Extra! Extra!

Here’s a special report: It’s FRIDAY!!! Oh, Hallelujah! This week was really long, for some reason. Yesterday (Thursday), I woke up totally thinking it was Friday. I was so excited to be off the next day, too! I got dressed in JEANS (because we dress casual on Fridays at work) and I was putting on my Napolean Dynamite boots with my coat and scarf already on when I suddenly thought- “Wait, it IS Friday, right?” I had to turn on the tv and check the news to see that it was only THURSDAY!

So I had to take off my coat, boots, and scarf, and go back to my room and get RE-dressed in heels, black trousers, and a blouse.

FAIL!


…Wait, today IS Friday, right?

Good news/Bad news

So, I’ve got good news and bad news this morning: which do you want first? The bad news is, we aren’t getting the new apartment. We just decided yesterday we weren’t getting enough solid interest in our apartment to risk taking on another lease. We had a lot of people interested, and I gave a lot of tours of our place, but people seemed to want to take their time making a decision. That doesn’t work for us! We need out NOW! Dan and I spoke about it and we just decided that with him opening the new 5th avenue Diesel store in 2 weeks, plus getting ready for fashion week and the fashion show, it’s just way too much stress. It just wasn’t meant to be, and now we really feel at peace now that we’ve made the decision to just wait it out and move when our lease is up. We’re blessed with a wonderful apartment in a beautiful neighborhood, and we’re very grateful. I’m confident that we’ll find a great place in December when we don’t have the stress of trying to manage 2 leases and deal with brokers, landlords, new tenants, and applications.

The second bad news: no American Idol airtime! Seriously, I can’t believe that you didn’t even see Pam or me or Luke or Jock! Wasn’t it a big disappointment? If they would have aired NYC auditions on a full 1 hr night, you would have seen a lot more of what REALLY happened during auditions. Was it just me, or did San Juan get a LOT of air time? And what about that wack-job with the shiny shirt and dumb glasses in NY? It was like he had his own ½ hr comedy special! Ugh, so lame!
And now for the GOOD news… I found a brand new package of gum in one of my purses. BRAND new! How’s THAT for exciting news?!

Cutest Roadside Find EVER!

A postman in Scotland found a little baby OTTER on the side of the road, abandoned, starving and nearly frozen. He picked it up and put in in his mail carrier bag and since then it has become a household pet!

Freakin' CUTE, right?

Read the story HERE

TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT

Tune in to American Idol tonight on Fox at 8 EST to catch Pam and me! Who knows what we'll see!

Church folk set to dance drum beat!

This is hilarious! Watch for the white woman in the bright fushia blazer- Man, white people can't dance!

Me and the Cap'n

I freakin' love cereal. It's bad, I know- but sometimes I just HAVE to have cereal. I like to eat it for dinner, when Dan's working late and I don't have to cook. There's something so liberating about eating cereal for dinner as an adult- it's like eating cereal at 7pm is the ultimate "I can do whatever I want" thing to do! When I was a kid, me and Brad would beg mom to buy "good" cereal (AKA Candy in a cereal box) and all we got were those big bulk bags of puffed rice. I don't know if you have that in the U.S., but in Canada it kinda looked like this:Only, it was whole grain or something, so it wasn't white, it was dark brown. Ugh! Brad and I would sneak spoonfuls of sugar into it to make it a bit more desirable.

Anyway, so now that I'm a grownup, I can buy cereal and pop tarts (another delicacy we never were allowed to eat!) and eat them for dinner. My favourite cereal is Honey Combs, but I have a hard time finding it in NYC sometimes. My next favourite would be Cap'n Crunch- partly because it's CAP'N, not Captain. I just think that's funny!

So I picked up a box of CAP'N at the corner grocery store (we normally order groceries online, but I just couldn't wait!) I didn't realize the price until I got home- $6.59?! What?!

Looks like me and the Cap'n might have to end our relationship.

Burgers before Bros

Turns out that Burger King "dump 10 facebook friends for a free whopper" thing ended up not working at all! What a ripoff!

