A Big High-Five to Ben Franklin

I am quite a fan of POWER......and by POWER, I mean ELECTRICITY. It is incredible to think of how many of the things that we do every day require electricity. I was reminded of the "don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" idea.

Yesterday my power went out around noon and since I slept in and had only been up for about an hour, I hadn't really accomplished much other than eating breakfast. The first estimation by Rocky Mountain Power was that power should be restored by 5pm. Then it was updated to midnight and right before I went to bed, they were now saying 3am. Although power was restored somewhere between 12:30-1:00am it pretty much ruined the productivity of my day. Although I did take a bath by candlelight while I still had some hot water, I didn't even attempt to do my hair since there were no lights, blowdryers, curling/straightening irons, etc. Even with my windows open, because of the gloomy, snowy, overcast conditions outside, it was pretty dark inside my house.

Because almost everything on my "to-do" list for my Saturday required some power, I decided to "use those lemons to make some lemonade" (although I really don't like lemonade.....you get where I'm going with this). I turned on my gas fireplace and curled up in a blanket with a book and a flashlight. I pretty much read the whole day (and into the evening) and then just went to bed early. Although it wasn't very productive, it was a pretty fun day. Little House on the Prairie style.

Let's Talk Vampires . . . . .

All of the vampire talk right now seems to revolve around "Twilight" and whether one is "Team Jacob" or "Team Edward." Although I did read the books and see the movies, I wasn't blow away with this
story. I have yet to figure out what is so fabulous about the shy, clumsy teenager that has two guys fighting over her?? Just for the record.....and if I had to pick, I am definitely TEAM JACOB. In addition to the fact that I find Taylor Lautner much more attractive than Robert Pattenson, I would much rather cuddle up with a warm body than cold stone.

Although I never did see "Interview With A Vampire" and I don't find either man very attractive in this picture.....the theme of this post is VAMPIRES, so go with me on this.

The vampires that were popular when I was growing up were Brad Pitt & Tom Cruise. It was love at first sight for me with Tom. I mean....who didn't LOVE Maverick?? I have ALWAYS preferred Tom over Brad.

Even in his weird moments, he has remained at the top on my list. I recently saw him on the Jay Leno show promoting his new movie "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and man, (what is it.....25 years later??) he still has it! And what a charming smile!

Tour de France......here I come

So this is my most recent "big ticket" purchase.

I just bought me a bike. I actually don't get to pick it up until later this week, but I am excited to get out and do some riding.

It was fun going bike shopping and test drive all of the different bikes.

This is the one that I ended up going with, and I LOVE it!!

I actually was a little worried to get on the first one and take it for a spin, but you know what they say...."It's like riding a bike," right? So I jumped right on and I did okay until I tried to stop. It has been years since I have ridden a bike and on the bikes I have ridden in the past I really had to squeeze the brakes pretty good to stop......not so much on these new, fancy bikes I found out. I put the brakes on a little to hard and had a slight stumble. Luckily I recovered well and caught my balance, but felt a little silly in front of the friend I was with. Hello, my name is Trisha, I am 34 years old and don't know how to ride a bike.

There are soooo many great places to ride in the area. I am looking forward to some fun rides and maybe I will also burn a few calories in the process.

A Much Needed Laugh On A Cold Rainy Day

Trisha's Top 10 . . . . .

. . . . . favorite inventions, that is.

So in no particular order..... Here are some things that either make my life easier or much more enjoyable. (Drum roll is optional........)

10. Yoplait Smoothie Mix/Blender Bottles

This stuff is yumm-meee!! I love that it is a fast, nutritious breakfast that I can make and take to work with me since I never make time to eat breakfast at my house before work. (See #6 for one of those reasons). Each package is suppose to make 2 servings, so I open the package and split it up, putting the 2nd serving in a zip-loc bag for the next day. I also make it with more milk (about 2 cups), after blending in the blender, I pour it into one of my fabulous BLENDER BOTTLES and VOILA I am off to work.

