Travis to go to Ft. Campbell

Ok, Travis is miserable in Korea and can't wait to be back on American soil. Who can blame him? He should be stationed at Ft. Campbell in 2 months. Please keep him in your prayers that he doesn't get sent over to the Giant Sandbox.

Iggy's Home on Leave!!

Iggy was due to arrive back at Ft. Hood on Monday night for 10 days of leave. Haven't heard from him yet but I'm sure he's got lots of family time to catch up on. While I miss his emails I couldn't be happier for him and his family. Live it up guys!

Tween's???

Now, I'm only 26 so I'm not old by any means, despite what my sister likes to say. But when I was younger you were either a kid or a teenage. For like 1 or 2 years you were considered a "pre-teen" which I think was 11 & 12. So what's with the new "tween" sensation? Was the world "pre-teen" so awful that today's 11 & 12 year olds couldn't cope with the word? They've actually got a Tween Sensation - Hannah Montana. I've seen the show. It's cute and I'll admit to having a bit of a very, very brief crush on her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus. Can I just mention he looks better now than he did then. Whew! I guess I'm just curious as to whether or now they'll be changing the term teenager. Are we bound to be in categories all our lives? Can't say I'm really enjoying that thought. Maybe I'm becoming one of those rebels we all looked out for when I was a kid. The ones who did what they want, didn't care what anyone thought and refused to be labeled. Heck, if I am, now THAT I'm enjoying.

Miss America Pagent

Ok, had to watch the annual torture hour of the Miss America pagent. It can be summed up in one word RHINOPLASTY!!!!!!!!!!!! Just about each one of these girls had the biggest noses I've ever seen! And what was up with the hair on Miss Texas? Sweetie, grab a brush, you won't lose points. I promise. Now Miss Mississippi was pretty great and was my choice. She gave a great answer to the judges - what turned out to be a 2 part - interview question. The question was, how do you feel about the media coverage of the racial divid in your area due to Katrina and how was your state able to recover quickly. She answered right off the bat that the gov had a plan, they all jumped in to make it happen and she wished the media came back to cover it. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!! Not another world peace wanting flake. She did ok in the final question to. Do you think she won??? OH NO!!! We don't want to put someone like her out there. She came in 2nd runner up. Next year I'll try even harder to miss the Silicone In Stilletto's Parade.

Farewell to a Friend

Anyone who knows me knows that my first 2 supervisors passed away in my first 2 years here at U.W. The joke around the office was "Don't be Jenn's boss, it'll kill ya!" Well, Jen R. took on the task and stuck it out for almost 2 years. She's decided to move on to San Francisco where her boyfriend's been offered a great job. We took her out to a farewell lunch on Wednesday to Chef's and came back for cake. Since she loves sush so much, I made the cake (a bit hard to see) to look like a giant sushi roll.

Even though we had our ups & downs and I wasn't always the greatest person to have working for you in the beginning (still fiercly loyal to Tee the previous boss who passed) in the end we worked it all out and became friends. I hope she has endless joy in this new chapter of her life and doesn't forget her frostbitten friends back in Buffalo.

Bandit's Swamp the Swarm

A couple days after Donald's birthday, the Bandit's had their 2nd home game. I got to go to this one with him & his friend Dave who also got a season ticket. What a blast!!!! People watching was as much fun as the game!!! We swamped the Swarm 22-13. It was a GREAT night.

Donald Turns 22

Donald turned 22 this month and I was pleasantly surprised to come home from work that day to find our friends Chris & Christy over. We opened a bottle of Champagne to toast Donald's birthday and Chris' divorce from Nicole. Yaahoooo!!!! It was small but it was quite a celebration. Even Kari's pet monkey got in on the act!

Health Knowledge

Found out my friend Wayne has this - still a cutie though. Check it out and learn something new today:

http://www.acromegaly.org/

January Staff Meeting

Every month we have a staff meeting at work to "keep you all informed of what's going on." This month's staff meeting was pretty much mandatory. Well, since we're trying to become an Impact organization we've created a Change Team to help change the way we do things. This month we were broken up into group and were given one of our 3 core values: Leadership, Integrity & Excellence. You had to do a skit, poem, rap song or whatever to suggest your value. Here's Dee & her team #4 (l to r) of April, Toni, John, Caron & Tom. They did a rap number with Dee as their star. Can ya tell she loves being in the spotlight?

