I cheated on my sister.
I know, I'm giving out all sorts of secrets, but it's a sad day when you double back on family. And, all in the name of yogurt.
My mom and I were at our new fancy mall, okay, so it's been fancy for awhile, we just hadn't been out there since they added Tiffany, Burberry, and other stores I'm too poor and un-stylish to even merit a second glance from the sales associate. Well, anyway, part of the addition was an awesome, practically gourmet food court. Alright, so there's a Subway....why does that dumb sandwich shop always ruin everything??
Walking past, we found a little self-serve yogurt bar. My sister recently opened a shop of her own so we decided we would do a little investigating. We looked at the toppings. Nothing to worry about...small selection, sad variety. Then as we were tallying the number of machines and checking out flavors the guy came around and asked if we wanted a sample. Now really, am I ever going to pass up a freebie??
I noticed they had a couple of what are called 'tart' flavors which are my sister's favorite of all the hundreds she'd tried so I wanted to sample that of course. It was DIVINE! Sweet, refreshing, with a little tart and tangy on the back end. DELISH! Even better than the plain was the BLUEBERRY TART!
Well, we went on our merry way around the mall and couldn't stop thinking about the tiny morsel of heaven we'd had earlier. So, we ended up back at the yogurt bar for a treat on our way out. The next day we were back at the mall for a "master class" I'll tell you about later, and would you know it, we weren't even hungry and stopped by for a yogurt!
So, sorry sista, I cheated. TWICE! Next time I have the craving for yogurt...which has been every day since I had it...I'll know it's worth every mile of the drive for some SCREAMIN' good YOGURT!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
But Wait, There's MORE!
There's a running gag in my family about my dad buying stuff off of infomercials. Actually, I guess not a gag as much as a fact: My dad buys stuff off of infomercials. (I hope I'm not exposing a dirty little secret. Sorry Pops.)
It started probably before I can remember, but my first introduction to these products was "Quick-n-Bright." Ahhh, that pink paste was my nemesis as the infomercial so proudly demonstrated it would take oil off of driveways. Even as an eight-year-old I realized it wasn't the magical product removing the oil but the fact that after a couple hours, I'd scrubbed the concrete completely away with the metal wire brush I'd been instructed to use.
Next, the Heath-Rider. Now found at every local Goodwill and D.I. around. Don't get me wrong, this piece was used pretty well, not in anyway it was designed to be though, before we donated ours to the local thrift store. Mostly it was an eyesore of a contraption in the corner of our living room for multiple years.
After that I remember Oxi-Clean...BEFORE it was reputable and came to Costco. The only product I really remember performing as it was advertised to do. (P.S. I do love this stuff, and only recently discovered it's wonderful stain-fighting genius....bought from the store, not the television.)
Countless others followed, each added a little more to the joke than the last. At least one new thing a year. My personal favorite of the last year is the Malibu Pilates. Now, this thing is not for the faint of heart. It means business. I tried just the introduction to the machine one evening and there are some pretty tough moves. Kinda fun to pump the pedals, more fun to watch others doing it.
Even Christmas is not safe as my mother was given yet another infomercial-purchased gift.
Well, I've found myself on the couch awake MANY more night than I've wanted in the past month trying to get over this cough. I've tried to be a good wife and let Brian sleep through the nights without being disturbed, but truthfully, it's a little aggravating to hear someone next to you breathing deeply, dreaming sweetly while you can't even lay down! So it's out of frustration I pull out the sheets and drape them over the couch for a night of cat naps interspersed with honey and lemon tea. I usually turn the T.V. on at about 3am when my eyes are too tired to play games on my iPOD or read a magazine and let me tell you, that it PRIME infomercial time! Nothing else is on...and I mean NOTHING!! The whole menu all the way down reads something like this:
Paid Programming
Paid Programming
Paid Programming
I usually just scan the channels to be entertained until my medicine kicks back in, but I have to tell you, at that magical hour when no human brain can think clearly and the delirium sets in, the products seem viable!! I'm not kidding! In the last 3 weeks, there have been not one, but TWO things I literally almost bought!
First this fancy knife almost as good as the "Ginsu" that cuts through shoes. I know...it seems crazy, but it had a weighted handle and everything. They were slicing and dicing with no effort at all. PLUS, it was clearance priced! I can't ever pass up a good deal but told myself I would NEVER buy something from the television. The next morning, I was still thinking about it and decided I could find it on the website. But, SOLD OUT! (Secretly I'm happy it's gone so I wouldn't have to live with the shame of hypocrisy.)
