In my dreams...

Almost every night, in every dream I have, regardless of what I am doing in said dream, my character (me) is always scheduled to leave for China the next day. Any ideas??

Also, in my dreams...I want this super power (watch 'til the end). For many reasons. Not just sleep.

Cookie Friday

Friday is my cookie day. I get a M&M cookie with my bagel and diet coke in the a.m. Today, I had candy instead. Dove dark chocolates to be exact. Here's some candy for your Friday. You're welcome.

Penn State Punishment

Thank you to the NCAA for handing out an appropriate punishment to PSU:
$60 million fine; money goes to child sex abuse awareness
4-year bowl game ban
Scholarship reductions
All wins from 1998-2011 vacated
5 years probation

Now, if only we could get the Catholic Church to reprimand its child abusers. The NCAA has MUCH higher standards for its coaches than the church does for its priests. Hmmmm.

Two photos guaranteed to make you smile..

My friend Sarah and her two sisters....as kids and then again as adults.

Why me?

Seriously, why am I so lucky? This is what happened to me over the weekend:

1. My sis and bro-in-law treated Audrey and me to a night at the Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio. It is a hotel with an awesome water park. They then babysat Audrey overnight on Saturday so I could have a girls' night with my BFFs (sans Jen, unfortunately) on Saturday in Indy.
2. While I was in Ohio, Seja and Joe came into my house (they have a key) and painted my living room, dining room, and hallway while I was away. Yes, you read that right. Too amazing for words. And, it looks awesome.
3. Wendy and Alex treated us to a night at the new JW Marriott in Indy for girls' night.

Emma and Audrey getting ready to swim:

Audrey with a character from the Great Wolf Lodge:

Whoa. How Timely.

I hate to criticize charities, but you have to wonder about a charity that eliminates funding for their very own cause. 

I heart Kristen Bell

Million to one apple...

Is half red and half green. Super cool. Check it. 

Courtesy: The Telegraph.

$143

Hygienist brushes Audrey's two front teeth with a toothbrush (1 minute) + dentist looks in her mouth and says "no cavities, start saving for orthodontics" (1 minute) = $143

I miss having dental insurance.

Very interesting tourism promotions...

Three movies that scarred me for life (for real)...

#3 - Popeye (specifically the octopus scene)

#2 Watcher in the Woods

#3 - The Incredible Shrinking Woman 

(specifically the garage disposal scene)

Trailer

(couldn't get the embedding to work - sorry!)

Audrey's Book Choice Tonight

Lately Audrey and I have been going to Barnes & Noble on some weeknights. It's closer than the library and right between her school and our home. It's just nice for a quick trip. They have a storytelling stage that Audrey dances on for about 30 minutes. I need to get video.

Anyway, this is the book Audrey insisted I read... several times. I want to let Audrey make her own choices when it comes to reading, activities, etc. so they are her own and not mine... so I read it (and cringed internally the entire time).

This is possibly the worst book of all time. To see how horrible, you need to go to this amazon link, so you can see the interior.

Just a few words and names used in this book (it's like they crammed in every "girlish" interest into one book: princesses, marriage, fairies, movie stars, clothes, best friends, boyfriend trouble):

"Gloss Angeles" ~ stylists ~ Princess Graciella ~ Raquelle ~ Zane ~ Crystal ~ fairies ~ opening night ~ movie ~ wedding ~ spotlight ~ red carpet ~ love potion ~ Lilliana Roxelle ~ wings ~ island floating in the sky ~ spell ~ palace ~ "fairy phone" ~ teleporting

Joe Knew!

I am just now getting caught up on the news of today and am horrified to hear that Penn State students and supporters have rioted in support of football coach Joe Paterno. I understand he is a football legend and has been well-known for his integrity, but guess what... he's not everything we thought he was. HE KNEW. Now it's coming out that this creep Sandusky was maybe pimping out these boys to affluent donors!! I'm sick to my stomach and the Paterno supporters should be too.

It's unbelievable what sports leaders can get away with with. Disgusting.

Oh, and, Mr. "I think if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it" Knight, you still suck.

Insomnia =

Dance Moms!

Well Said

These days I do my very best to avoid headlines / news because our government sucks it on all levels and sides.  I just can't handle how horrible it is without going into a depressive state and obsessively worrying about my daughter's future. So, I missed this rant from August, which every person needs to hear (thanks JC):

Dictionary

Saw this headline yesterday: "25 Coming Out Stories that Shocked the World"

article here

I need to go back to school because I thought "shocking" meant something entirely different than "completely predictable" and "not surprising at all" and a "stupid article" and "who cares"?

Stay tuned for my STARTLING follow up story about sharks that swim in water.

Oh, USA Gymnastics, Why Do You Ruin Everything?

USA Gymnastics, the governing body of, well, USA gymnastics, is the most incompetent, embarrassing excuse for a governing body of a sport.

Worlds starts tomorrow. Here is a rundown of our women's team:

INJURED: Bross, Sacramone, Caquatto, Li, Memmel, Sloan

STILL WALKING: Raisman (ankle injury, but still competing), Johnson (slightly injured), Vega, Weiber, Douglas, Maroney (back injury, but still competing)

We are going on a decade of Marta Karolyi mismanaging the pre competition process. Too many competitions, mind games, training on hard equipment (old school),  traveling, etc. How is this STILL going on??

USA SUCKS even more though: covering up sexual abuse of young gymnasts in the 80s. A must read: 

http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-09-23/news/30202004_1_scats-usa-gymnastics-doe-yamashiro

By the way, the main gymnast in this article was one of my favorites. This is 1988 (she has already been being abused for 2 years). My heart breaks for her.

Jellyfish Lake

I keep telling people about this and they look at me like, "yeah right." So, in Palau, there is a lake called Jellyfish Lake. It is full of jellyfish (obviously), but they don't sting because they don't have any predators. Check out this somewhat cheesy, but amazing video of people scuba diving there.

PS I wouldn't do this if you paid me.

In My Dreams

The following three dreams are dreams I have on a regular basis. Feel free to skip reading this post because it sucks to have to listen to other people's dreams.

1. Jen, Seja, Amy, Wendy, and I are going on an international trip- usually to a very Eastern-bloc kind of place (and sometimes North Korea). Everytime I have this dream, something prevents me from going- I forgot my passport, the streets flooded and I couldn't drive to the airport, I couldn't get to the gate in time, etc. Only ONCE have we all actually made it to our destination. It was Italy. I desperately want to go on a international trip with these gals!

2. I am swimming in a deep pool full of large marine animals like whales and manatees. I have to touch the bottom of the pool with my feet before I am allowed to get out. NOTE: I am terrified of deep water with large marine animals.

3. Justin Bieber and I are dating. He is really into me.

When thinking about writing this blog, I decided to check out one of Bieber's videos. The one of the only song of his I know. I like this song and I am proud to admit it.

Love This Photo

Border between California and Mexico. But which is which?