New Year's Eve

Didn't get to post about this earlier. Here's a picture of the Hockey Hall of Fame from our weekend in Toronto. It was $35 for the 3 of us to get in and it wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought .... until we found the magic room that had Stanley Cup in it. Yup, got to touch it and take my picture with it. Ahhh .... major highlight.

Cool Bar Stools

Just too cool not to post!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread (and dip)

I found this online and it's super easy (my favorite part). Since shortbread is traditionally dry I made a large batch of Jell-O fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding to use as a dip.

1 cup plus 2 tbs all purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate mini chip (feel free to have more!!)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Have baking sheet (round) ready.
2. Mix flour and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or rub butter in with fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in mini chips.
3. Gently press crumbs together to form a dough (heat from your hands will help this happens.) Place on baking sheet; pat into an 8-in disk. With a sharp knife, score inito 16 wedges, cutting about halfway through dough. Prick wedges twice with a fork.
4. Bake 25 minutes, or until shortbread looks dry and golden at edges. Immediately cut through score lines. Cook 5 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be stored airtight at room temperature up to 3 days.

117 cal, 1g pro, 12 g carb, 1 g fiber, 7 g fat (4 g sat fat), 16 mg chol, 2 mg sod

Date Night

So, I had my first date on Saturday night since Clinton was in office. By that I mean Bill Clinton, the one who actually has a penis and not just looks like he has one. His name is Wayne, he's a history teacher in Liberty, NY and is trying to get a teaching job back here in Buffalo to be closer to his family. I was basically freaking out about it most of Friday. Saturday I was too nervous to freak out and just pee'd every 3 minutes. Chris & Steve picked me up at about 6:20 and we headed over to Nikki's house. That's Wayne's sister and where we're gonna watch the game. All I could think of as I looked at these mansion sized homes was that I was "way far from home." As we walked up the drive Steve - sensing my nerves - patted my back to remind me I had a friend. As soon as I stepped through the door it was like someone flipped a switch! Gone were the nerves. Nikki makes you feel so at home. Wayne appeared from around the corner and is just as cute in person as he is in real life. Her dogs, Sadie & Brody were great and here's the best part. Nikki's son Matthew is 18 mos old. He came near me plenty of times and he didn't freak out !!!!! yeah!!!! Wayne's got a smile that's huge and all straight white teeth. It's contagious. His laugh comes from somewhere in the bottom of his size 16 (no kidding) toes and you find yourself smiling and looking in his general direction before you know it. Nikki ordered great pizza and I brought a chocolate yummy to share (recipe posted shortly). All in all it was a great night. The best part??? For one night I felt like a grown up and I felt like I belonged.

Smart Ass Remark

Sorry folks but I just couldn't resist putting this one up on the blog:


It was mealtime during a flight on Hooters Airline. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked John, seated in front. "What are my choices?" John asked. "Yes or no," she replied.

The Preacher ...

I couldn't resist posting this one!!! - J


The preacher got up in church one Sunday morning and told the congregation,
"Brothers and sisters, we are going to have to do something about people parking behind the church at night.
I was out there this morning and there are enough beer cans out there to build a car
" One of the old sisters stood up and said, "Amen brother and enough rubbers to put tires on it too."

"I Love My Job!!"

Another goodie!! - J


Next time you have a bad day at work...think of this guy.. Rob is a
commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs
underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent
to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft.
Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest.
Needless to say, she won.
Hi Sue,
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a
bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so
I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's
not So bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first
must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.
As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to
the office. It's a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial
water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the
sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to
the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now
this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with
no complaints.
What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose
and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with
warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi.
Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to
itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse.Within a
few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back,
but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot
water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit.
Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't
stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When
I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the
jellyfish into the crack of my butt. I informed the dive supervisor of
my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to
the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing
hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive.
I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops
totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin
my chamber dry decompression. When I arrive d at the surface, I was
wearing nothing but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the
medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of
cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber.
The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for two days because my
butt was swollen shut.
So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.
Now repeat to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job".