Read about it HERE

Who's to blame? Facebook or BK?

HELP!!!!!!

So, last week I developed a devastating addiction: looking at apartments online. Don’t get me wrong, when we moved to NYC in 2006, we felt like we got a good deal for our apartment. Upscale neighbourhood, duplex, spiral stairs, exposed brick, working wood fireplace… it’s a gorgeous place and we’re very happy here.

BUT… since the market collapsed in September, apartment rental prices have dropped: and they’re REALLY low right now. The bad side of this is, we signed a 2 year renewal at our last lease expiration, because we were fearful of prices going UP, so we wanted to lock at the 2 year max.

So, now I’m browsing through kijiji.com and I’m seeing these RIDICULOUS prices on brand new apartments and huge lofts. Even studios that we could be saving over $1,000/month on our current rent!! That’s over $12,000 a year! So I called Dan on Wednesday last week, and told him I was checking myself into Kijiji/Craigslist REHAB- I was NOT allowed to look at any more apartments, because I was getting too depressed. After all, we’re stuck in a lease until DECEMBER of this year, so I just needed to forget it and move on.

But…I’m blaming Dan for this one… on Sunday, he reached for the laptop, after we were watching a design show on tv, and I KNEW he was going straight for the apartment listings! I begged him not to do it, but he was like, “let’s just see…”

So then he calls me over to come look, and I KNEW I didn’t want to see it. There it was: a GORGEOUS and massive brand new loft rental in the financial district, just 1 block from Wall street and the stock exchange building. The price was too good to be true, so Dan was like, “I’m just gonna call and see- it’s probably rented already anyway.”

The broker answered, and before I knew it, we were on a subway down to Wall Street to go take a look. When I walked in, my heart stopped for a second: A REAL kitchen! HUGE! DISHWASHER? This is unheard of in Manhattan!

Wanna see for yourself? CLICK HERE to see the listing and all the photos. Wow!

The worst part? It’s over $500 cheaper than what we’re paying now. So, here’s the deal: to get out of our apartment, we have to find a new tenant to sign a 1 year lease and move in. I’ve gotten a lot of interest, so we’re hopeful that someone will fall in love with our place and want to move in. The second thing is, we have to move into the new place by Feb 15th. So what do we do? We don’t want to sign a lease to the new apartment until we know for sure that someone is taking our old apartment (otherwise, we’re stuck paying TWO rents until the old apartment gets rented.) BUT, we don’t want to sign off a lease on our current apartment and give notice that we’re moving out, until we have a lease in our hands for the NEW apartment. We don’t want to give up our apartment if someone else ends up taking the new place!

Ugh… what to do, what to do? We’re still trying to juggle this idea, and we’re praying that things will just work out if they’re intended to. If not, we’re perfectly happy and blessed with our current apartment. It just would be so nice to have a bigger place for less money.

HELP!

First Lady Under Fire

First Lady Michelle Obama is under fire by the Black Artists Association for not wearing a dress by an African-American designer. They intend to file a formal complaint to the First Lady's office about the issue, and how she didn't represent black fashion designers during the inauguration festivities.

PLEASE! Are you serious?! This is ridiculous! Michelle Obama can wear whatever she darn well pleases! She supported 2 AMERICAN designers, and for that case, 2 minorities: Cuban designer Isabelle Toledo and Asian-American Jason Wu. If she would've worn fashion by all black designers, well then she still would've faced criticism from other ethnicities.

Geez, give me a BREAK!

Farewell, President Bush! :)

David Letterman presents the BEST OF his segment, "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches."

Obviously, Bush has been a source of endless comic wealth for late-night comedians. What will we do now? Watch, laugh, and enjoy.

Oscar-worthy

One year ago today, January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger passed away.

Sad, sad.

Let's hope he wins that Oscar for his performance in Dark Knight!

Inaugural Luncheon

Yesterday, President Obama dined on a fabulous lunch of seafood stew, molasses-whipped sweet potatos, and cinnamon apple sponge cake. Sounds better than my turkey sandwich, that I ate for lunch yesterday!