Next, in true infomercial fashion this cool workout thing called "The Wave." It just looked fun. It could turn into a step and all these other positions to target different areas. It guaranteed results too good to be true and I believed them! Yikes. Anyway, I was too tired to get up and glad about that because by the morning I came back to my senses. That's how you can tell you would have been ripped off. When your brain cells come back to life, you can see the holes in their marketing strategy.
So, there you have it. Last night I skipped the TV all together as I've had little sleep in the last few days, my will power and brain power is at an all-time low. I realized it would have been my night to be had by the infomercial empire.
It started probably before I can remember, but my first introduction to these products was "Quick-n-Bright." Ahhh, that pink paste was my nemesis as the infomercial so proudly demonstrated it would take oil off of driveways. Even as an eight-year-old I realized it wasn't the magical product removing the oil but the fact that after a couple hours, I'd scrubbed the concrete completely away with the metal wire brush I'd been instructed to use.
Next, the Heath-Rider. Now found at every local Goodwill and D.I. around. Don't get me wrong, this piece was used pretty well, not in anyway it was designed to be though, before we donated ours to the local thrift store. Mostly it was an eyesore of a contraption in the corner of our living room for multiple years.
After that I remember Oxi-Clean...BEFORE it was reputable and came to Costco. The only product I really remember performing as it was advertised to do. (P.S. I do love this stuff, and only recently discovered it's wonderful stain-fighting genius....bought from the store, not the television.)
Countless others followed, each added a little more to the joke than the last. At least one new thing a year. My personal favorite of the last year is the Malibu Pilates. Now, this thing is not for the faint of heart. It means business. I tried just the introduction to the machine one evening and there are some pretty tough moves. Kinda fun to pump the pedals, more fun to watch others doing it.
Even Christmas is not safe as my mother was given yet another infomercial-purchased gift.
Well, I've found myself on the couch awake MANY more night than I've wanted in the past month trying to get over this cough. I've tried to be a good wife and let Brian sleep through the nights without being disturbed, but truthfully, it's a little aggravating to hear someone next to you breathing deeply, dreaming sweetly while you can't even lay down! So it's out of frustration I pull out the sheets and drape them over the couch for a night of cat naps interspersed with honey and lemon tea. I usually turn the T.V. on at about 3am when my eyes are too tired to play games on my iPOD or read a magazine and let me tell you, that it PRIME infomercial time! Nothing else is on...and I mean NOTHING!! The whole menu all the way down reads something like this:
Paid Programming
Paid Programming
Paid Programming
I usually just scan the channels to be entertained until my medicine kicks back in, but I have to tell you, at that magical hour when no human brain can think clearly and the delirium sets in, the products seem viable!! I'm not kidding! In the last 3 weeks, there have been not one, but TWO things I literally almost bought!
First this fancy knife almost as good as the "Ginsu" that cuts through shoes. I know...it seems crazy, but it had a weighted handle and everything. They were slicing and dicing with no effort at all. PLUS, it was clearance priced! I can't ever pass up a good deal but told myself I would NEVER buy something from the television. The next morning, I was still thinking about it and decided I could find it on the website. But, SOLD OUT! (Secretly I'm happy it's gone so I wouldn't have to live with the shame of hypocrisy.)
Next, in true infomercial fashion this cool workout thing called "The Wave." It just looked fun. It could turn into a step and all these other positions to target different areas. It guaranteed results too good to be true and I believed them! Yikes. Anyway, I was too tired to get up and glad about that because by the morning I came back to my senses. That's how you can tell you would have been ripped off. When your brain cells come back to life, you can see the holes in their marketing strategy.
So, there you have it. Last night I skipped the TV all together as I've had little sleep in the last few days, my will power and brain power is at an all-time low. I realized it would have been my night to be had by the infomercial empire.
Confessions
So, after church today, I might have hit the garage door opener 85 times before, (no not parking my car and going in the front door like a normal person), BACKING UP A LITTLE and trying another 85 times. That seemed to do the trick.
Yeah, I'm not proud of that, but I refuse to get a new battery for the darn thing. I can always open it around the block if I remember in time, and I usually find the sweet spot after 5 or 6 clicks. My neighbors must think I'm the hugest Mrs. Lazypants as I do cheer leading moves with my arms, clicker in hand, to find the magic connection.
Tomorrow I vow to fix the thing so I don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed anymore.
Yeah, I'm not proud of that, but I refuse to get a new battery for the darn thing. I can always open it around the block if I remember in time, and I usually find the sweet spot after 5 or 6 clicks. My neighbors must think I'm the hugest Mrs. Lazypants as I do cheer leading moves with my arms, clicker in hand, to find the magic connection.
