I've Changed A Little

I've said it before...."Reality TV can change your life." It seems that not only has my life been changed but my @$$ has really...really...really changed. Here is a recent photo of me showering....cover your eyes if you have a weak stomach!!

When a person looses weight, I have no freakity-freakin idea where it goes but when you gain weight it all ends up back there. Here is a brief excerpt from my last doctor appointment.

Nurse: So, what are we here for?

Sharon: (think to myself..."we"? this isn't going to be good she thinks there is two of me) Just a check -up.

Nurse: OK. Please step on the scale.

Sharon: What happens if you need more of those metal sliding things?

Nurse: Oh, (insert long drawn out sigh) you're up from last time you were here.

Sharon: (think fast, think fast) Well, this isn't the room I normally use. It's probably just a variation in the scales. Would you write that down so the Doctor knows that is more than likely the reason for my "perceived weight gain"?

Nurse: Ah..sure. The Doctor will be in shortly.

Doctor: Well, Hello! They have you in the baby room today.

Sharon: Yes, they do. This isn't the room I normally use so I'm sure that is why my weight is up. It's just a difference in the scales.

Doctor: (insert stern look with raised left eyebrow) Well, your normal room is open now. Let's move over there (as he picks up my chart and heads for the door).

Sharon: SHIT!

Doctor: Step on the scales.

Sharon: (insert long drawn out sigh)

Doctor: hhhmmmmmm....these scales are one pound more than the others!

Sharon: Oh, reeeaallyy?

The nurses thought he should have deducted a few pounds from the total just for my creativity. The story is sad but true, folks. I'm going public with my weight reduction efforts. I hope that unlike the false promise of updating my blog twice per week, I will deliver positive results once a month of weight loss as recorded by my family physician. Public humiliation is more than I can stand so I'm hoping this will be motivation!

Otherwise...New Year is off to a good start...oh, and Christmas ROCKED!...and Thanksgiving was OK....and Halloween was the usual....and that should catch you up from my last post.

Whew! Now that the anxiety is over and I'm BAACKK! I'll be more diligent.

Next doctor appointment and weigh in...Friday, February 12.

Reality TV Can Change Your Life and Other Random Thoughts

It's true. Some may not believe it but you can learn valuable life lessons from even the most mindless reality TV program. For instance, the tools on Tool Academy last night were working for their Appreciation Merit Badge. Appreciation...hhhmmmm.....what does Webster have to say about it?

Main Entry: ap·pre·ci·a·tion
Pronunciation: \ə-ˌprē-shē-ˈā-shən, -ˌpri- also -ˌprē-sē-\
Function: noun
Date: 1604
1 a : judgment, evaluation; especially : a favorable critical estimate b : sensitive awareness; especially : recognition of aesthetic values c : an expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude2 : increase in value

I'm going out on a limb here by assuming most of my readers are females. How many times a day do you feel like you are not appreciated...at home, at work, by your spouse, by your boss, by your kids, by your neighbors, by your friends and on and on? Before going any further let me tell you, "I appreciate you!!"

If Glenda the good witch would have put on an evil pair of shoes before she left for work in the morning, would she have flying monkeys too?? because I could really use some flying monkeys right now to go after a few folks and slap them around a little (lot).

I was crafty yesterday.

The scrapbooking tote bag is finished. I saw someone with a bag made with Tri Kappa Cross Key magazines and thought it would be a great project to try. It was more complicated than I thought...but it's done! Don't look too closely at the seams....yikes!

AND! I finished up the hard cover book album. The hook on the side is a D-ring hanger. Bill knew exactly what I was looking for....as I expected. The instructions for completing this album were in the Scrapbooks Etc magazine this month. It seemed like a cool project and it was relatively simple. Had dinner at Gino's East of Chicago tonight. The deep dish pizza is oh-so yummy. Definitely 4.0 stars...definitely.


whoop...gotta go...more mindless TV...Real Chance of Love 2!

Farewell, Summer

Even though autumn is my favorite season, it's always sad to say good-bye to summer. This year seems even worse since I don't feel like I have much to show for where all the days went.