Thoughts

I love cleaning out my email. It's when you find great oldies like this!
- J


1) When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died
peacefullyin his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.
--Author Unknown

2) Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at thebar.--Drew Carey

3) Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house.--Rod Stewart

4) Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you they should give you two weeks notice. There should be severance pay, and before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp.--Bob Ettinger

5) My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out
in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim."--Paula Poundstone

6) Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfwaythrough my fish burger and I realize, "Oh my God... I could be eating a slow learner."-- Lynda Montgomery

7) I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, "Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west."--Richard Jeni

8) If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the
impersonators would be dead.--Johnny Carson

9) Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography.--Paul Rodriguez

10) Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of
fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest
to tallest? What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?--Warren Hutcherson

11) Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.--Mark Twain

12) Ah, yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet.--Robin Williams

13) Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself.--Roseanne

14) You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, My God, you're right!

"Daddy's Gonna Eat Your Fingers!"

Got this from my friend April. Laughed right out loud!!!


DADDY'S GONNA EAT YOUR FINGERS ...
(This one is worth passing on.)
This one is for everyone who ...
a) has kids, b) had kids, c) was a kid, d) knows a kid e) is going to have
kids.
I was packing for my business trip and my three year old daughter was having
a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point she said, "Daddy, look at
this," and stuck out two of her fingers.
Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in
my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers," pretending to eat them.
Went back to packing, looked up again and my daughter was standing on the bed
staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face.
I said, "What's wrong, honey?"
She replied, "What happened to my booger?

Nuns at a baseball game...

Was cleaning out my emails and found this one again. How could I NOT post it?? LOL


SITTING BEHIND A COUPLE OF NUNS AT A BASEBALL GAME (WHOSE HABITS
PARTIALLY BLOCKED THE VIEW), THREE MEN DECIDED TO BADGER THE NUNS IN AN
EFFORT TO GET THEM TO MOVE.
IN A VERY LOUD VOICE, THE FIRST GUY SAID,"I THINK I'M GOING TO MOVE TO
UTAH, THERE ARE ONLY 100 NUNS LIVING THERE."
THE SECOND GUY SPOKE UP AND SAID,"I WANT TO GO TO MONTANA, THERE ARE
ONLY 5O NUNS LIVING THERE."
THE THIRD GUY SAID, "I WANT TO GO TO IDAHO, THERE ARE ONLY 25 NUNS
LIVING THERE."
ONE OF THE NUNS TURNED AROUND, LOOKED AT THE MEN, AND IN A VERY
SWEET, CALM, VOICE SAID, "WHY DON'T YOU GO TO HELL ... THERE AREN'T
ANY NUNS THERE."

VooDoo or Spiritual Connection

Ok, one night I was walking down my backstairs as a teenager and all of the sudden I feel these arms come around me. I turned to see if someone was behind me but I was alone. I didn't see anything but I knew it was my deceased cousin David who was keeping me from falling down the stairs. I didn't know I was about to fall but after the "arms" were gone I just KNEW. Flash forward a number of years and it's 2004. My supervisor Bonnie passes from cancer no one knew she had. I have a dream that I 'm crossing the street near my office building and when I look over at a crowd of people, Bonnie's there. She smiles and then she's gone. Now, some background. Bonnie and I never got along. We butted heads about everything. In fact, the last time we saw each other it was with sparring words if you will. Jump ahead a year. Terry has now taken on Bonnie's job but parishes in a house fire. Is it me or is it the position? That was 2005. Jump ahead one more year and I start "seeing" Tee as she was affectionately known as. At first I'm freaked. It's as if I'm lying in bed and look to my left toward my closet. For 3 nights (not in a row) I do this and Tee seems to move a bit closer. Finally one night I see her and we instantly flash to her gravesite where I see our friend Sonya standing with a guy I don't recognize. Sonya's known about my "visions" so I instantly email her and tell her all about it. I describe the scene in detail and she freaks a bit. The guy is Tee's true love Johnny and the coat that she's wearing was one she'd bought shortly before. I'd never seen the coat. Our conclusion? Tee wants Sonya & Johnny to visit her. They agree to go on Thanksgiving. Update, they still haven't gone. Now it's January 11th and I'm minding my own business at my desk. I overhear our friend Byron talking to Tee's best friend Rosing - another co-worker - about a dream where he saw Tee, clear as day walking with her down the street. They're each wearing a number. One has a 4 and the other a 3. I'm instantly on the email to Sonya to figure it out. Tee would be 42 this year, the house number was 44, Johnny turned 52 last month. Then it hits us. Her husband Kevin is turning 43 this month!!! Karma connection??? I can't wait to see what happens next!

