Halloweenie 2009

It's Halloween!!! I kind of am impartial to Halloween the older I get. Because I can't get all the good candy, should not eat all that good candy and for girls the older you get it's somewhat more about dressing slutty that scary. It was great in college when I had flat abs, nice bum bum and no fear...but now at 27 it's not as great and I want something that covers my not so hot places.

But...this year I was kind of excited because my friend is throwing a Halloween party and it's gorgeous out in Cincinnati. I had my outfit planned for the past month, it's nothing amazing, but it covers all my not so hot places and is still cute. I am excited to spend the night with my friends and see everyone elses costumes.

Also, for the first time I actually dressed up at work...well it was all for a Chipotle gift card so who wouldn't? I've inserted the picture from today and you can find the SparkPeople article here.

Robin Sparkles...Is She Ted's Wife?

Hands down all time favorite show at the moment. How I Met Your Mother is an awesome show that anyone with a great group of friends in their late 20s/early 30s can relate to. I'd say it's probably the Friends of my generation. The script is hilarious and they have a great way of continuing to loops in jokes from previous shows and even that episode.

One of my favorite things is that Robin, one of the main characters, used to be a Canadian Pop Star in her Teens. They feautre this is seceral episodes, but last night was one of my favorite and they posted a full length version of the song on You Tube. I also posted her first hit, "Going To The Mall" becuase it's catchy and I want all of you to walk around singing it today. Start watching and find out who Ted finally marries - clue, it's not Aunt Robin.

Election Day Is Coming...Do You Know The Issues or Candidates??

Election day is a week away and I've been trying to educate myself. With all the issues and candidates it can be very confusing if you aren't politically in tune. Anways, because we all should get out and vote, I am posting two links below that I have been using to read up on the issues before going to vote. Educate yourself before you vote, it's your future.

http://www.smartvoter.org/oh/hm/ - For Ohioan's going out to vote - read up on the issues and what a yes/no vote means - these can be confusing if you don't read up ahead of time

http://knowbeforeyouvote.com/ - Big picture look at Presidential Candidates

Ouch, Ouchie, and OOOUCCCCHHH!!!!

Because of the insane amounts of food I ate below and felt like I was slacking on my workouts, I had a marathon day yesterday. I'm posting this because I don't ever recommend doing it, I can't even spend the two hours on my fitness ball at work today.

I did pilates reformer for an hour, body pump for an hour and then enjoyed some beach volleyball for an hour. I felt fine last night, but this morning my muscles hurt really bad and I just want to do this. It hurts so bad I can't even sit on my fitness chair today featured on the right. And oh yeah, check out my review of the chair on the on the DailySpark blog, I'm the second comment.

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=stuff_we_love_gaiams_balance_ball_chair

Salty and Sweet - A Little Too Much of Both

This past weekend at the Texas vs. Mizzou game the Tigers got their butt’s whooped. While the game was a blowout, I had a blast and am totally amazed at how big college football can be! The tailgates alone were huge - bigger than what we see here at the Bengals games.

I went with Jim, who’s Aunt and Uncle host an amazing tailgate, see photo to right of their tailgate setup. I have to give a shout out to his Uncle David and Aunt Jamie for their Texas hospitality. Not only did they host an amazing tailgate, they also treated everyone to a great Texas style dinner Friday night and then we hit sixth street to party!

Like I said, the game was a blowout but we made the best of it. Outside of playing Cardinal Puff and Thumper, we did some side betting throughout the day to keep things exciting. Jim’s sister, Mary Jesse, was triple dog dared to lick the family dog Charlie’s bald head.

For background, Charlie had a bit of an accident; well his owner accidentally dropped a scalding hot pan of bacon grease as Charlie was nearby begging. The bacon grease severely burned Charlie’s head and torso, but due to excellent care he is back on track. However, a little bald spot on the top of his head will never grow back, so of course we dared Mary Jesse to lick it. She said it was salty and you can tell from the video below.



