his magic hat and say abracadabra! If a rabbit comes out, six more weeks of winter. If doves come out, summer comes early. If bats come out, Halloween is moved to August.

Mumbai Mary:
Charm a snake. If she comes out of the basket doing the rumba, six more weeks of winter. If she comes out doing the salsa, summer's coming early. If she bites you, suck the venom out.

Des Moines Darcy:
Put your cat in a tree. If the fireman who comes to rescue her charges you for his services, six more weeks of winter. If he asks you on a date, summer is coming early. If he asks you if your friend is single, summer and fall are flip-flopped this year.

If those don't work, here's the most accurate test. Go out on the lake in your boat. Put a worm on a hook and throw it in the water. If a fish eats that worm, it's already summer.