The Slanket is out of commission

Last year I ranted about this ridiculous product called The Slanket. You know...the blanket with sleeves. I also mentioned that The Snuggie was the poor man's slanket. The Snuggie is more affordable which is great in these hard economic times. It has gained overwhelming popularity and has overtaken all my favorite store shelves. Well, my friend found this new advertisement for The Snuggie and I loved it. I hope you will too.

Snuggie advertisement

Selective environmentalist

I have tried to do my part with being better to the environment. A smaller carbon footprint if you will. It seems with every good habit I've incorporated, I still have an old one to break. I've cut down on my plastics waste by using reusable grocery bags. They are very efficient and much easier to carry around since they hold about 3 plastic bags worth of product. I just put them in the trunk of my car or keep the collapsible ones in my purse so I have them on hand. And since my purse is the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, this is usually sufficient to carry any extra items. Although, my roommates have yet to adopt the same passion I have for reusable bags, I make sure we take any plastic bags back to the stores to recycle properly. At the urging of the Biggest Loser and the fact I moved to a 3rd floor apartment, I have stopped buying bottled water. A Brita water filter and a reusable bottle are the way to go...trust me. We also take advantage of the recycling bins that our apartment complex provide. I try so hard to reduce waste, but I still would rather buy food in individual containers instead of bulk for convenience sake ie. pre-cut fruit or 100 calorie packs. I'd rather spent a little more than have to cut or divide it up myself. I also have a hard time not using plastic produce bags. Just the thought of all the loose produce rolling around in my cart makes me uneasy.

Energy wise, I've saved by turning off lights when leaving a room, unplugging any appliances that are not being used, and using energy efficient light bulbs. All this effort though and I still leave the tv on at night to fall asleep and leave the bathroom fan on most of the time. I guess I just feel that this is an area that you need a little "white noise" if you catch my drift.

I'm a sucker for buying products if they are eco-friendly. I have a vast selection of pens and notebooks make from recycled materials. I just saw a commercial for sponges that are also eco-friendly. I'm sure I'll bring these into use at my home, but I don't see me getting rid of those lovely disposable clorox wipes I've come to love. While being as environmentally conscious as I try to be, I realize there are some definite ways I could improve. So for now I'll accept my strengths and weaknesses and embrace my wannabe environmentalist ways.

Check out this link for some recycling facts

It was a monster mash

I love Halloween! Who wouldn't enjoy pumpkin carving, dressing up, and eating candy by the truckloads? I usually visit Frightmares at Lagoon, but I didn't get the chance to go this year. *tear* I spent weeks figuring out the perfect costume. My mind was flooded with ideas and I had a hard time narrowing it down. It only took about 20 ideas before I finally settled on being a Geisha. And I'm super proud of the fact that it only cost me $12. Yeah! It'll be a challenge to beat it next year

Like no pain I've felt before

I have wanted a tattoo FOREVER and I finally did it last night. My love for the Beatles will transcend through the years with me now. I chose a yellow submarine since it's bright, colorful and brings a smile to my face. It's recognizable without having their actual names or faces printed.

I was anticipating the worse kind of pain and expectations were definitely met. Being tattooed has been described to me as a simple scratch or a million razor blades being dragged across the body. The later was a more accurate description. The outline began and it was no problem. Moving across the bones near the toes did sting quite a bit, but I was still in control. After an hour or so the shading began. I've never felt pain like that before. My body wanted to convulse and jump off the table. I tried talking, deep breathing, and watching a movie that my artist had on in the room, but nothing helped. He just kept saying it was a mental game. It was excruciating. I sat through 3 1/2 painstaking hours and I just about lost it during the last hour. I could feel the tears start to well up, but Tash talked me out of it and kept telling me, "It doesn't hurt. You're doing great." My body could not be convinced, but I made it! Thankfully, Tash stayed with me and supported me during this experience. Jared and the kiddies also brought their support out as well. Unfortunately, it is not completed. I will be going back in to finish the background and I'm not looking forward to it.

