THE HOLIDAYS - 2009

I know that this post is a little bit late, but "better late than never," right?

I spent about 10 days in Richfield with my parents over the holidays. It was such a nice break although I am paying for it now that I am back at work. It was just me and my parents for a couple of days, but all of my sisters and their families did make an appearance and we were ALL together for a couple of days with the exception of Laura's husband who had to stay in Oklahoma.

Nothing too exciting, but we played some games (including the Wii), watched some movies and the whole entire fam even went bowling. It had been a while since I had been down to JORGENSEN LANES. Man how the memories came flooding back. I never was a very good bowler and was joking that I usually don't score over 50.....my score was 49. Maybe that was self-fulfilling prophecy. I will practice up with the wii and I am sure I will be a pro in no time.

It was soooo fun to spend so much time with my nieces and nephews They are soooo darn cute and funny. I hate that they live so far away and that I only see them a couple of times a year. They are all growing up soooo fast. After checking my shoes for any height advantage, Dallin keeps telling me every time he sees me that he is going to be taller than me the next time he sees me. I keep convincing him that I am still taller than him (only by about 2 inches...Yikes) and that he will never pass me up because I am still growing as well. In reality, it won't be long and the kid is only 8!

My favorite gift was a 7-day, all expenses paid trip to the Marriott Ko Olina Resort in Oahu, Hawaii the first week of April with my parents. My sister Debra will also be joining us. I only hope that I can stick to my New Year's Resolutions and lose enough weight before then so that I am not mistaken for a beached whale.

I hope that you had a fabulous Christmas and that 2010 will be a great year for all of you.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?....

....that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet....

My last car was named "REMINGTON," (Remmy for short), but when I bought my new car, I never could come up with the "right" name for my new ride. I knew it was a "him," and that "he" needed a very dignified, British or Royal sounding name. I considered several, but in the end, came up with nothin'.

I forgot about it and thought nothing more on the matter until a friend just got a new car and announced what she had named it. It was then that I realized that my car has now been nameless for 1 1/2 years........until today.
I have heard about parents leaving the hospital and have still not decided on a name for their new baby, but 1 1/2 years? Come on. That is ridiculous.
Okay, I realize that I might be the ridiculous one thinking that a car really needs a name. They don't, but single girls with no husband, bf, or kidlets apparently find other random things to preoccupy themselves with.
So it is now official. I have decided on EDMOND. After picking this name, I was pleasantly surprised to learn it's meaning.

Origin of the name Edmond: Derived from the Old English Eadmund (wealthy protection) ,a compound name composed of the elements ēad (prosperity, fortune, riches) and gar (a spear): hence, "spear of prosperity."

So there you have it. Was that really reaching for a some new blog post material, or what?

I WISH I WAS A LOSER....

....... the bigger, the better.
Over Thanksgiving, my family went on a few small hikes and it was sad that I was getting winded and my 60 year old father was running around scaling rocks like he was in high school. My dad is amazing! He still runs almost everyday. I don't know how he can get out of bed at 6 am to go and run in the freezing cold. Crazy man!
I love watching "The Biggest Loser" and am always amazed at how much those very overweight contestants can do. I have always said that if I were ever on that show (I am not quite there yet)I would pick Bob over Jillian to be my trainer because I think Jillian would make me cry. She does know how to get results though.
I just checked this DVD out at the library thinking that if I really like it I might buy it. I figure that I can handle Jillian on a DVD. If she makes me want to cry, I can just turn her off.
It has 3 - 20 minute workouts on it. Level 1-2-3 of circuit training (weights, cardio & abs). It claims you can "lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days. I would be thrilled to lose 10 or even 5 lbs. so I thought I would give it a try.
Last night was day #1. I know that I am out of shape, but how hard can 20 minutes be?? WOW was I surprised!! This workout kicked my butt!!! I usually don't start feeling sore for 48 hours, but I am already feeling it and am wondering how I am going to be able to do it again tonight. I do love that feeling though.

I think that most of the exercise videos work and will produce results, but the key is to do them and be consistent. This is my problem. They don't do any good just sitting on the shelf.

REBATES.....and all of the fine print

(This cartoon is kind of small (stretching it just made it blurry), but I thought it was hilarious).

Maybe you have noticed as well, but I think these rebate people are getting more and more sneaky.

For starters.....rebates are sneaky to begin with. Companies lure you into buying something with the notion that you are getting a fabulous deal because of the great rebate that is offered. It may very well be a great deal if you want to take the time to jump through all of the "rebate hoops" and actually send it in. But I bet there are MANY who forget them, lose them, or simply just never get around to filling out all of the forms and sending them in.

For years I have been buying my contacts from my doctor's office and there is always a rebate to send into to ACUVUE. I have never had any problems with their rebates and always recieve my rebate check very quickly. However, this year I did not receive a check. Apparently, the new rebate tactic is pre-paid VISA cards. I had heard that Verizon has started doing this, but this was the one that I had received.

I would definitely prefer to go to the bank and get my $100 cash, but regardless I will make sure I use the full $100 on my card. Heck, I can blow through that in one purchase. I think these companies are planning on people losing the cards before they have used all the money or forgetting they have them until after they expire (mine expires after a year). It also came with some limitations. You can't use them for cash advances at an ATM, your can't "pay-at-the-pump" at gas stations (the clerk has to run the card inside for gasoline purchases), etc.

If you have direct deposit and never go to the bank it maybe you would prefer this method, but I just think it is a way to be sneaky and try to prevent people from receiving their full rebates.

MY PERCEPTION OF THE PROVERBIAL "WAGON"

Tonight I was going through all of the pictures on my computer and burning them to CDs so that I can free up some space on my computer. After looking at hundreds of pictures of me in such a small time frame, I was disgusted with what I saw. This got me thinking about really focusing on and conquering this weight that I have been trying to get rid of for a long time now.
A while back I mentioned the website sparkpeople.com that I have been using for a couple of months. They have message boards where people can ask questions, post success stories, help motivate, etc. There have been a lot of posts lately of people "falling off the wagon" and wanting to get back on. This, along with tonight's pictures staring me in the face, got me thinking. The following is something I posted on sparkpeople.

Until recently, I thought of the proverbial "wagon," that everyone [myself included] keeps falling off of, as my worst enemy. While on the wagon I could not eat whatever I wanted, eat however much I wanted, be lazy, I had to exercise which I thought of as torture, etc. Why would I want to ride that? It just made me miserable. In fact, I often found myself standing so close to the side of "the wagon" just hoping there would be a little bump that would knock me off and help me to rationalize my fall. (It is my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, I have been really good so I deserve this, or whatever. I will get back on and start being good tomorrow).

I have recently changed the way that I look at "the wagon." Now "on the wagon" is where I want to be. The wagon is not a bad thing. It is what will help me [and you] to feel better, become healthy, and more attractive. Who doesn't want that??? It is hard to reach your destination if you are not on "the wagon." Yes it will take work and it might be a slow ride at certain points along the road, but the results are 150% worth it. So I say to myself [and to everyone]... hop on that wagon, stay away from the edges (temptations), hang on and enjoy the ride. When those bumps come along, nothing will be able to knock you off.

If you do fall off just get back on. Ü