Favorite SuperBowl commercial

I never watch the Super Bowl. I don't usually even know who's playing in it. This year I knew the Giants were in it because everybody here in NJ seems to claim the Giants as their team...since NJ doesn't actually have a team. Anyway, I actually watched the last 11 minutes of the game this year and if you watched it, you know the last 11 minutes was the best, most exciting part of the whole game! I really turned it on just to watch the commercials. Here's my favorite one. Dave about bust a gut watching this over and over.

My purse threw up

All right, I've been tagged in this little cyber-game where you have to spill your guts purse and show the world what's in it. 'Cause you all have been DYING to know what I carry in my purse, right? Of course you have.
So Steph tagged me and she was previously tagged by a gal named Carissa. Here's the pictures that they posted of their purse contents.Anyone see anything wrong with these pictures? Are they really being honest with us in our purse voyeurism? I could be wrong, but I think they may have been cheating. Here's what my contents look like:Now THIS is more like it. This is honesty, people...
OK, OK, I think I see their point. There's no way you can see what's in my purse this way. So, after tossing out all the receipts, half used Kleenexes, and empty gum wrappers we now have this:

• 13 ballpoint pens, one pencil, one orange highlighter (why?), and one black Sharpie
• my inhaler, which I didn't even know was in there but now I'm comforted to know it's there
• a pack of playing cards, never opened
• a stack of other people's business cards, in case I suddenly need my dentist's phone number
• a NYC subway map
• the to/from NYC bus schedule
• a post-it note with names and addresses of all the NYC stores that I wanted to see their Christmas window displays this past season. More importantly, scrawled on the back is the address of an out-of-the-way parking garage in NYC where you can part ALL day on a Saturday for $15!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a bargain!
• a ridiculously large calculator
• a coupon holder that has all of 3 coupons in it...all for cereal
• a Kleenex packet that I had no idea I had
• a packet of Wet Ones that I didn't know I had, either
• one stick of gum, one tube of chapstick, one Purell hand sanitizer, Avon hand lotion, vanilla brown sugar scented body mist, one Listerine pocket pack
  
• one loose floating dollar bill
• my wallet, very useful, but very old and very ugly
• a box of thumbtacks (I keep these handy so I can post Zumba class flyers wherever I go)
• one 2008 pocket calendar, never opened
• a Blockbuster movie that needs to be mailed or traded in at the store
• a small bar of glycerin soap handed to me outside a boutique in Soho...last Fall.

So, the thing that surprised me was all the stuff that was in there that I didn't know I had. Like the Kleenexes, the inhaler, the $1 bill. These things would've come in handy on multiple occasions had I'd known they were there. And now I know where all the ballpoint pens in the house have been disappearing to.
Notice there are no keys in my purse. Why? I like the thrill and rush of adrenaline when it's time to go somewhere and I have no idea where my keys are. (Ha). Also, I know some of you girls are going to notice the fact that there are no feminine hygiene products in my purse and will say that I'm cheating because I removed them before I took the picture or something. The answer is NO, I never remember to carry things like that. Ever. No matter the date on the calendar. So you see, I like living life on the edge. ;o)
But most importantly, I found this in my purse:Caleb 'made' this for me awhile ago and I've been carrying it around in my purse, apparently, for ages. I like to think of it as a good-luck charm instead of just a rock.
So now it's YOUR turn! I'm tagging Jessica, Kris, and Amber. NO CHEATING!

p.s. I forgot to mention why I titled this post "my purse threw up". I dumped the contents on the kitchen floor to take a picture and it took me awhile to get around to cleaning it up. I was prepared to tell the kids that my purse threw up on the kitchen floor but strangely they never asked about it. Even though it was in the middle of the floor and they had to step around it to make breakfast, no one ever said anything! I guess I need to brush up on my housekeeping skills?!

Snow Day!