Tomorrow I vow to fix the thing so I don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed anymore.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
My excuse flies at 300 Miles an hour
That's the speed at which I cough...at least that's what the doctor said. But I believe it! In fact, I took a bath to soothe my cold and I actually coughed bubbles right out of the tub! Better yet, one night I was coughing so much that the dogs down the street started barking with me! It's a little funny now when I think about it, but so embarrassingly pathetic at the time it made me cry. It might have been the delirium of no sleep for a week that brought on the tears also, I'm not too sure.
Anyway, this cold I've had about 6 weeks is the best excuse i've got for my blog-update delay. But it's here now...and I vow to be better in 2010!
(and yes I ALWAYS say I'm going to be better about more frequently blogging, but I've truly been inspired by a friend's blog that this year it will happen!)
Anyway, this cold I've had about 6 weeks is the best excuse i've got for my blog-update delay. But it's here now...and I vow to be better in 2010!
(and yes I ALWAYS say I'm going to be better about more frequently blogging, but I've truly been inspired by a friend's blog that this year it will happen!)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas
We had such a fun Christmas year. Here's a quick picture of all the grandkids with my parents. **Not pictured, a brand new baby girl who came 4 days after Christmas. We never can seem to have all our family in a picture at once!
Snow in Sacramento?
So I didn't believe anybody one Sunday night a few weeks back when they said that it would be snowing early the next morning. In California....snow?? Even with my doubts though, I asked Brian if there was snow on the ground, to wake me up when he got up.
Well, the sun was slowly rising when I was shaken awake the next morning and looked out the window to powdered sugar like dust outside everywhere. It was so exciting! I threw on a jacket and some shoes and grabbed the camera. I wish now I would have made a tiny snowman as it melted a couple hours after it fell, but there was enough on Brian's car to write in. Glad I could see the phenomenon that happens every ten years here in Sacramento.
Well, the sun was slowly rising when I was shaken awake the next morning and looked out the window to powdered sugar like dust outside everywhere. It was so exciting! I threw on a jacket and some shoes and grabbed the camera. I wish now I would have made a tiny snowman as it melted a couple hours after it fell, but there was enough on Brian's car to write in. Glad I could see the phenomenon that happens every ten years here in Sacramento.
DISNEYLAND
I really don't have much else to say about this. The pictures really do capture what a fun time we had. It was our little nieces' first time to the magical kingdom and both sides of their family got to come except one couple. We played at Disneyland and California adventure for 3 days together and had a blast! A couple moments to highlight....
The first day we had to document the beginning of the adventures: THE TRAM RIDE IN! That's always the maiden voyage of the trip to the park. Sadly, after about 3 pictures on the tram, my camera battery died. LOVELY! Luckily there were about 12 other cameras there to capture the fun so we didn't miss out on the memories.
Another exciting thing at the park was Brian heard Ryan Gosling from the Notebook was riding Tower of Terror. While we were waiting in line to watch Aladdin Megan ran over and waited till he got off and snapped a quick picture. EXCITING! We also saw the blind guy from last season of American Idol like 2 hours later....Obviously not as cool since I couldn't even tell you his name.
I can't get enough of this last picture! We were at Disneyland the first day of their holiday season, so we saw the Christmas parade and then they had holiday fireworks so we camped out at like 6...(Brian's parents parked it a couple hours before that) right in front of the castle to watch the great show. Well, as it started to get later and later, people would barge through anywhere they could and end up getting stuck near our large group. So, Brian and his dad linked hands and formed a path for people to walk in so they would stop trampling over us and our stuff. All they needed were the reflector sticks and people would think they were employees! We pretended like we didn't know them, but secretly we were very thankful!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Halloween
So Halloween kinda loses it's sparkle when you're too old to trick-or-treat and don't have kids that enjoy the fun, so some of my family got together with little ones and we ate scones and drank apple cider and then walked it off while the kiddos got candy.
Landon's kids were fairies...so cute...and little Sam Sam was Indiana Jones complete with a whip. After seeing the loot they came away with, I was tempted to exploit little 3 month Cyrus to get some goodies. They had so much candy, their pumpkins were too heavy for them to carry, so Brian ran back and came to the rescue with grocery bags to lighten their loads.
When I was a kid, we went for quantity, not quality, and I remember crying one year when my older brothers totally ditched me a few houses down. Sad I know. BUT, our favorite part of the night was coming home, and piling our candy in a mound, and then sorting it out by variety; candy bars here, smarties there, and then there was the pile we were willing to trade! And the bartering began. We would spend the next hour deciding whether a Milky Way was worth 3 tootsie rolls or 4 and you practically had to PAY someone to take that orange and black wrapped peanut butter taffy off your hands. Definitely some fun memories.
