I was a bad girl this year...

... less than 10 posts for the year??? Good Lord.



I can't put the blame on anyone else but me. I guess I've kept myself really busy. I've been going to visit my new neice Hannah (who is now almost 5 months old!!!), I've raised over $1,300 and completed a 75 mile bike tour for MS research, I've gone scubadiving and skydiving... And now it's the holidays.



Holy crap - where has the time gone? I can remember several times this year thinking, "Wow, it's only (insert any month here). When will it be time for Thanksgiving and Christmas?" The answer:

Soon.

I just wanted to log on and apologize for my slothiness (not that anyone reads this - who wants to check into a blog that's only updated once every 6 months?)... I'll give it my best to post again BEFORE the end of the year!

Asshat Dmitri and His Asshat Voicemail

I don't know if you have heard about this yet, but I got this link from my sister...

http://www.misanthropytoday.com/2008/06/27/olga-and-dmitri-funny-voicemail/

What a TOOL!! I hope this dude is alone for a LONG LONG time. He's just SO busy that he can't take the time to "get to know" someone. Forget romance with this one ladies. It would definitely inconvenience this jerk to leave you little love notes around the house - much less, remember your birthday!!

Go find yourself a pretty hooker, Dmitri.

Le Tour 2008

Can someone help me understand why the Tour de France organizers are so stupid? I'm actually thinking that they are not humans but a couple of banana-less chimps. I am SO UPSET that they are not letting Team Astana participate in this year's Tour. Such a mistake!! The reason they are not invited back is because last year's team leader and Tour leader, Alexander Vinokourov, was busted for blood doping. I can understand not allowing HIM back - EVER. But to bar the team from participating this year?

Check this out:

• The team isn't even the same!! Not only did they boot Vinokourov & the management, they hired Johan Bruyneel - the former direteur sportif of the Lance Armstrong's Team Discovery!!
• Bruyneel wanted to start fresh, so he hired a number of former Discovery riders including Alberto Contador (2008 Tour de France winner) and Levi Leipheimer (2008 Tour de France 3rd place).
• Bruyneel adopted anti-doping measurements that were first used by CSC's team in 2007 (It's actually a very very strict system).

Le Tour says that they won't invite Astana because of the team's links to "Operación Puerto" (ummm, Vinokourov???) and involvement in the 2007 Tour doping scandals (again, wasn't that Vinokourov???).

Okay so since the whole reason for the all the hubbub is gone along with the higher-ups, I'm not following their reasoning as to why the 2008 team is banned.

I'd like to say that I will be boycotting this year's coverage of Le Tour... but who in the world would not watch when George Hincapie has a chance to do something AMAZING!!!!

GO BIG GEORGE!!!!!

NO REGRETS!!

I was so tired that I almost didn't go to this show, but man, am I glad I changed my mind about going... HELMET was awesome!!!

Now, I know that Helmet isn't a well-known band by today's music listeners. But man, do they still have it. I first saw them on the campus of Virginia Tech in 1992/1993. They opened for Faith No More (an abomination) - the majority of people who attended were there for Helmet. I always loved their lyrics and unique sound. It was heavy but a little experimental - and I loved any new music with a twist or quirk that separated them from the rest.

I remember being excited. I remember wondering why the guitarist didn't turn around and face the crowd. I remember being lifted yet annoyed when they stopped playing. And I remember being fully let down by Faith No More.

All these great memories pulled me back to see them over a week ago at Volume 11 in Raleigh, NC. The show was incredible! And even though there's only one original member in the band - the songs ROCKED! And even better - Page Hamilton is actually a pretty nice guy. The venue wasn't huge, but is really neat - only metal groups are invited to play - and after the show, the guys shook hands and talked with anyone who stayed behind. Just regular ordinary "Joes" who happen to be fantastic musicians.

The only time I was disappointed was when I got to work the next day and started to talk about the show to the new girl - who is a HUGE Tool fan...

... and she did not know who they were!!!

Does this make me old?? Dear God - knowing who Helmet is actually dates me? That one line from her mouth actually hit me in the face like a ton of college yearbooks. That said - I've figured out what you young-uns are missing from your lives. It's called Helmet.

Ridiculous Caloric Intake vs. Inferior Caloric Output

So after my last post - take a wild guess what's been on my mind...

Yeah. I did it.

I went out on a group bike ride Saturday morning. When we got back, it was lunchtime. And, of course, I was hungry. I pack up my bike and head home thinking I'll stop and get a Chik-Fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Sanwich (270 calories, 3.5g of fat. The regular sandwich? 410 calories, 16g of fat). It's only slightly out of the way - and now that gas is $4/gal I try to consolidate as many trips out as possible.

Then I remembered - I pass a Hardee's on the way home!!!! That was a sign, bitches!!!!!!!!