Time to Hang Up the Thong

Ok, so my friend Patty M from bowling sent me this picture. Now, I want to be thin enough to look great in a bathing suit but I'm not sure I could ever bring myself to wear a thong. After viewing this, I doubt I ever will!!!

Watch what you say to your wife....

Got this from my co-worker Byron. Just HAD to post this!!!


Hmmmmmmmm!
A man and his wife were driving home one very cold night, when the wife asks
her husband to stop the car. There was a baby skunk lying at the side of the
road, and she got out to see if it was still alive.
It was, and she said to her husband, "It's nearly frozen to death. Can we
take it with us, get it warm, and let it go in the morning?"
He says, "O.K., Get in the car with it."
"Where shall I put it to get it warm?"
He says, "Put it in between your legs. It's nice and warm there."
"But what about the smell?"
"Just hold its nose."
The man is expected to recover, but the skunk she used to beat him with died
at the scene.

How's your driving???

Got this game from my cousin Nikki in Austin. What a trip!!


http://www.107.peugeot.co.uk/peugeot.swf

Prada's Prego!

Hi everyone. Had to post this pic really quick of my friend AnnaLisa who is now happily married and expecting her first child. She's having a little girl who we all know will be totally spoiled by daddy and I'm sure has Prada baby clothes in the dresser already! Congrats!!!!

Iggy's Getting a New Job

Iggy's email was down on Monday so I hardly heard from him. Yesterday I didn't hear from him at all. I get nervous because, like 90% of my other guys, he's over in the Middle East where people are actively seeking our guys out to kill them. Well, I sent a few emails to let him know he was on my mind and that I hoped he was ok. Sent letters via snail mail to a few others to. Writing to them always takes my mind off any troubles I might be having and feel good for a little while. Anyway, Donald's got the flu so I was up with him at 4:00 this morning. I came down just before 6:00 and got ready for work. By 6:30 I was ready so I jumped online to check my mail before heading off to work. Lucky start to my day there was an email from Iggy! Turns out he's got a new job. He's still going to be helping the Iraqi army become self-sufficient but it's gonna be a while before he'll be back online. He's not even sure 100% where he'll be stationed. Raw nerves on top of frayed nerves. Can they send him someplace more dangerous? You bet. Will they? Who knows. Hopefully he'll get the letter I just sent (it seems to only take a few days) and he'll know I'm thinking of him and waiting for his return to cyber-world. Stay safe Iggy & know I'm thinking of you!!! - Sunshine.

Questioning your Dr. is a good thing

Our doctor is a family friend and has been for years. As soon as I turned 16 I started going to him. Well, the average age of his patients is well over 60. He's so used to this that if I make a complaint of illness that even remotely sounds like something an older patient would have, I must be making it up. It took me years for him to take my stomach condition seriously and to get the tests I needed. End result? We don't know what you have so you have IBS (a lump sum diagnosis if you ask me) with diarrhea. I had also been nagging him about my thyroid. I was gaining weight and hardly chowinig down at McDonalds 3 times a day. I wasn't running marathons but I wasn't sitting doing nothing either. Well, that was a 4 yr struggle. I finally get him to give me Synthyroid which hardly helped and I was supposed to LOSE weight but actually GAINED! His response? Eat more salads. Have a great big plate of it first, then whatever the meal is and if you want seconds, go for more greens. Sure, let's give the person who hardly stays out of the bathroom as it is ruffage. To get a script for simple bloodwork is hard enough. Now my father, who's become obsessed with gastric bypass surgery, gets cleared by said doctor. Hellooooo???? You can't follow Atkins for a month and expect to look like Cary Grant then stop when it doesn't happen. Finding a new doctor is a pain in the ass. Having to ask around for referrals from family / friends, making sure the new doctor is part of your insurance network and that they're even taking new patients. Not a task I look forward to but one I'm seeing less and less of an option to avoid. So let me end by saying this. If you're not happy with your doctor, start asking more questions. If you're still not happy with your doctor, start shopping around for a new one. You'll shop around for your appliances and car, why not the person to can hold your life in their hands?