After almost NO snow all winter so far, we woke up to this yesterday morning. The kids already had the whole week off of school for "winter break" so they got to enjoy the snow instead of staring at it from their classroom windows.
I was just about to remove my snowman themed decor from the mailbox and front door since it looked oddly out of place in a winter with no snow. Luckily yesterday's storm saved me from having to do that yet.
Last weekend was a balmy 50 degrees so we actually barbecued in the back yard! Guess we should've put the grill away.
Anyway, it was perfect snow. Perfect for shoveling (not too heavy), perfect for snowballs, snowmen, sledding, you name it. I think we eventually got around 8 inches. The best part is that I had the whole day off and didn't HAVE to go out in it. (Driving, I mean).
I did venture out to take the kids sledding. There's a great sledding hill at the local high school. We had to drive there but by then the roads were cleared. The kids had a BLAST and it was fun to watch them almost kill themselves over and over. I have become much less adventurous post-knee-surgery, but I did go down once. The hill didn't look that big until I was going down, backwards, and I accidentally let out an involuntary squeal and squeezed my eyes shut most of the way down. I didn't want to look like such a wimp, compared to all the little kids, but I definitely fit the part.
They want to go again today, but I think I'll put a time limit on it this time. We were there for over TWO HOURS yesterday and I was frozen solid by then. I don't understand how the kids were impervious to the cold, especially when their snowsuits became soaking wet! Here's a short video clip; I had to take off my gloves to use the camera, so naturally I didn't use the camera much!

The order of sledders: Peter, Caleb, then Sam.

Thank You!

I am horribly embarrassed that this post-it note has been stuck to my computer desk for almost 2 months now. It is to remind me to send Christmas thank-you notes to all the grandparents. I actually did send one to Winnie, one of my grandmothers, but the rest, you'll notice haven't been crossed out yet. It's almost March and I'm figuring it's too late and too embarrassing to send a thank you card for presents from last Christmas. Right?!
SO, to Grandpa Capener, Grandma Capener, Granny & Bob, and Pepa and Nana: THANK YOU for the wonderful Christmas presents received by us and the kids! (OK, I'm wondering what Miss Manners is going to say to that. I'm sure she'll agree it doesn't count but it's the best I can do right now and that post-it is losing it's stickiness and will fall somewhere behind the computer desk any day now).
Speaking of post-it notes, I have some new freeware called Stickies. They're like post-it notes for your computer screen desktop. You can make them opaque or not, they can disappear when you open new windows, or not, you can make check lists, to do lists, grocery lists, etc. You can also set them on timers to appear on certain days at certain times to remind you to do something. And you can print them; very handy for the grocery list. They're just pimped out cyber post-it notes, really. You can check them out and download them here for free! Maybe it'll help me be better with thank you cards next year?

Amazing, Bizarre, and a little Nauseating!??

Sick week + Valentine's Day

Peter and Caleb were sick all last weekend. This past Monday night, it was my turn! Shortly after I arrived home from teaching a class, I was puking my guts out and wishing I were dead. I think I only actually threw up 4-5 times but it seemed like an awful lot. I finally resorted to sleeping on the bathroom floor after midnight. Once my stomach was finally empty I stopped throwing up but I felt like walking death for several days. On Wednesday night, the night before Valentine's Day, I found this note outside my door:In case you can't read it, it says: We hope you get well soon! Come into the kitchen for a great surprise! (when you feel like it) And then it's signed by all 3 kids.
I could already smell something sweet and had been hearing them bustling about in the kitchen. I was so nauseous that I was afraid to see whatever it was they had concocted. It wasn't so bad, though. I had some cookie dough in the fridge and Sam had cooked some cookies for me, with a marshmallow on top. Because a marshmallow on top makes everything better, right? The only problem, other than I was gagging at the very smell of anything, was they were a little bit doughy.