Want the recipes for yesterday's Inagural Luncheon? Click HERE and then invite me over. Thanks!

Crazy things you can make with egg cartons

I spent a significant portion of my day looking at this article, which shows you tons of uses for egg cartons. I suggest you waste some time looking through it too! (It's actually, pretty cool!)

Get ur creativity ON!

Port-o- PARTY!

There is a port-o-potty "rule" when it comes to crowds: Ideally, 1 for every 300 people. But with an estimated 2 million folks doing the pee-pee dance waiting for a restroom, you can certainly understand the necessity to make portable toilets (excuse the pun, here) "number 1."

Today, not only did we witness the historic event of the first African-American U.S. President, but you may not have realized there was ANOTHER historic first: The Largest Temporary Restroom event in the entire history of the United States! Read all about it HERE

Oh, and P.S. : OBAMA!!! OBAMA!!! PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!!!!

Easy Bloom

If you're anything like me, you've got nothing close to a green thumb when it comes to plants and flowers. In fact, I have just the opposite color of thumb- whatever that is...black, orange..you decide. BUT this nifty little gadget I discovered promises hope to all us Orange Thumbs out there. Allow me to introduce you to... EASY BLOOM!

Just let it sit in the pot of your sad, dying geraniums for 24 hours while it does all manner of arboreal calculations and comes up with the regimen to save your greenery from the trash can.

And if you decide to start up a fire-escape herb garden, you'll have it even better. Leave the device in the prospective spot and it'll measure the conditions, check with the National Weather Service and come back with a list of the plants that will flourish in that exact spot, from yuccas to cacti. Add in a little water and a few months, and you've got a plant so hardy even the occasional ice storm won't put a dent in it.

Check out the website for all the details HERE

THIS is the funniest thing I've seen ALL WEEK!!!!!!!

Please please PLEASE watch this!

THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE clip from The Soup


Because of this clip, I now TiVo every episode of the Principal's Office!! These guys are freakin' hilarious!

I Hate Mimes

Wanna learn how to be a terrible mime? Watch this quick instructional video! Honestly, does this lady really think she's GOOD?

P.S. I own that sweater!

Hair I am!

Success! I love my hair...but it was expensive!

the WORST chocolate bar award goes to...

TWIX!!!

Bad news for Twix lovers (like myself!) I just read that TWIX is rated the WORST chocolate bar in America!

Twix (1 package, 2 oz)
280 calories / 27 g sugars
14 g fat (11 g saturated)

Twix takes the already-dubious candy-bar reputation and drags it through a murky pool of saturated fat. With more than half the USDA's daily consumption recommendation for these dangerous fats in each package, this is one hazardous after-lunch snack.

Saturated Fat Equivalent: 11 strips of bacon!!!!!

To see a list of the 20 WORST supermarket foods, CLICK HERE

TA-DA, Navy!

When I was home in Canada over Christmas, my niece Navy (a loyal reader of this ridiculous blog) shared with me how annoying it can be to try find something I posted about a long time ago. For example, we were trying to show someone the MOM JEANS commercial, and we couldn't figure out what month or even what year it was posted in, so we gave up trying to find it.



Well, fret no more! Check out my new handy dandy SEARCH BAR right at the top of the blog! It's in the black header, underneath my screaming picture. Just type in what you're looking for on this blog, and it will search through all my posts! Try it- type in MOM JEANS and enjoy a laugh for old times' sake!

Thanks, Navy for this suggestion!

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

We're men in tights... TIGHT tights!

Come on, men- I know you've been disappointed that you can't find that pair of hot pink and neon yellow tie-dye tights you've been dying to skateboard in! You're in LUCK!

I found a website called WE LOVE COLORS that offers Women's, Kids, AND MEN'S tights in outrageous colors!

Honestly, check this site out- it's pretty cool. And everyone knows, I LOVE me some cool tights!

(and if any of you guys opt to buy some, please send me pictures. Promise I won't laugh!) Hee hee!