Hands Free or just nuts???

So, there's this woman who rides the #63 home with us. She's on well before I get on so I'm not sure where she works but I think it's at HSBC. Anyway, she's really obnoxious, is a lot heavier than she thinks she is and is always on the cell phone. She got one of those Razr phones in pink and she became worse. Between her on the phone and the other old lady who whispers to herself the whole way home, it's good to have friends for distraction. Well, yesterday we get on the bus to go home and low & behold this chicky's on the bus. Only, she's talking to herself. Well not really to herself because once she flipped her hair back - one of a million that will take place on this 20 minute ride - I spotted the hands free, Blue Tooth, thing in her ear. I roll my eyes and settle in. The new guy up in front can't see the unit so he thinks she's as nutsy as the old lady. Ironically both working for HSBC. And these people work with our finances???? YIKES!!!! So my question now becomes this. Are we moving toward an age where the nutty walk among us and we have no idea or do we make them start wearing signs???

The Noodle Man Passes

Got this from my friend Wayne's page this morning. I'm sure all college students - and those of us who are just poor! lol - will observe a moment of silence.


Inventor of instant noodles dies at 96
TOKYO - Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles - a dish that has sustained American college students for decades - has died. He was 96.
Nissin Food Products Co., the company Ando founded, said on its Web site that he died Friday after suffering a heart attack.
Born in Taiwan, Ando founded his company in 1948 from a humble family operation. Faced with food shortages in post-World War II Japan, Ando thought a quality, convenient noodle product would help feed the masses.
In 1958, his "Chicken Ramen" - the first instant noodle - was introduced after many trials. Following its success, the company added other products, such as the "Cup Noodle" in 1971.
"The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" opened in 1999 in Ikeda City in western Japan commemorating his inventions.
Ando gave a speech at the company's New Year ceremony and enjoyed Chicken Ramen for lunch with Nissin employees on Thursday before falling ill, Japan's largest daily Yomiuri reported.
He is survived by his wife, Masako.

Running

My cousin Nikki lives in Austin who's city slogan is "Keep Austin Weird." I love to tease her that as long as she's got her address there, Austin's weird enough! LOL One thing that I really admire about her though is her love of fitness, especially running. She's got me tuned into Runners World. I like to go online and read the Kristin Armstrong blog on there. She speaks so freely about her love of running, how it's helped her through tough times and brings her together with friends. It's her own outlet. I've been searching for a new outlet for years. Ever since I had knee surgery and had to end what I was sure was a life career of dancing. So much for my dream of becoming a Rockette. For me it was real. I often wondered though that sometimes runners seem to be obsessed. What's a fat girl to do? I hardly have the body to slip into spandex bike shorts, Ok, maybe they're not spandex anymore or at least a better blend, but either way, I'm more a sweatsuit in the shower kinda girl. Besides, I'm a 42 DD!!! A couple sports bras aren't gonna cut it here. I've always been interested in trying something new but running? It's a possibility. Heck, I've got a treadmill in the basement. To be honest, I feel lately like I'm living in a fog. Every night we say the same things, watch the same programs and the same dumb comments are invariably said about the same dumb commercials that come on. Weight loss surgery shows have become a norm on our living room television. The funny part? There's usually ice cream in the freezer and a bag or two if chips in the kitchen. I've felt disconnected from my best girlfriends to. Nicole's married to Phil and they've got 2 of the cutest kids I've ever laid eyes on. Caron's married to Andy an they're expecting their first baby. If the new sonogram pix are accurate we're in for another heartbreaker folks. April's married to Dan and while I love her like a sister, all she talks about is having a baby. Chris is married to Steve and while they have no immediate plans for a family, they're doing their own grad school thing living just this side of bohemian. Here I am. Single, don't drive, not dating much less married. How do I fit in? Where's my identity? I hate complaining, especially to Travis or Iggy. They're both in the military and while Trav is safe in Korea, Iggy's over in Iraq. For every complaint I have, I see something worse for someone else. Maybe running's what I need. That release that's just me and calorie free. Now that I've got an MP3 player - albeit a crappy one I bought on eBay - I can slip on the headphones and step onto the treadmill. Heck, I'll even be extra good and throw in a load or two of laundry. What are my chances of just getting to run and not having to hold a conversation.

