Weight Loss Website - SparkPeople!

For the longest time, I have wanted to access a reputable website to help me:
1) keep a daily food log that calculated caloric intake along with all the carbs, fats, etc.,
2) gauge caloric burn through exercise, and
3) monitor weight loss (and gain:< ).

I also wanted the website to:
1) NOT intrude on my privacy,
2) NOT constantly try to sell me stuff, and
3) provide me with informative articles on subjects that relate to ME.

I am a die-hard fan of the Tuesday night television show, The Biggest Loser but to take advantage of their website, you must subscribe (and pay). Then, additional "specials" cost extra. While I applaud them for these ingenious strategies with which to make MORE money off of the popularity of the show, I just couldn't afford it. Hey! I'll be honest. I wanted a website where I could receive all these wonderful things for free!

Well, folks, I found it! Actually, the site was recommended and endorsed by Good Morning America during one of their morning shows. The site is called SparkPeople. As with any interactive website, you must register and build your profile. BUT it is free and VERY easy to use and I did not believe it to be intrusive.

I have used this site for about two months and cannot find one thing that I dislike about it. In fact, I enjoy going into its many features to what other service I can use. If you're wanting to monitor your weight and/or physical activity in ANY way - use this site! OR, if you have any friend(s) who would like to use something like this, pass this tip along.

Trust me, you'll thank me for this.

Recipe to Clean LCD Screen

Ya gotta love Google!

Yesterday, I was in an office supply store and went to find some sort of cleaning solution/wipes to help me clean the LCD screen on my laptop. What I found gave me a heart attack!

For $9.99, I was offered a packet containing three cloths treated in an alcohol solution. Each cloth was good for one treatment. Sorry, folks, I just couldn't throw this type of money away.

I came home and, through Googling, found a blog featuring a "recipe" for this same solution. All you need is a 50-50 mix of distilled water and rubbing alcohol (70%). Spray this onto a piece of microfiber cloth (found in the auto cleaning supplies next to the chamois). NEVER spray solution directly onto the screen!!! Turn off your screen and apply the cloth to it in a top to bottom motion. I did it this morning and its works wonderfully!

Soooooooooo, instead of spending $10.00 for three treatments, I spent approximately $6.00 (includes sprayer bottle) for 100+ treatments. I also used the cloth to clean my keyboard and mouse. BTW, the cloth is washable thus reusable!

Pass this along!

My Kind of Town, Chicago Is

Ed was born and raised in Chicago.

We lived in a suburb of Chicago for four years.

BUT, we have always wanted to spend some time downtown Chicago acting like a tourist. Well, this past Wednesday, we had our chance!

Getting me there on Amtrak
Ed and I are wanting to have him be home all next week into the holiday weekend. To do so it would be necessary for me to go up to Chicago to help him get ahead with the landscaping. Now, this has always been simple in the past but with fuel prices the way they are, we had a hard time justifying my driving up there and the two of us driving TWO vehicles back to Lebanon. To fuel my car alone would have cost me around $60!

Sooooooooooo, I began to get creative. What good is it to have been in conventions and travel for over 20 years and not be able to "tap into" those talents to get me up to the city. I narrowed it down to Amtrak's Hoosier State train that left Indy at 6:30 a.m. for a five hour trip or I was interested in giving MegaBus a try since their rates were good and they had other times during the day. Ultimately, I chose the train because I could get a ride to Indy from Lebanon with a friend and, hey!, I love trains! The fare for a reserved coach seat was only $29.00 and I could order my ticket online to be picked up at the ticket window upon arrival The ride was great and interestly enough the conductor informed me that the fuel prices have allowed ridership to grow dramatically insomuch that the Senate may allocate more funds to support the Amtrak operations. I hope so! PLEASE NOTE: Presently, there is no food service onboard the Hoosier State but they are hopeful this will change as ridership increases.

Introducing The Chicago Trolley Company!

Okay, I'm REALLY tired just now so I'll return to write more later. I have to tell you how wonderful these trolleys are and how GOD AWFUL MegaBus is!

Ed and his "60s!"

This year marks a milestone for Ed as he enters his 60s on April 27th. To launch this period of celebration, we planned a surprise party for him on Saturday, April 12th as friends from our town, community theaters, school, and the Knights of the Silver Sword mixed wonderfully together to compare stories of how Ed came into their lives.