But blondes have more fun...

There's a report that says brunettes earn more money than blondes. Hmm...should I dye my hair?

Check out the article HERE

The second amendment

Funny Ha Ha

Norman came in from the field one day to find his mother using her hands to carefully smooth piles of manure over her watermelon patch. “Ma,” he said, “I’ve got an easier way to do that.” Taking a stick of dynamite, he lit it and tossed it under a nearby outhouse. What Norman didn’t know was that his grandmother was using the facilities at that moment.

When the TNT blew, it vaporized the outhouse and launched grandma fifty feet in the air. She landed in the watermelon patch with a thud. “Granny!” yelled Norman, “Are you okay?”

The feisty old woman got up slowly. “I reckon I am,” she said. “All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t let THAT one go in the house!”

Jailed for putting clothes on your dog?

London may start prosecuting people who "overdress" their pets! There is concern that dressing up your pet may cause considerable risk to the animal, so the RSPCA is considering legal action!

We dress Romeo and Prince all the time in sweaters and coats because they will literally be shaking and shivering outside in the winter when we go for a walk. I agree, boots, hats, and accessories aren't necessary, and a bit over the top, but does it really cause HARM to an animal?

Read the full article HERE

The fattest city award goes to...

...MIAMI????

Are you as shocked as I am that MIAMI is the #1 fattest city in the U.S.? When I picture Miami, I picture beaches and bikinis, not Burgers and Man-Boobs.

Hmmm... guess I'm wrong!

Read the full ABC news article and find out the FITTEST city by clicking HERE

I just made an appointment for Saturday at K Salon on W. 84th Street. I have to admit that since we moved to NYC in ’06, I’ve NEVER been to a salon here! I go to my niece, Mandy’s salon in PA whenever we go back home to Dan’s parents’, and otherwise, I visit my tried and true BEST stylist, Ennio, who is the owner of Ennio Salon outside of Philadelphia. But I’m ready to take a deep breath and put my hair in someone else’s hands. Just yesterday, when studying my hair in the mirror, I realized that I now have almost as much WHITE hair as blonde! That’s right, folks- My name is Carmine, I am 27 years old, and I have gray hair. Wait, not gray…WHITE! Don’t believe me? I’m not lying- I started getting white hairs when I was 14! You just don’t notice because they kind of look like platinum highlights! LOL

Is anyone ELSE out there willing to admit if you have gray/white hairs?

Think you're having a bad day?

Imagine what it would feel like to lose 7 BILLION dollars! Check out this SLIDESHOW of Bernie Madoff's victims. If you don't know who Madoff is, and what this is about...well, God bless you- go get an education.

The government patronizes us to post this ridiculous notice

Shadow Art

Something new that I've discovered today: Shadow Art. No, not the little hand puppets, "ooh, look, I'm a duck!" thing- it's fascinating art made from the shadows of other objects, assembled just so. See this pile of disgusting garbage? Well, put a spotlight behind it and it becomes beautiful artwork!

Check out more shadow art HERE

So cool, right?

I'm open!

CarmineTheCanadian.blogspot.com is officially open to the public again. I love my loyal readers, and in 2009, I hope to gain even MORE, so let's just put it all out there and see what happens!

Tell your friends! Tell your mailman! Check in daily!

Bikini Girl

Ok, I'll admit- I watched American Idol last night. But I'm not ashamed because of 2 reasons:

1) I watch every season for the 1st level auditions only (it's the same morbid fascination that compells me to watch Maury!)

2) There's a chance that me and my friend, Pam might be on the NYC auditions (remember my previous post in July?)

Last night, I was thrilled to see Bikini Girl audition. She isn't the WORST singer in AI history, but we can all agree, she's really not good. I think the bikini thing was genius- this girl set herself up for a hollywood career- I wonder how many times she's been googled just this morning? Can't you picture her hosting an MTV or VH1 reality show in the near future? Yeah, forget AI, she's set just because of this audition.