It was fun living through the little ones and they were so excited when they found someone had given them their favorite candy! So cute!
The Crew.
They needed some help saying trick-or-treat. They were really good at ringing the doorbell and I think stunned when someone came to the door. It took a block of houses and then they were pros!
New best buddies. They totally did this on their own and waited for one another. It was pretty cute.
Here are the traditional Hodnett family "look how big my pile of free loot is" pictures!
Landon's kids were fairies...so cute...and little Sam Sam was Indiana Jones complete with a whip. After seeing the loot they came away with, I was tempted to exploit little 3 month Cyrus to get some goodies. They had so much candy, their pumpkins were too heavy for them to carry, so Brian ran back and came to the rescue with grocery bags to lighten their loads.
When I was a kid, we went for quantity, not quality, and I remember crying one year when my older brothers totally ditched me a few houses down. Sad I know. BUT, our favorite part of the night was coming home, and piling our candy in a mound, and then sorting it out by variety; candy bars here, smarties there, and then there was the pile we were willing to trade! And the bartering began. We would spend the next hour deciding whether a Milky Way was worth 3 tootsie rolls or 4 and you practically had to PAY someone to take that orange and black wrapped peanut butter taffy off your hands. Definitely some fun memories.
It was fun living through the little ones and they were so excited when they found someone had given them their favorite candy! So cute!
The Crew.
They needed some help saying trick-or-treat. They were really good at ringing the doorbell and I think stunned when someone came to the door. It took a block of houses and then they were pros!
New best buddies. They totally did this on their own and waited for one another. It was pretty cute.
Here are the traditional Hodnett family "look how big my pile of free loot is" pictures!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
boy trip!
Since Gordon and his family moved into town, they have had some fun exploring the area. He found that Northstar..(i think)...a Ski Resort in Tahoe has summertime mountain biking trails. So you ride the lift up and bike down the mountain. Brian went with them and had a good time. He came home with TONS of scratches and a couple of bruises but was very proud of his battle wounds.
Two of my brothers with Brian. Be gentle with him guys.
The crew getting ready. Don't worry, the little one wasn't headed down the mountain. His momma was taking the picture and they spent the day riding up and down the lift and walking around the beautiful place.
Two of my brothers with Brian. Be gentle with him guys.
The crew getting ready. Don't worry, the little one wasn't headed down the mountain. His momma was taking the picture and they spent the day riding up and down the lift and walking around the beautiful place.
Horsetail Falls
One lovely summer day we headed up a trail to a beautiful waterfall about an hour from home. It was a nice little hike and it was great to escape the heat for a day. It was so much fun, we went another day a couple weeks later but it wasn't as impressive. The falls were beginning to dry up. Next summer we'll hit it earlier in the season to see it as it's best.
This little man proved his wilderness savvy by climbing up and down the mountain all my himself!! After a few near spills jumping off rocks, he finally learned how to slide down the big rocks to safety.
The first time we went up, I wore Crocs. BAD IDEA! Yes, they were comfy and grippy, but the little holes let the dust into my toes....and toenails (maybe that's too much information), but it took a good week to get out. NASTY! And if you know me, I hardly ever wear shoes that cover my toes....so dark red nail polish came to the rescue.
There are cool little water falls into swimming holes all the way up to the top. The second time it was pretty warm and the boys braved the FREEZING water....Sammy and I had to run for cover as they threw huge rock grenades to splash us.
Austin...well, being Austin...."Hey guys, do you think I could climb this thing??" I have to admit, it was pretty impressive, and made for a cool picture.
This little man proved his wilderness savvy by climbing up and down the mountain all my himself!! After a few near spills jumping off rocks, he finally learned how to slide down the big rocks to safety.
The first time we went up, I wore Crocs. BAD IDEA! Yes, they were comfy and grippy, but the little holes let the dust into my toes....and toenails (maybe that's too much information), but it took a good week to get out. NASTY! And if you know me, I hardly ever wear shoes that cover my toes....so dark red nail polish came to the rescue.
There are cool little water falls into swimming holes all the way up to the top. The second time it was pretty warm and the boys braved the FREEZING water....Sammy and I had to run for cover as they threw huge rock grenades to splash us.
Austin...well, being Austin...."Hey guys, do you think I could climb this thing??" I have to admit, it was pretty impressive, and made for a cool picture.
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