I get the burger, bring it home, let the dogs out, (left the bike in the car - it's called prioritizing) and set myself up in front of the TV with the recording of CSI that I missed on Thursday night.

It was wonderful. I ate slow - I tasted - I ate half (I can learn a lesson or two).

No regrets - until today. Don't ask me why but I looked up the calories:

"12. Worst Burger
Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger 1,520 calories 111 g fat Carl's brags about this, but also provides convenient nutrition info on its Web site —so ignorance is no excuse for eating it.A Simple Solution: The Low Carb Six Dollar Burger has just 490 calories. "

So now take a wild guess what I won't be ingesting again for a very long time...

The Six Dollar Burger & Meat Sweats

O. M. G.

So I was over at Moufflet's today... and read the post about the $6 burger. Those of you on the west side of the country may be familiar with this delicious-ness at Carl's Junior, but here on the east coast - it Hardees where this monster of a burger resides.

Holy crap. This burger is the tastiest, messiest, most memorable burger I have ever eaten. I first had one years ago after watching my brother-in-law try to eat an entire burger in one sitting. He went as far down that road as he could and I remember his face... he had the look of extreme pleasure and extreme pain at the same time.

I had to try one.

When I got home, I went out and got one for myself. I remember getting home and drawing the blinds (I'm sorta a secret eater), turning on the TV and opening the box. The burger is also half-wrapped inside the box. I didn't realize that the beautiful presentation was also functional - it keeps the burger together. YES - it's THAT messy!

The first bite was marvelous!! I reached back in memory to try to think of any other burger I'd consumed in my life that was half as good... nothing. The more you get into it, the messier it gets. But you can't stop picking it up - it's so good!

My problem - a little after I'm halfway through... I'm already full. And this is not a "full" that you can ignore. This is FULL - "no-more-room-at-the-inn" FULL. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM!! The burger is so good that you don't want to stop eating. I mean, it's not gonna be as good if you wrap it and try to go back to it later!! But there is absolutely NO WAY that I'm gonna throw food away! Especially when it's still edible (and this is not just edible!)!

So I forged ahead and took another bite. I chewed slowly to try to let my mouth catch up with the digestion going on in my gullet. I swallowed and took another bite, and another...

I get to where there are only 2 good bites left - I can see the finish line - I'm almost there!! Then I start to get this really weird feeling. This is a feeling I usually associate with being sick with the flu or way too drunk to still be standing. But I don't quite understand it because I FEEL GOOD!

**cue the "meat sweats" **

I find myself running to the bathroom and immediately throwing up. I'm glad my body reacted correctly because my mind didn't catch up until the act was over. I honestly had to sit down and replay what had just happened. ("Had I really just thrown up because my belly was over full?? Was there actually a point where your belly physically fills up!??)

Every other time I've thrown up, it's a situation that gets attached to a particular food or smell or taste. And from then on, there is not even a thought that is given to that particualar item. Because then would come the nausea.

Forunately this time - there was happiness associated with the regurgitation. I honestly felt better. The meat sweats subsided, the clouds parted and the angels sang.

I can still eat a $6 burger. I just stop after half. It's really not as bad as I thought to come back to it when I get hungry later.

And folks, this is the second of two such stories in my life. I'll have to save the other story for another day.

It's a GIRL!!!

Holy crap. So I was wrong about those "predictions" I listed below... But 1.5 out of 4 isn't bad:

• We have not yet been let out of our Gold's Gym contract. Not that we haven't tried!! We've followed every channel that we were told to... to no avail. Not even any correspondance! So, the next step is going to have to involve talking at a volume considered annoying at the counter at Gold's until they let us out of our contract.


• I do have a new 20-week ultrasound!! But it's not a boy... so we're just going to have to wait to see if she's a tomboy... Hannah Ray. I know it's kind of country sounding but I just know it fits. Hannah is my sister's choice for a name and Ray comes from my brother-in-law's grandmother. This woman was amazing - she was the first female sheriff for the county that my brother-in-law grew up in. I met her a couple of times - and she was such an incredible person. This woman knew which battles to fight and which ones to let slide by. I'm always in awe of those who have figured this out.


• No new accounting person yet BUT we do have 2 interviews this week. I'm just going to have to wait and see... I hate this part.


• Getting my hair done every morning in 25 minutes. Which, even though it is under 30 minutes, doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment. Guess I need to be more specific.

To my dear Hannah Ray - I hope you pick up those awesome qualities from your great-grandmother!! But in case you are ruled by your sign (Cancer - due date July 8th) you have the potential for a lifetime on an emotional rollercoaster. I know all about it (birthday: July 20th) and I am getting a handle on these things called "feelings". I think I can help. Don't ever count me out.

I love you already and I can't wait to meet you!