PLUS, I would love her to get on the show, just like how I loved that Sanjaya was on the show! It's kind of like the "vote for the worst" mentality. Hey, we all know that the truth is, AI is NOT a talent competition- it's an entertainment broadcast. It's all about ratings, scandal, and popularity. So bring it, Bikini Girl!

Honestly, we all know that the blind guy's gonna win American Idol- I'd put money on it. Are you kidding me? Americans will vote and text until their fingers are numb for this kid!

We love Celebs without makeup!

I've got a new one for ya! Check out this gallery of celebs without makeup- come on, do it! What is it that makes us want to see Celebrities looking bad? Does it somehow level the playing field a bit? I think that once we see that they actually look NORMAL if not, BAD without makeup, we can realize that all their fame, fortune, and status doesn't quite mean so much!

Yes, Pe-CAN!

Ben & Jerry's has created a new ice-cream flavour to honor our (ALMOST!) president, Barack Obama. I can't wait to try (a thimble-full) of this!

Check out more information HERE

I read this in an article today LOL

“If you want to sell the house, you’ve got to mow the lawn.”

-San Francisco skincare and waxing goddess Marilyn Jaeger in reference to Brazilian bikini waxing

My vote for best wedding photo ever!

Great photo, right? Check out this photographer's website at http://www.shanesnider.com/ He has some very unique and very cool wedding photos!

har har har

How's this for a genius marketing plan?

Burger King's new Whopper Sacrifice campaign offers a free burger for every ten Facebook friends you delete. The catch: It installs a new app so that every time you delete a friend it'll show up in your news feed... and all your remaining friends will see which buddy you just dumped.

Will you be dumping any of YOUR facebook friends for a whopper?

Golden Girls

Last night was the golden globes, and of course, I watched on TiVo (just stopping to see what people were wearing, and to hear Kate Winslet and Heath Ledger win awards.) On the whole, I feel like this was one of the best years as far as red-carpets fashion. Here's some of my favourites:

Love this one- the color is beautiful, and I love the modern and unique texture. Not frilly, but still very delicate. It just floats- GORGEOUS!

Eva Mendes looked AMAZING in this gown, and I love love it! The jade necklace is a statement, but not overpowering. Good balance between the hair, the bold dress, and the big necklace. Well played, Mendes.

I love me some Kate Winslet! Not only is she my favourite actress, but she's also who I consider one of the most BEAUTIFUL celebrities in Hollywood. She looked tailored and completely on point last night. Classic.

I love Heidi and Seal because I can picture Dan and I in this pose together on the red-carpet someday! Can't you picture it? Don't they seem like so much FUN to be around? Not stuffy, not arrogant- just good people.

And last but not least, my DROP DEAD favourite dress last night was this hot red number! Oh, honestly people, if I were at an awards show, THIS is the dress I would wear! Actually, I just might add this to my dream board at home so that I can be inspired. So beautiful! And I love that there's no clutter with accessories, or fancy hair- the dress stands alone. Ugh I HAVE to have this dress!

And now... with the good, comes the bad. I'm sure you'll all agree who was the WORST dressed last night: J.Lo. What was she thinking? Ok, Ok, you're hot, you just had twins, WHATEVER! Please don't hang your bits out in front of us with this unsightly gold thing. It looks like the inside of a Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar gone VERY BAD!

So, do you agree with my pics? What were YOUR favourites?

cari-jo

ok, Cari- your link should be fixed now. Check out Cari-Jo's blog and tell her to post often! :) lol

Sunday

Yesterday, Dan's colleague was at our apartment working on a project, and he brought his 5 yr old son with him. He LOVED playing with the dogs, and especially had a fondness for Prince's playful puppy nature. Prince followed him everywhere and played until he was absolutely exhausted! He settled down to watch the Incredibles and the pups curled up right beside him. I snapped these pictures with Dan's iPhone to show how cute Prince and him were together. Adorable, right?

This little guy was a lot of fun- his dad speaks only in French to him, so I spoke French with him while we were playing. Finally, he says, "Do you speak French AND English?" I said "Yes," and he said, "Then, can you speak ONLY English, please? I like English more. I know LOTS more words in English. French is boring, it's like blah blah blah blah blah..." LOL how cute is that?