Ping Hong Anyone?

The parentals decided to make another addition to their house...a ping pong table. The pool table has been collecting dust over the past few months, so naturally it needed to be upgraded. Braeleigh was completely fascinated by the "ping hong" table and barely let us get in a game without her. I discovered that I need a little bit more practice as I was beaten by both Ash and my mom. As many of you have seen my "game face", you know I can be quite vocal and competitive. Brae was very observant and mimicked my actions as she played with grandma.

September is for concerts

I refrained from buying any concert tickets for about a year. All thanks to my trip to Europe. I was going through withdrawls and luckily some of my favorite people were coming my way. They just happen to all fall during the month of September. Blink 182 opened up concert season with their reunion tour. The last time they came was 2004 and I went with my sisters. Naturally, we all wanted to go again. Tasha camped out during the day at UVU hoping to gain access to Travis Barker. In the end, she and Chris met Mark. Tragically, only Chris got to hang with Travis. Ash and I met no one since we didn't quite make an effort. It was a lot of fun and brought me back to my youth.

Keith Urban followed 2 days later. FANTASTIC! What a musician! What a voice! What an entertainer! And what a face! The accent doesn't hurt either. I almost missed out on this concert. Tickets went on sale before our Europe trip and seeing that I already set a goal not to spend money on concerts...I didn't. Darla was persistent enough that when we got back from our trip, she bought tickets off of eBay. Luckily, she snagged one up for me. We sat on the 26th row on the floor on the aisle. The very aisle he walked down to get to the back of the arena. As I scrambled for my camera, I turned into a sorority girl. Screaming like a lunatic and loosing all sense of composure. I took a pic as he was within feet of me and then panic set in. I just started grabbing from there. His arm although delicate was firm...and sweaty. I think I blacked out a moment. I came to just in time for Darla to tell me to run towards the end stage. I darted through the crowd like a panther. And there I stood in amazement as he serenaded the crowd. What a night! Keith had us hypnotized. When he said clap, we clapped until our hands bled. We he said sing, we screamed the lyrics at the top of our lungs. He had the crowd jumping and swooning at the same time. I highly recommend to everyone that they take the opportunity to see this aussie at work. You will not be disappointed.

Beatlemania Part Deux

With the release of Beatles Rockband, can I tell you how excited I am that we're re-living the days of Beatlemania?! I always wished that I was there to experience it first-hand, but I'll take what I can get. I was in 8th grade when I stumbled upon The Beatles. The anthology was first being aired in a series on TV. Being the nerd that I am and the fact that I love documentaries, I decided to watch it. I can't explain the emotion that I felt as I heard their story described through the 3 remaining Beatles. With their music as a background, it piqued my interest. The anthology soundtrack was the first cd I bought with their music. It had a compilation of their earlier works, live appearances, and some outtakes. The music collection snowballed from there. Plus, I plastered my room with posters and pics. I guess you could say they were my first boyband obsession:)

Paul was always my favorite. Of course, he was the "cute" one, but I also melt whenever I hear his voice. Musical genius is all I can use to describe him. John was also impressive to me and perhaps the most creative. I love how deep their songs can touch you or be so simple just to put a smile on your face. George doesn't get enough credit. I'm sure it was hard to live in the shadows of John and Paul. He did have some great music and an amazing musician. And what can I say about Ringo? I love his charm and goofiness. Not blessed with the greatest voice, but how could you not have a special place in your heart for Ringo.

As I was reading last week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, I noticed that they had compiled a list of The Beatles top 50 songs. I had some disagreements, so I thought I would share my own top 10 list. It is up for debate, and it probably has and will change depending on my mood. For now though, this is what my list consists of:

1. Let It Be
2. In My Life
3. Hey Jude
4. We Can Work It Out
5. The Long and Winding Road
6. Getting Better
7. Yellow Submarine
8. Day Tripper
9. Help!
10. Love Me Do

Wow, that was hard. Like EW, I think top 50 would be more appropriate, but I just don't have that kinda time.