Now, for what I ate during the tailgate : 1 breakfast burrito (eggs, sausage, cheese, hot sauce, tortilla wrap), cheeseburger, chips and guacamole, 1 chicken wing, corn, coleslaw, 1 rib, 1 slices brisket, ¼ grilled chicken, popcorn snacker, 1 giant mamasso, a ton of beer and the kicker – 16 Brownies…or so.

Yeah, that’s right…I am a lover of sweets and these brownies were to die for. So, Mary Jesse had the salty and I had the sweet.

Brayden Reilly Asman

On September 28 in the early morning my cousin Chrisha had her second child Brayden Reilly Asman. He is just absolutely adorable and has the fullest head of blonde hair. He is a miracle and a blessing to Chrisha and her family. Baby and family are doing great and I am very excited for their new journey with her new bundle of joy Brayden!

Last November, Chrisha lost her first child Peyton to SIDS (SIDS is the sudden death of an infant for no explained reason, for more info on SIDS click here). It is a loss so great I cannot being to explain it in any type of words or blog. However, Chrisha and family are doing well in the recovery process and with the arrival of Brayden he has blessed her in many more ways than we can understnad. Of course, Peyton is our little angel that will continue to watch over her new baby brother!

My First Big Game

I’ve never been to a big college game, I went to Ohio University, but this week I’m going to the Texas vs. Missouri game at Texas. It will be the now #11 Missouri Tigers vs. the #1 Texas Longhorns (Missouri dropped out of the Top 10 after a loss this weekend to Oklahoma State). The game is in Austin and I’m really excited. I am going with a ton of Mizzou fans and am very excited. Shout out to MJ who goes to Mizzou and has made me a fabulous shirt that I can’t wait to wear! I’m really excited!!!!

Go Tigers!

Is Your Neighborhood Safe?

No, this isn't some cheesy Channel 5 news report...it's an interest look at how one man views safety. I read about this Argentine publicist, Mariano Pasik, who did an experiment with bicycles to figure out how safe the neighborhoods are in Buenos Aires. The whole idea is that you can tell how safe your neighborhood is by how long an unchained bicycle will remain before someone steals it?. The name of his experiment is La Prueba de la Bicicleta, or The Test of the Bike.

Sounds odd right? Well not so much in America but in other areas of the world bicycles are the main transportation and a hot commodity. So what he did was use hidden cameras and used cheap bicycles as bait, to see how long it would take for the bike to get stolen. His thinking is, that the longer it takes for the bike to be stolen the safer the neighborhood.

Pasik did this is several neighborhoods and then set the videos to music and post them on the following website, http://www.lapruebadelabicicleta.com/ . It's kind of fun to watch them and see what happens.


However, Pasik doesn't consider this bike robbers thieves, "What you see on the videos is that they aren't professional thieves, they aren't people who went out to rob. They are people who ran into temptation and decided to commit a crime, they become thieves at the moment they take the bike," he said.

Pasik later goes on saying this is for art and hopes other videographers will follow in his footsteps. I think it's more art and interesting, because I definitely wouldn't judge my neighborhood on safety with whether or not a bike was stolen.

An example of one of his clips is below - does that music make you wanna go there or what, without the theft and all?



La Prueba de la Bicicleta - Salguero y Charcas = The Test of the Bike - and Salguero Charcas

Bringing Braces Back

My friend Kyl had to get braces at the age of 26, which is not very common. So in honor of Kyl's braces her boyfriend Scott photoshopped a photo of what she will look like. I just think Kyl is bringing sexy back...so in honor of Kyl's braces I wrote a little diddy below, sung to the tine of JT's "Bringing Sexy Back"

Kyl’s bringing braces back
Them other teeny boppers don't know how to act
I think you're special what’s that in your mouth
So open wide your pearly whites ain’t going south
Take ‘em to the dentist

[Dentist]
Crooked teeth
You see these braces
Better save them as a style fave
She'll let you tighten them if she misbehaves
It's just that braces make her feel this way
Take em' to the ortho

[Ortho]
Head gear at night
Go ahead, be on with it
Retainer at lunch
Go ahead, be on with it
Rubber bands
Go ahead, be on with it
JuJu Bees on me
Go ahead, be done with it
Let me see what you're working with
Go ahead, be on with it
Look at those teeth
Go ahead, be on with it
You make me smile
Go ahead, be on with it
Go ahead child
Go ahead, be on with it
And get your braces on
Go ahead, be on with it
Get your braces on