So far... so great!

I got on the scale on Saturday morning, just to see if the bodybugg has made any difference so far (you're only supposed to weigh in once a week, but I was just too anxious!) Surprise! I've lost 5.2lbs! That's ridiculous! It really is simple science, people: burn more calories than you eat!

why I DON'T ski

I'm sure you've all heard the story of the dude who got stuck on the chairlift hanging upside down with his pants down? No? Ok, well if you haven't, then click HERE (be prepared to see some very large and close up and high resolution pictures of some nasty guy's ass, though!)

I, of course, think this is hilarious. And I understand that the guy slipped and got stuck on the chair lift, but how the crap did his PANTS COME DOWN????

In slow motion, it's even funnier!

null - Watch more free videos

THIS is the greatest mirror ever!

I love the one on the right! You turn into a PIRATE! LOL that's hysterical! I'm putting this immediately on my list for Santa next year! Yes!

Clever. I like it!

Just a simple sharpie marker and TA-DA! You have a Pie Area! :)

Bugg

Hiya, folks!
Got my BodyBugg yesterday, and set it up at home last night. I have to admit, the installation instructions and procedure is pretty lengthy and there's a significant amount of software and updates you have to download when installing the BodyBugg. Plus, I searched everywhere for the bloody serial number, to register the thing, and finally figured out that you have to remove it from the band and turn it on it's side to find the number. (Hey, I know it's not astro-physics, but couldn't they have just SAID that in the manual?)

So it takes a while to charge the battery (which charges once you plug it into the USB port on your computer.) Also, if you're thinking of purchasing one yourself, don't buy it from the bodybugg.com website. Instead, do like I did and go to 24hrfitness.com and buy it there. Instead of $349 for the device and the wireless digital read-out watch, you pay just $249 and get the watch thingy for FREE. Good to know!!

So, it walks you through a pretty thorough questionnaire about your eating and exercise habits, and tailors a fitness and nutrition plan based on your personal quiz. The website is very user friendly, and easy to use, and the digital watch is a MUST because you can always check your pedometer, calories burned, and activity (oh yeah, and the TIME...remember, it's a watch too!) And the watch is waterproof, but the device is NOT. I mean, it's sweat proof so you can wear it when exercising, but you have to take it off for swimming or in the shower. Also, good to know!!

So, how's it work? Well, so far I'm pretty impressed! I put it on this morning, and it's very comfortable (you forget you're wearing it!) Plus, by 9am this morning, I'd already burned 1,182 calories! That's just WALKING TO WORK! I am shocked by that! I've taken 3,414 steps just getting ready for work, walking the dogs, and coming to work.

I'm aiming for a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories a day, meaning I will burn 1,000 more than I consume. Doing this, I should be able to lose 2lbs per week. If my deficit is higher, then I'll lose even more. At this rate, that should be very feasible! I'll keep you posted on my results but so far, I think this little invention is FANTASTIC!

2009 Annual NO PANTS subway ride

That's right- the improv everywhere team is scheduling their annual NO PANTS subway ride. The qualifications are simple: Just show up with no pants, keep a straight face, and ride the subway together. Be prepared for lots of photographs, news reporters, and media coverage. Whaddya think, folks? Should I do it?

Check out all the details by clicking HERE

Louis Vuitton Skateboard

Louis Vuitton is selling only 3 LV skateboards as part of the new Stephen Sprouse collection ( P.S. if anyone wants to get me the Stephen Sprouse for LV ROSE bag, my birthday is Aug. 9!)

The skateboard is $8,250 and you can read more about it by clicking HERE.

Viva la RECESSION!

Is it the END of the Hourglass figure?

I thought this article was really fascinating- studies are beginning to show that the hourglass figure, made so popular by Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe, are beginning to fade as the straight figure becomes more popular in female forms. Career women are under more stress, and as a result, tend to carry more fat in their stomachs instead of their hips. This means that a tiny waist and curvy hips may soon be extinct.