Me: "Wow, Sam. Did you cook these all by yourself?"
Sam: "Yep!"
Me: "In the oven?"
Sam: "Yep."
Me: "Ummm, how long did you cook them for?"
Sam: "Well, I cooked them for ten minutes but they didn't look even close to being done so I turned up the heat a little and cooked them for ten more minutes."
--note--these cookies cook for no more than 8 min. at 350.
Me: "What temperature did you cook them at?"
Sam: "I dunno, I just guessed at it."
Me: "Wow, well, you did a great job! I'm just going to save these for later, K?"
::note to self, teach kids importance of preheating oven::

Then Caleb presented me with his creation:

I was already trying not to gag or dry heave in front of them and this one nearly put me over the edge. It's a melted assortment of chocolate chips, marshmallow, and something else I can't remember. Dave said it actually tasted pretty good and the kids all liked it, too. I believe them, I just couldn't bring myself to taste it while battling the stomach flu.
They were so sweet to me the whole time I was sick and so proud of themselves for making "recipes". To my best knowledge, Sam had never cooked anything in the oven before. The most we've had him do is flip pancakes or make ramen soup! So all things considered, it was a success! Just not good timing for me. ;0)

The next morning was Valentine's Day. I was starting to feel a little better and was excited to see that Dave left this for me before he went to work. It was tied up in a pretty red bow and, no, there were no chocolates missing.

I managed to remember to give the kids some sweets in their school lunches, etc. and gave them tickets for Saturday to see the Harlem Magic Masters which is a cheap, low budget version of the GlobeTrotters who were playing in town. They were REALLY excited about the tickets and it was fun to go watch on Saturday. Since I had been so sick all week, I hadn't put much thought into what to get for Dave BUT the battery in my van had died so I surprised him with this:You can just feel the love in the air with this, right?! Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a new car battery. Hey, it comes with a big red bow AND a 60 month warranty. You don't get many Valentine's presents nowadays that come with a 60 month warranty. Those truffles Dave got for me are almost gone and it hasn't even been 60 hours! This is a gift that will keep on giving, people. If I had been quicker on my feet, I would've written some cute card about our "electric charging passion" or something but thanks to the stomach flu, it took every ounce of energy for me to just carry the darn thing into the garage. I transferred the red bow from my box of chocolates to the battery and called it good. Oh well, I'll try to do better next year!

1-800-How's-My-Driving?

Well, I officially have my website permanently affixed to the back window of my van for all the world to see! It's in really BIG letters so no one will miss it. I'll be curious to see if it makes any difference.
The only problem is now I feel like I have to always drive "nice" and be careful not to make anyone mad. Otherwise, they'll see my sticker and say, "I don't know what zumba is but I DON'T LIKE IT!" Then they'll go to my website and send me mean, creepy messages and such. They might even come to a class and point and laugh at me, who knows?

A Few More Poems

by Caleb:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue...
I don't know the rest of this poem so the only thing I can say is...
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Roses are red,
Sometimes they're pink,
I hope you're not my valentine
'cause you really stink.

And finally:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Most poems rhyme,
But this one doesn't

The Candy Man Can't

This was the news headliner on Fox.com today. Breaking news. BIG story. I guess it was a slow news day. But, I say, GO FOR IT, NAKED COWBOY! (In case you have no idea of who/what I'm talking about, see this previous post).

Caleb's poem that is not a poem

Caleb had to write a poem for school. I think they made it into a "big" project and have been working on it for awhile. He agonized over it and really didn't want to do it. Here's what he came up with. I thought it was pretty good; especially since I HATE writing poems and he did a much better job than I could have. (By the way, they have a poetry 'notebook' that they write their poems in...thus the 'book').

A Poem (That Is Not A Poem)
by Caleb Capener

I'm supposed to be writing a poem, but instead I'm doing this.
I'm supposed to be writing a poem, an A+ I'm sure to miss.
What am I going to do when my teacher asks for my book?
Maybe if I'm lucky, she won't and will never look.
I can picture it in my mind,
Because this is what she'll find!
I'm closing my eyes, but I think she will frown.
I can almost hear my grades going down!

