iPods

I got my first iPod the other day. It's weird.

Grow Up

I believe John Edwards owes Ann Coulter a big "THANK YOU" for all the publicity she's throwing his way, while making herself and the Republican party look like a bunch of heartless, immature, malevolent...the list goes on.

I just can't believe this lady.

Elizabeth Edwards confronted Ann because she had "suggested that my husband had a bumper sticker on the back of his car that said, "Ask me about my dead son."

And also, on an earlier date:
"It turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm kind of at an impasse -- I can't really talk about Edwards," she said.

"Rehab" may have been a reference to "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington's decision to go into rehab during a public relations firestorm after he called one of his co-stars a "faggot."

-msnbc.com

This is wrong on so many levels.

I'm a Giraffe

I was a party lastnight and I think I have a tendency to talk about myself and not ask others good questions about their own lives, but I feel like I'm being too nosy or forward if I ask people a lot of weird questions. I'm so socially awkward I should crawl in a hole.

Attack of the Protein Bar

Back Up Plan Foods

John and I are on the hunt for back up plan foods while we are in Peru. That means that in case we get sick of rice and beans, we'll at least have something else to eat. It also means that if we get stuck with traveler's diarrhea, we have something to, uh, back us up.

This would have been much easier if I'd had a trusty woman's point of view on what's good and what's definitely not, so here are some reviews that you can use on your next backpacking trip. :)

Luna Bars

We actually bought a whole box of 15 Luna bars because they were on sale, so I'm slowly trying the varieties. I have tried Nuts Over Chocolate, which was probably one of the best ones I tried. Luna bars come from the same maker of Clif bars, but Clif bars have tons of calories (they're made for men, really), so they came up with a lighter women's version. Anyway, this type of Luna bar had really bitter chocolate, which I wasn't crazy about. However, the rice crispy stuff in it made it a winner.

Luna Tea Cakes: Berry Pomegranate

This one was excellent. If you like Nutri-Grain bars and those weird packaged muffin bar things, you would like this. It still has that weird protein bar taste, and a very dry, dense texture, so it's not something you'd really eat for the fun of it. I don't think any of these things you would eat for fun. But there's even this cute drizzle of icing on it, which is quite endearing.

I like that this one has Omega-3s, 35% of my calcium for the day, and is infused with green tea for extra antioxidant power. Only 1.5 g. of fat, 140 calories. Not bad if you're going to be walking around the Andes.

Kashi Go Lean bars

The one I had with the rice crispy cereal was even better than the Luna bar, but that's probably because it has a lot more sugar and a lot more calories.

But I tried this Kashi Go Lean candy bar, which had a sort of peanut butter nougaty stuff in it, and it was disgusting.

PowerBar

Was this a craze between 1997-2000 or was that just me? I have no idea why anyone would eat these things, but the times that I did try them, I nearly threw up. No amount of protein is worth the disaster.

Exercise in the land of the luscious and the scorching.

Amanda. Southwest Florida. Everybody waxes their entire bodies. Everyone gets pedicures and manicures. Everyone is tan, highlighted, and sexy. Everyone, I tell you.

Okay, maybe not. I mean, I do work with teachers and almost none of them are fit or sexy. But if they aren't, they at least get their hair done every 3 weeks, have perfect clothes and jewelry, etc. etc.

But anyway, I've been trying to exercise every day and do this dieting stuff, and I swear I am hurting in all the fat places. In fact, my butt hurt so much lastnight during my 20 minute WALK, I thought it was gonna get road burn from dragging on the ground.

John is the foul-language nazi of the household, so I warned him that if I don't get a move on soon, my butt will officially take on the status of "fat ass." There's just no other word for it, my friends.

Magic Kingdom 2007

John and I took one of my students from this past year, Samantha, and her brother Angel to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. We stayed one night in the All Star Sports hotel, and on Sunday we had some swim time and a lovely trip to McDonald's.

Favorite Magic Kingdom Moments:

1. The kids definitely liked the Buzz Lightyear attraction best. It was like being warped into a video game, so I quite enjoyed it myself. Angel talked us into riding that one twice.

2. Samantha's favorite was the carousel. Despite my constant pleading, she refused to hold on with both hands and waved at everyone watching as though she were a beauty queen.

3. The 3D movie starring Donald Duck was pretty fascinating (it was my favorite).

4. Edy's Cookie Swirl Ice Cream was my favorite part of the whole trip.

5. The hotel gave us the wrong room number which caused me to be very embarassed for trying to open someone else's room, Angel to pee his pants, Samantha to break her flower bouquet balloons, and me to suffer under the weight of 900 pounds of gym bags, a stuffed dalmation, and half full water bottles while John tried to fix the problem.

Basically, we had a great time. The trip almost couldn't have been any better (except the hotel room thing).

John and I went to Tuscora Park in New Philadelphia Sunday to visit our friends Kendra, Richard and their little girls Evelyn and Riley, and Tim and Lindsay. We had a lot of fun!

The guys probably had the most fun.