Personally, I think the curvy figure is MUCH more alluring, don't you? Today's hollywood starlets look like emanciated 7 year old boys!

Check out the full article HERE

Martha, Martha, Martha

Ok, any time that I've called something the most disturbing thing ever, I take it back! THIS is the most disturbing thing ever! Who wants to dress up their babies as turkeys/lobsters/pies? Very CREEPY!

2009

It's a new year, and I think it's time for a new LOOK for my blog. I'll be trying out a few new templates, so if you're wondering what the crap is going on, don't worry. Stay calm. Put your head under a tablecloth or something.

Also... I’m thinking of taking my blog public again. Any thoughts on this? Do you guys like being the CHOSEN ONES or would you like it open. Feel free to comment, but I might just do whatever I want anyway.

Joking!

I'm the loser!

Did anyone watch the biggest loser last night? First of all, let me start by saying- this 2 hour thing is just ridiculous. We like to watch the biggest loser, but we HAVE to watch it on TiVo because we fast forward through about an hour and a half of the show. It's all FLUFF! Don't you hate how they generate false cliff hangers by cutting to commercials at poignant times? The problem is, that gets OLD, and now there's no drama because you KNOW automatically it's going to commercial. Then, when it comes BACK from commercial, they re-play the last 5 minutes that they JUST played before the commercial. And speaking of commercials, I don't even understand why they NEED to cut to commercial because they're all BUILT IN to the show! Could there be any more product placement?! It's unreal! "Let's go use our Glad bags to make lunch!" Yeah, well it makes me want to put a Glad bag over my HEAD and kill myself!

But regardless, the 30 minutes or so of the show that we do actually watch is pretty good. The weight loss is dramatic and it's cool to see their bodies transforming. But last night, I was excited about one part of the show- where they introduced the BODYBUGG devices. Why was I excited? Because I ordered one last week! It's due to be delivered tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted on how it works. Basically, it's a device that you wear on your arm that monitors different variables in your body using sensors. It uses body temperature, pulse, and a pedometer to calculate exactly how many calories you burn in a day. Then, it transmits the information to a website that you log on to each day and input what food you ate. It then calculates the food you ate MINUS the calories you burn, and gives you a balance. If you create a DEFICIT (in other words, BURN more calories than you EAT) you lose weight.

This is a great idea for me because I struggle to estimate how many calories I burn, and I usually don't eat ENOUGH calories to lose weight. In NYC, I'm constantly walking (no driving!), running up and down subway stairs, walking the dogs and then working out at the gym on top of that. When Dan and I first moved to NY, we lost weight without even trying, just because of all the additional exercise. But over time, our bodies have just adjusted to doing that amount of activity every day.

On Monday, I was back at the gym after my holiday hiatus. I had a 1 hr session with my new personal trainer, Carlos. He is a professional torturer. You think we'd start off easy, since it's been several weeks since I've done weights... NO! Right away we started in with 90lb squats, lunges, and deadlifts. I was miserable the next day, and could barely walk. Even stepping up onto the curb was extremely painful! Every muscle in my body hurts...wait, not hurts BURNS! AHHHH!

Last night, I was walking to the subway with Carmen, and she had to tie my shoe for me because I couldn't bend over or even lift my leg up! When I sit down, I'm like a pregnant lady, having to lower myself down gradually by holding onto something. Elizabeth has been calling me Frankenstein because when I walk, I can barely bend my legs!

I had another session scheduled today at 11am, and last night, I was trying to stretch and work some of the pain out. I thought I'd feel better today, but this morning, I called Carlos and told him I had to ROLL out of bed, I was in so much pain, so I cancelled our session. There's no way I could lift weights again today. I think it was a bit too ambitious to start out trying to do 2x a week with a trainer- next week, hopefully I'll be ready for it.

oh my darling clementine

I just ate a Clementine- mmm, I love those little suckers. Much less aggravating than peeling an entire orange. Anyway, you know how you can tell if it’s gonna be a good one or a bad one? You know, the peel comes off really easy on a good ripe one, and the sections pull apart perfectly with no mess. But this one, ugh, it was NOT a good one. The peel was tough and came off in little bits. Then, the orange was stiff and didn’t pull apart without a mess.