My niece Christine and I were able to keep him "in the dark" until about three hours prior to the party. This is when he walked into the house to see the dining room set with food and the back room set for beverages. He was still puzzled until he saw his baby pictures set around as decoration and finally put everything together. It was a good thing because we desperately needed his help in getting the house ready!

I can't thank Christine enough for helping to keep me sane over the past few weeks. Its interesting that I can plan major global events involving thousands of people but tend to FREAK when a small event is in my own home.

Also, we are fortunate to have as our friend, Steve Peters. Steve is a VERY talented artist who captured this event with a lot of amazing pictures. He is gifted with a special "eye" that is able to capture the sparkle of each individual in his photos. Also, he had a bit of psychedelic fun with a few of the photos that are included as well. His photos along with a few of our own are available in our album on our Picasa web site. We hope you enjoy them. If anyone else has photos to share from that night, we would LOVE to have a copy of them.

If, after seeing the photos, you're wondering WHY there is a chocolate covered lawn mower? Well, while birthday gifts were not required, we did suggest that "tithes and offerings" of a chocolate nature be designed with imagination and creativity - a dangerous thing to tell our friends. There were many amazing designs that included a chocolate "cake" made of chocolate candy; a plunder bag appropriately monogrammed with "Mine" that featured security devices (two mousetraps); and an amazing chocolate trifle topped with chocolate covered espresso beans. BUT the winner was what you see in the pictures. Our dear friends, Dan and Carol McAfee covered a small child's toy lawnmower with a myriad of chocolate candies. Ed made a point of informing them that he also has a 36" deck mower in Chicago that they could work on as well (hint hint).

Surprisingly, the time went by VERY fast and everyone left in the wee hours. When the house grew silent, we were privileged to realized how blessed we are with knowing and loving these people. Thanks to all!

This a VERY nifty device!

I came across this really NIFTY office item and wanted to pass it along to you.

This rack allows you to store your DVDs and CDs in a standard file drawer. It is made of hard, durable plastic and easily snaps together. I have one for each of two file drawers and each rack holds disks having electronic data pertinent to the files in that drawer. Plus, it allows me to place numerous CDs and DVDs out of sight. Each rack holds 24 disks in slim or regular cases. Finally, it is priced at a VERY reasonable price of approximately $4.00. If you Google search "Media File Rack/CD Holder," many distributors will appear.

Personally, I recommend Discount Office Supplies. I love working with this office supplies company! I have ordered twice from them and they deliver within a couple of days. Their shipping prices are very low and they use UPS.

These are perfect for home OR corporate offices.

Pass this along to other office supply geeks who may benefit from this item!

Let them eat cake!

One of my very dear friends (my "Good Goon") married his sweetheart on February 16th. As our gift to them, we offered to make their wedding cake. The event had a Valentine theme and approximately 50 people were expected to attend.

The heart-shaped cake was French Vanilla in flavor and torted with white chocolate pudding. The icing was white in color and very lightly flavored with buttercream-mint. In the center, a white chocolate "jewelry box" held roses and the entire cake was lightly "dusted" with an edible white glitter that sparked nicely under the lights.

I must (immodestly) say that I was quite happy with the results. Perhaps one always produces special cakes when making them for special people. I have decorated cakes for over 30 years and interestingly enough, it is one of the very few artistic projects with which I can go from original concept to constructing the final project with my hands. Its like sculpting. I call it my "therapy." Enjoy!

WACKY Weather Wimping???

Weather-wise, Tuesday night was "entertaining" to say the least!

During the day, we had enjoyed unusual temperatures in the low 50's (12 C). At 7:30 p.m., a cold front moved into to produce a fierce storm with straight line winds in excess of 80 mph (approx. 128 kph). In two hours (21:30), the temperature dropped from 54F/12C to 28F/2C. Then, the horizontal rain turned to snow with blizzard-like conditions. It was wild! I believe the final report was that the temperature dropped 40 degrees in just six hours.

Last Night (Thursday)
ALL day long, we were hearing the reports of "gloom and doom" and how we were to receive up to 10+ inches of snow. Bread, milk, and eggs were flying off the grocery shelves! A friend of mine once commented on how curious it was that, when it snowed, everyone gets the urge to make French Toast!

We wake up this morning to two inches of snow and a little ice. This is the second time this winter that the weather reporters gets everyone all stirred up to have nothing! I supposed it is preferable to NOT having people prepared and having the opposite occur. Still, its frustrating. I suppose I want one GOOD snowstorm before winter ends. There's still time...