[Verse 2]
Kyl’s bringing braces back
Them other teeny boppers don't know how to act
Kyl’s making up for the things they lack
Brace are burning up I gotta get them fast
Take em' to the ortho

[Verse 3]
Kyl’s bringing braces back
Them other teeny boppers want what she wears
Better listen by her fashion sense Kyl swears
Cause she’ll set the trend and that's a fact

If Only They Had Text Goggles

Google Labs launched a feature called Mail Googles, which prevents you from emailing when you are not in the right state of mind, basically intoxicated. The feature allows you to select a time you will most likely need to use Mail Googles. Before your message is sent, you must solve a series of simple math problems "to verify you're in the right state of mind," according to the Google Blog (http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-in-labs-stop-sending-mail-you-later.html).

I think that is a great feature, but where's it at for my phone? I used to send drunken emails to boyfriends, friends and co-workers, but that was before the days of SMS messaging, or texting. I can't tell you how many mornings I've woken up, looked at my phone, and been like oh my gosh, I sent that?? Or, oh my gosh that was meant to go to my boyfriend not the name below his in my phone!

You all know you do it, you all have probably received one, so where's that Text Goggles at AT&T?

What Makes A Viral Ad Great

I came across this ad from a coworker and I think it is a great example of what makes a viral video great. Watch the video above and notice that it's driving you back to a website that packages only P&G products. It's a catchy song and a funny enough to be shared. Now, how many people will actually order the packages might not be that much- but it's definitely getting some WOM.

A Legend Passes

With the bailout being the main news headlines and the only thing people are talking about, the loss of a Hollywood legend went a little under the radar. Paul Newman passed away on Friday, September 26 at the age of 83.

The reason I wanted to write about this is that he was a prominent actor who succumbed to lung cancer from many years of smoking (although, it has been reported he quit smoking over 30 years ago) Although he quit 30 years ago, the damage done was not repairable. According to a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Dr. Len Horovitz, “Once lungs are damaged they don’t grow back, it’s like brain tissue — once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.” (published in an article on http://www.foxnew.com/)

Check out the photos to the right, Paul prior to diagnosis and Paul several months later…it’s a fast killer!


I do not walk around being an advocate all the time for not smoking, although my close friends who smoke may feel different. But I get on my friends and families back because it’s an avoidable death, preventable just by not doing it. I lived lung cancer for a year of my life and still am, it’s a horrible way to go and I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. It’s not an easy death, it slowly eats at you, day by day, you can’t breathe, eat, walk and in the end you are on a morphine so strong you might think you are on Pluto. It’s devastating to watch someone die this way and it's a painful death.

Just think, in order to catch up to what tobacco kills each year the world’s largest cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, which holds an estimated 3,600 passengers, would have to sink and all passengers aboard die every day for the next 4 years to catch up to 1 year of tobacco deaths in the world- now that is shocking!

Below are some quick facts from the American Lunch Association http://www.lungusa.org/ on lung cancer and smoking that may shock you:

• Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the United States. In 1987, it surpassed breast cancer to become the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Lung cancer causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate).
• Smoking accounts for 87% of lung cancer deaths.
• Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. Tobacco kills more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. It is currently responsible for more than 5 million deaths each year, and will cause 8 million deaths each year by 2030. Up to half of people who smoke will eventually be killed by tobacco.
• The expected 5-year survival rate for all patients in whom lung cancer is diagnosed is 16%, compared to 64.1% for colon, 88.5% for breast and 99.9% for prostate cancer.
• About six out of 10 people with lung cancer die within one year of being diagnosed.

Now we know this is not healthy!

3-Peat

The results of the BusinessWeek Best of the Web poll came out this morning... and the winner in the Health category is SparkPeople! This is our 3rd year in a row claiming this title!!!

The presentation of who won each category is pretty bad... but we’re the top of the list (which means we won):


http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0929_loved_websites/12.htm