But what do you do at this point? I’m not gonna just throw it away- I ate it anyway, knowing it was a bad orange. It wasn’t juicy- it was kinda sour and I even got a seed in there! Oh well, there’s a few like that in every box. What’s the point of this story? Believe in your dreams.

Pet Peeve

I've got another great one... it's a BIG pet peeve of mine when you pay for something at a store in cash, and then they hand you back the change in this order:

bills
receipt
change

...All in one little pile on your hand. What am I supposed to do now? I have my hands full with my handbag on my arm, my wallet in my hand, and my bag of stuff I just purchased hanging precariously around my pinky finger, and then you go and PILE my change on my hand?

So what always happens is I somehow stand there and twist around my wrist awkwardly to dump the whole pile of glossy paper/money/coins into my purse, where they will dissapear into who knows where.

I wish they would put the receipt in the bag, give me the bills and THEN give me the change!

(or...maybe the simplest solution is to just NOT pay with cash)

Canadian Christmas Crackers (nice alliteration, eh?)

I've been showing my Christmas pictures from Montreal around a bit ( don't worry, I'll get them posted on our Carmine & Dan blog soon!) Anyways, I've gotten a lot of interest about these Christmas Crackers and the Crowns on our heads. Here's the deal-e-o...

I believe it's a British thing as well- we buy these "crackers" or poppers, and place them around the table for Christmas dinner. Everyone crosses their arms in front of them, and grabs hold of one end of their cracker and the end of their neighbors, forming a big chain of crossed arms and crackers. On the count of 3, you PULL really hard on each end of the crackers, until they POP! There are little firecrackers inside them that make a loud bang, and they split open. Inside, there's a paper crown, which you put on your head for the duration of the meal, a joke (which we take turns reading around the table) and a PRIZE! My prize this year was a teeny tiny deck of cards. Dan got a little picture frame. Some of the other prizes were keychains, little toy cars, etc.

Due to the interest, I've now gotten requests to buy these the next time we're in Canada, and bring them back to the U.S. for some friends. I like to bring them to Dan's family Christmas in PA- they've embraced the tradition as well!

Lunch

Just got back from Cosi for lunch today, with my friend Carmen (read that again, carMEN...I'm not talking in the 3rd person, here...) I ordered a flatbread sandwich that JUST got added to the menu. It's melted brie, cheddar, and swiss cheese with figs. The sandwich guy said I was "brave" to order it. I asked him why, and he said I'm only the 3rd person to order it! Wierd, right?

So anyway, just thought I'd share that with you. I ordered it, and it was delicious, and I'll probably order it again. If you see it on a Cosi menu near you, be BRAVE. Try it!

Funny ha ha

It's MONDAY. Correction: not only is it MONDAY, but it’s the MONDAY after a holiday break! Double Whammy!

I did have to work on Friday, however- and I can guess that most of you were OFF. How random is that? We closed at 3pm on Tuesday (New Year’s Eve), then closed on Wednesday for New Year’s Day, but then we had to come BACK into the office on Friday, just to close again at 2pm and go home for the weekend? I’m telling you, it was torture, having to wake up early while it’s still DARK on Friday morning, while Cory, Dan, and Nolan and even the DOGS were snuggled in bed sleeping in.

I have to admit, I really had a bad attitude while I was walking to work on Friday morning. First of all, it was a ghost-town- NO ONE was working that day. Second of all, there were little bits of confetti all over the street that had blown clear from Times Square to Fifth Ave. It was such a sad reminder that the holidays are OVER! : (

So, I thought I’d post this cartoon today to provide a bit of comic relief and to maybe even lighten my heart just a little bit. I just HATE it when Christmas and New Year’s are over! It seems like it flew by, didn’t it?