We spent a lot of time working on and crusing around in the 56. The highlight of the summer with the 56 was probably Goshen's First Friday event in July. The city streets were opened up to cruise. Bill grew up in Elkhart in the 80's so cruising was a BIG pass time for him.Malissa and I took a road trip in August to the Scrapbook Expo in St. Charles, IL. We had lots of fun, had a chance to hang out with Dawn and bought a couple things.If you know only two things about me, one is probably that I HATE fake purses and being asked if my purses are real....or being asked if my anything is real. For the record, missy, YES! my boobs are real. How is it that every festival, car show, fair, etc has these!!?? This was one of 4 tents selling fake purses at Auburn this year.We didn't make it to Kansas this summer for Ashley and Allison's birthday party but we got to see them over Labor Day weekend. The gang flew into town for the ND football game and on Sunday we went down to the Blueberry Festival. The girls had a great time eating, riding rides and playing on the playground. It was a little tough for us to look at anything but thankfully most of the booths have the same stuff year after year. I think this is one of the girls favorite poses.

I've been able to keep up with the monthly AA kits. I intended to post my project every month...yay right! Here is my project for the August kit. Look! It's that pose again. These girls are so adorable it's fun to work with their pictures. When I walked by the dining room window this morning, I noticed these giant red blooms in my yard. Years ago, my mom and dad brought a start of what we knew as a "Star Bush" from my grandmother's home in Alabama. The plant grew bigger every year and was always covered with these big, beautiful red flowers. When Bill and I bought our first house, I took a start from my mother. When we moved into our current house, I moved my plant. We moved it again when we put in our new back patio. For the last couple summers, I've been worried I killed the plant so imagine how excited I was on the last day of summer....to see these flowers.

Dinner and a Movie

Friday night we took a drive to Culver. I've heard how nice it is but have finally seen it for myself. We drove around the lake and decided to have dinner at Papa's Italian Restaurant. I checked out the website and learned they are supposed to have the best pizza in Indiana! Well, we had prime rib. It was pretty good...still like Maxi's best! The restaurant itself was nice. It was comfortable. The staff was friendly and oh so important to Lover, they kept his glass full! I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars.

The city park was really nice. It would be an awesome place to have family pictures taken!

Culver has a movie theater! Who knew? This old, little place even has the window out on the sidewalk to buy your tickets. Public Ememies was playing. Lover has been wanting to see it and we both thought it would be really cool to see it in this old theater. I snapped a quick pic.

Thank goodness Johnny Depp and Christian Bale were in the movie....Christian Bale with a southern accent no less....because the movie wasn't what I expected. I really thought there would be more action. Anyway, another Hoosier gone bad. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

So, 3 out of 5 dinner and a movie.

Did I mention the movie started at 9:45? We got home at 1:00! We decided we're way too old to do that very often!

I always worry about the baby dog when we leave and end up staying gone longer than I planned. I ran in the house and expected to find him doing the pee-pee dance....and found this.

As I mentioned in my 10 reasons for not blogging in a while, I had a birthday. I had cupcakes. I had a pink tiara. It was good. And, then I got these!

I have been stalking these devilish flip-flops ever since I first saw them at DSW. I checked the store every week to see if more came in the shipments. I checked the website and finally gave up. Lover, aka Midwest Locators, came through. One night he must have been tired of hearing me complain and decided to actually listen. I told him about these shoes DSW stopped making once they heard I was coveting them. He starts calling around and found a pair at a DSW in Algonquin, IL and had them shipped to me! He loves me!!

Anyway, I did so freaking much yard work this weekend I'm hoping I can get out of bed in the morning....wouldn't want to miss a fun filled day at TAF! But looky! (You'd have to see the before to really appreciate the work involved here!!)

Really, I'm settled in ready for my next dose of mindless reality TV. This one will actually be more like stupidity than mindless....Megan Wants a Millionaire.

http://www.vh1realityworld.com/2009/07/06/megan-wants-a-millionaire-super-trailer/

...and tomorrow is...

http://www.vh1.com/shows/real_chance_of_love/season_2/series.jhtml

What more can I say?

