Karate Chop!

I have encountered many things in my life that I feel are completely underrated. Cheese, socks, space heaters, french toast, things like that. As I slowly approach my third decade (yikes!) in this life, I think I've found the most underrated thing. The karate chop.

I'm not referring to the "hey hold this concrete block steady so I can smash it with my karate chop" kind of chop. I'm referring to the "oh my goodness I'm in sore muscle heaven...keep going" karate chop. It's a massage technique and it is oh so underrated. It's able to find sore and tense muscles you never knew existed. As much as I love the traditional "kneading" technique to massages I'm seriously contemplating a request that my masseuse give me a full 60 minutes of the karate chop.

So next time your shoulders and back and....okay I'll admit it, your butt are sore, ask your loved one to give you a karate chop massage. You'll be so glad you did! LOVE it!

Thank you Uncle Sam

February is one of my favorite months. Not because of Valentine's Day or because I get to celebrate birthdays (sorry family & friends with Feb. birthdays). I enjoy February because that's when I receive my tax refund from Uncle Sam.

The sensible person in me thinks I should put the money towards paying off those pesky student loans or towards my car payment. The self loving person in me thinks I should spend a little of the money buying something nice for myself. A couple years ago, it was a new pair of running shoes that, at the time, were oh so fancy. The plan worked last year and kept me from feeling guilty so I figured I'd try it out again. So I paid of some debt and bought myself a gift. What did I splurge on this year you ask? An alternator.

What is the world coming to when you take your car in for a standard oil change and tire rotation and come home with an alternator? Sad I tell you. It looks like my gift to myself is one of sustainability this year. The gift of being able to continue doing what I'm doing. No fun new shoes or the latest tech gadget. Just an alternator. I can't even show it off to my friends. I'm just glad Uncle Sam was there to cushion the blow.

God bless the Girl Scouts

Today at work I had an ethical dilemma. I've had to make this decision countless times and each time it's just as tough as the time before. I'm familiar with the situation and I know the decision I should make as well as understanding the consequences for making the wrong decision. While the choice may be clear cut for some, I usually spend 30 minutes listening to the angel on my right shoulder debate with the devil sitting on my left shoulder. I'm debating my healthy snack against my sinful snack.


That's right I was a good girl this morning and took an apple to work to munch on in the afternoon. But as I gazed upon the apple sitting on my desk waiting to be devoured that pesky little devil popped up to remind me I had two boxes of girl scout cookies stashed in my "work pantry." It was only a matter of minutes before I abandoned my good intentions and began to salivate over Thin Mints and Caramel Delights. I couldn't even manage to get all four cookies out before taking a bite. In that moment I sent up a little prayer thanking God for blessing the Girl Scouts with such tasty treats and allowing me to enjoy them for a short time once a year.



Now, there might be someone out there wondering why I neglected to bring home the girl scout cookies to share. Well darlin', I was just trying to save you from having to make the same excruciating decision I was faced with. I did it for you.

I'm a sucker...25 things about me

As much as I really don't want to do this, I want to do it more. So here it is, 25 things about me.

1. I get heartburn almost daily. It's a strange thing that my sister and I have in common. I really hate heartburn but the sad thing is I hate Tums more.

2. When I see dogs riding in cars I make a squeaky/excited noise that I'm fairly certain is obnoxious to anyone else in earshot. But seriously, dogs riding in cars with their ears flapping in the wind...how can you not be giddy?

3. I have a love/hate relationship with Britney Spears. I'm convinced she is a terrible role model in every way possible. On the flip side, her music is just so damn catchy.

4. Don't ask me to pick a favorite anything, I can't do it.

6. I eat McDonalds french fries dipped in sweet and sour sauce. It's soooooo good!

7. I would give my left arm to be a lead on Broadway. Which might be difficult because I'm not aware of any lead parts that call for a one -armed brunette. Regardless, if I had the talent, it would be my dream job.

8. In high school my nickname was Crispy. No one really calls me that anymore and I really miss it.

9. One of my favorite snacks in high school was Easy Cheese on Twizzlers. Yes, together.

10. I have hilarious friends. They're the funniest people I know.

11. I donate blood as often as I'm allowed to. I'm type O negative, the second rarest!

12. I've written a song. I did it with my pal Mandy during college and while it's not going to win us a Grammy any time soon, we think it's pretty good.

13. I break for leaves when driving. I often mistake them for small rodents.

14. I refuse to buy cheap toilet paper. An extra dollar is very much worth the comfort.

15. I have a Snuggie. It's royal blue and awesome. Technically it's the Snuggie Deluxe which is 5% thicker and has pockets.

16. I have an irrational fear of a snake getting into my shower while I'm showering. This has replaced my previous irrational fear of a snake coming up through my toilet while I was using it. Hey...I said they were irrational.

17. Some people see a spider and run away. I see a spider and I have an overwhelming urge to hunt it down and smash it to pieces.

18. I love the fact that my brother married one of my best friends.

19. I had two imaginary friends when I was a child, Hucky and Freddy. One day I threw a fit until my mom made Hucky a PB&J for lunch. By the time she made the sandwich and put it on the table for him to eat, I informed her that "Hucky wasn't hungry anymore."

20. I save my day planners and calendars. You never know when you'll need to figure out what you were doing November 17, 1997.

21. I hate wind!!

22. I would love to have my own pottery studio some day. I'm not incredibly talented but that's why I need a studio, so I can practice!

23. My ability to relate smells to a very specific memory is hilarious and impressive (at least I think so).

24. Brownies, after McD's french fries dipped in sweet and sour sauce, are my weakness.

25. Hands down, July 4 is the best day of the year. I'm quite partial to July 4, 2007.