Home gym or public gym ... maybe this will help you decide

I always love checking out my friend Chris' blog. She's got great posts and articles I never seem to find anywhere. I haven't been to the gym in ages. Now that the first of the year is here, forget it! You won't get near a machine anyway. While the little fingers of guilt were actually starting to creep in I read this post from Chris' site and ya know what? I think a little sprucing up the home gym and I'll be much happier. Read on for those who are fans of germ free gyms!

From yahoo.com:
"Don't touch anything -- this place is crawling with bacteria."About 80% of all infectious diseases are transmitted by both direct and indirect contact, says Philip Tierno, the director of clinical microbiology at New York University Medical Center and the author of "The Secret Life of Germs." That makes the gym, with its sweaty bodies in close proximity, a highly conducive environment for catching everything from athlete's foot to the flu.In swabs of medicine balls, for example, Tierno found samples of community-acquired MRSA, a strain of staph resistant to some antibiotics. "You take your chances," Tierno says. "Any time you touch a medicine ball or machine, you have to know that your hands are contaminated and should be washed."What about those spray bottles that some gyms provide for wiping down equipment? They may help, Tierno says, but he recommends additional measures, such as wearing long sleeves and pants while working out. Also, bring your own towels because there's no guarantee that your gym's linens have been bleached or rinsed in clean water. While in the locker room, make sure you wear flip-flops, and avoid sitting nude on any exposed surface.

Sabres Beat the Islanders

Ok, I still very much hate the new Sabres logo though it is starting to grow on me, especially after last night. A great weekend was ended by my brother & I getting to go to last nights Sabres game vs. the NY Islanders. My boss Rema (love ya Cash!!!) gave me the tix because "You deserve them." Not gonna argue!!! We sat behind the players, center ice, row 9!!!! You couldn't get better seats I swear. The best part is we won 3-1 in regulation time!! My curse is finally broken! For those who don't know. For a long streatch, if I watched the game we lost. I was basically told not to watch. How can a hockey fanatic like me NOT watch?!?!?! I peaked more than once. So last night we won and the streak is broken. We didn't even get lost when we left, even though parking was a total bitch. Go SABRES!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend in Toronto

Hi everyone! We're back from our weekend in Toronto. Let's run through it from beginning to end. We took Greyhound up because the train was too late. They over sold the bus and we got split up. Mom got stuck by the bathroom and in front of a puking toddler. Fun. The hotel is beautiful. We check in, head straight to the Hockey Hall of Fame and bask in the Stanley Cup's glow. Back to the hotel to change and head to the Hummingbird Center to see the Rockette's. A great show. Kari loved the March of the Wooden Soldiers. Back to the hotel for a late dinner from the Old Spaghetti Factory which was across the street from us. I took a lukewarm shower but didn't really pay attention. Crashed out early. Up the next morning to find out we had NO HOT WATER!!!! Kari got a burst for about 5 minutes during her shower but we had an uphappy mama on our hands. We had to check out at 1:00 but the bus home wasn't until 4:00 so we meandered around Toronto pulling our suitcase and walked to the bus terminal. Turns out we could catch a 3:00 to Buffalo on Coach Canada. What a great ride that was!!! Hardly anyone on there and they just about all got off before we crossed the border! Got home and dad had made his famous mac & cheese. Yummy! Cleaned out my inbox and went to bed. Sabres Game tomorrow!!