Top 10 Reasons I Haven't Blogged Since...uh...In a While

10. My dog ate my computer.

9. Hello! It's summer. Have you seen my yard?

8. I've been hiding out from the carnies while the fair was in town.

7. My only real intention for having a blog was to bookmark all my favorite blogs.

6. I've been on the down-low with my hubby for distributing fireworks to minors.

5. I'm recovering from the pressures of being married to "Bill Calahan".

4. I took a "How Mean Are You" quiz on Facebook and scored 48!! I'm waiting for the intervention.

3. I've been in a 12 step program to stop profanity.

2. I got another year older. It's amazing how much sleep old people need to function!

1. Daisy of Love...Charm School with Ricki Lake and coming soon Megan Wants a Millionaire and Real Chance of Love 2!

Seriously, I don't know where the time goes. Sorry everyone!

Don't have much time, but wanted to share these....caution....adult content!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ3IXY4PYd4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PHnRIn74Ag

EEEEKKKKK....It's a glass glass!

I was recently told NEVER drink from a glass glass in a hotel room. Maids have been witnessed using dirty towels to wipe out a glass and windex to remove lipstick from a glass before putting it back on the counter to be used again! Less than a week later, I walk into my room at the Marriott in Union Station, St Louis and find.....



Step away from the glasses.

We had a great weekend in St Louis...exhausting, but fun. The Union Station Marriott was really nice. Well, except for the glass thing. Within Union Station, there was a mall, Hard Rock, Landry's, paddle boats, amphitheatre and very cool architecture.







Friday, we went to the Arch, had dinner and Bill went to the Cardinals/Cubs game with his friend.







Saturday, we went to Grant's Farm....home of the Budweiser Clydesdales. Even though we heard the foreigners had closed the hospitality tents (and it was closed at Busch Gardens), it was alive and well at Grant's Farm. This is the THIRD time I've seen Bill drink in the 22 years we've been together!

(that's a glass of Budweiser in his hand!)


Never saw an elephant give it's self a bath before!








I really feel blessed that Bill and I have the opportunity to go on little trips like this from time to time. We have some great friends that make a lot of this possible....GO Marriott Rewards!


May 2 was National Scrapbook Day. I spent 16 hours cropping at my favorite scrapbook store. I made a scrapbook for my friend, Suzette, who's newborn died after 4 short months. It was a tough project but I'm hoping it will be a special way for Suzette to remember Zachary.


I didn't sleep in as late as I thought I would this morning after getting home at 1:30AM from the crop. I managed to polish the floors...ugh...but am so glad to have that project behind me.


Well, we all know the Rock of Love Bus is over. For the Love of Ray J wrapped up last week. Tough Love season finale was tonight. So, what mindless reality TV show am I watching now? Remember Daisy DeLaHoya from Rock of Love season 1? She has her own show...Daisy of Love...yay, yay, yay, not very original, I know. TVLand has this show called "The Cougar". It's about this 40++ year old woman looking for love in a younger man. Most of the guys are younger than her oldest daughter which is 23. Are you even being serious right now??

((((GASP))))) We had Red Robin for dinner tonight!

Get it when you can...

Yes, it's almost midnight the night before my big scrapbook retreat weekend and I am just now being allowed access to HIS computer to print vacation pictures saved on this monster! I'm having difficulty controlling my OCD lately so if you're also going to be at the retreat....BEWARE!

Anyway, I did get the pictures printed and thought I'd better post a few....thus, get it while you can. (Also, just so you know how dedicated I am to my blog...this monster computer I am using does not have a comma key. When I need to type a comma (because correct punctuation is OH, SO important - especially since I think I have a high school teacher that reads this from time to time), I have to press this little plastic thingy sticking up out of the keyboard.)

Our first stop on vacation this year was the Georgia Aquarium and the Coca-Cola Museum in ATL. Awesome stuff...did you know the optimum temperature for a Diet Coke is 36 degrees? Yep!

Bill did a great job with the aquarium photos....no flash zone, ya know.















(that's me petting baby sharks!)



A couple highlights of Bike Week included shopping for hats...



visiting with Senior...



seeing Santa...



and avoiding weird looks...you figure that one out.






I'll post more next week of Busch Gardens and the air boat ride in the swamp with the gators!

OH!...and WTF was he thinking...Taya?? Seriously???