9. Swiffer Duster

When I was younger, among other chores, we had "Saturday's Work" to do before we could play or do anything else on the weekends. With 4 kids in the family, we rotated between Vacuum, Dust, Bathrooms, & Kitchen. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOATHE dusting!! I would always volunteer to trade any of my sisters their jobs if I got stuck with dusting that week. No question.....I would much rather clean a bathroom than dust. Hence my love affair began upon discovering the SWIFFER DUSTER.

I STILL hate dusting, but at least now I do dust, once in a while, thanks to favorite invention #9.

8. Velcro Rollers

I was born with fabulous hair!! Okay, so it took me a couple of years for it to really show, but I think that I might have had the thickest hair of all my sisters until........the summer of '86. At the age of 9, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I had a tumor at the base of my spine. One month after being diagnosed I had a Grand-Mal Seizure. Anyway.....because of my seizure and after further testing, they decided that in addition to radiating my spine they would also radiate my head. Normally, when a cancer patient loses their hair, it is said to come back thicker, darker and curlier. However......lucky me......due to the radiation to my head, instead of coming back in thicker, MY hair is MUCH thinner and SUPER FINE.

Sorry for the novel, but the point of my story here is that these rollers (and some serious backcoming/ratting.....whatever the kids are calling it these days) are often the only way that I can get any volume out what CANCER chose to leave me for hair. I think I had more hair just in my bangs back then than I do on my whole head now.

(This picture was taken right before all of my hair fell out).

7. JVC Marshmallow Ear Buds

I don't know if I have really small ears or what, but most ear phones/ear buds hurt my ears after wearing them longer than 5 minutes......UNTIL I found these little beauties!!! Love, love, love the marshmallows!!!! Rice krispie treats aren't bad either.

6. Eddie Bauer Down Pillow for Side Sleepers

I LOVE my sleep!!!! My mom has said that from the day I was born I always needed my sleep. I am pretty picky about pillows and can sympathize with GOLDILOCKS who knew exactly what she wanted.....not too soft, and not too hard, but JUST RIGHT.

5. Pilot PRECISE V5 (Extra Fine) Rollingball Pens

I am VERY picky about pens. The finer the tip, the better. I like the needlepoint, liquid ink pens. These little numbers are currently my favorites. I find that I tend to have better hand writing when I am using a pen I like writing with.

4. YOSHIDA'S Gourmet Sauce

I was introduced to this tasty condiment many years ago and it has been a staple in my house ever since. I get it at Costco and then poor it into a small plastic clear squirter bottle (like the red & yellow ketchup/mustard bottles you see at picnics). This sauce is fabulous for chicken/rice bowls, stir-fry veggies, etc.

3. Keyless Entry on Cars

If I had a quarter for every time I called a locksmith because I had locked my keys in the car, I wouldn't be able to retire, travel the world or do a whole lot for that matter, but I would have quite a quarter collection, maybe even a roll of quarters. However, my last two cars have been equipped with keyless entry, and because I only lock my car when my keys are in my hand, I haven't called a locksmith since.

2. NIVEA Lip Care Products

I have always had dry/chappy lips (I know.....I should probably be drinking more water but we can save that topic for a whole separate post). Anyway, I have tried Blitex, Carmex, Chapstick, Burt's Bees, Softlips, Mary Kay Satin Lips, Avon......you name it, I have probably tried it. Some moisturize pretty well, but taste nasty. Some taste good, but don't seem to moisturize worth a darn. This is my new favorite.

1. George Foreman Grill

Although these are listed in no particular order, I put this one at #1 for a reason. It has probably been on my favorite list for the longest. I love that I can go from frozen boneless, skinless chicken to a delectible dinner in less than 10 minutes with this baby. And it does soooo much more than just chicken.

So there you have my list of faves.....Now feel free to share some of your favorite inventions.