My Favorite Things

Here's a list of a few of my favorite things. (Disclaimer: I get NO money from these companies). ;o)

1. Oil of Olay creme ribbons body wash. In the past, I've NEVER been a body wash type of person. Soap works just fine for me. But I tried some of this body wash once last summer and became addicted to it. I take 1-3 showers a day (not because I am OCD, but because I shower first thing in the morning and then again after each class). I am used to being sweaty and stinky but I found that I smell SO good when I use this body wash and MUST have it all the time now!

2. Liquid fabric softener. I've tried every fabric softener: liquid, dryer sheets, etc. and nothing does as good a job as liquid softener. My favorite is Lavender Vanilla by Downy. They have a whole "Simple Pleasures" line that I like but my favorite is in the purple bottle. I've recently been buying Snuggle because it's a little cheaper and they have similar scents. Unfortunately, Snuggle doesn't seem to work as well as the Downy...I guess you get what you pay for. (Not pictured: I also love the 'magnolia and orange blossom' scent in the orange bottle).

3. Flushable wet wipes. Since my youngest is six years old, we are well beyond our diaper changing days (yea!) but I'm SO glad that someone finally came up with the idea of flushable wet wipes. I keep them in both bathrooms for the kids to just "keep things fresh and clean". I'll admit, I have been known to use them myself at times. They come in especially handy for me during a certain week each month...I know, too much information.

4. Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. OK, in general, I don't like mouthwash. And I have to say, I don't particularly care for this mouthwash either but here's the thing: when I use this mouthwash, my taste buds are numb for almost 6 hours. Weird?! You know how some things taste weird (orange juice) after you use any kind of mouthwash? And you don't want to partake of those things immediately after using mouthwash, right? Well, my mouth is like that with ANY kind of food or drink for HOURS after using Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. So why is that a good thing? Well, it's not a good thing on your birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other day you really want to enjoy (or at least taste) your food. But on other days, if I see something yummy: chocolate chip cookies, Doritos, ANYTHING, I have no problem turning it down because I can't taste it! And believe me, I've TRIED. I call it the mouthwash diet. Hopefully it won't have long term effects...
By the way, they have a Crest Pro-Health toothpaste. This did not have the same effect AND it tasted AWFUL.

5. Haagen Daz ice-cream. I know my Texas roots are shuddering by blaspheming against Blue Bell ice-cream but I've completely converted to Haagen Daz. (Hey, we can't GET Blue Bell or Braum's up here; what can I do?) Haagen Daz is SOOOOOOO creamy. It's ruined all other ice-creams for me. Unfortunately, it's ridiculously expensive so I don't buy it unless it's on sale and even then I try to eat it sparingly to make it last. Probably a good thing...or I'd have to swish with MORE mouthwash. Notice which picture is bigger; the ice-cream or the mouthwash?

6. Kleenex with lotion. Remember all those years as a kid/teenager/young adult when you had a bad cold and the area between your nose and upper lip felt as if it was on FIRE from all the rubbing and nose blowing? I'd like to kiss the man/woman who thought to add lotion to Kleenex. It's the best thing ever when you have a cold. It's more pricey, of course so we use the cheap stuff and I only break out the Kleenex with lotion when someone is sick.

7. Not-from-concentrate orange juice. Of course, fresh squeezed is always best, but who gets that everyday? When my dad was visiting last Spring, he bought Tropicana orange juice in a carton. My kids LOVED it and then I had to start buying it because they wouldn't drink any orange juice from concentrate anymore! (Thanks, Dad). It's much more expensive so recently I bought a can of concentrate, mixed it up and snuck it into the Tropicana bottle. Peter said, "What's wrong with this juice? It doesn't taste right." And he wouldn't even drink it! Aargh! I agree with him but we're trying to pinch pennies, here, you know? By the way, I prefer the 'lots of pulp' variety. The more, the better. Makes it more like fresh squeezed, in my opinion.

8. Smucker's sugar-free strawberry jam. I LOVE it. I used to make jam all the time; when I was more domestic. Nowadays I settle for the store-bought stuff but it's so sugary I can hardly stand it. Which is ironical for me, I know, since I love sweets. But when I eat jam, I just want to taste the fruit, not the sugar. Cue the Smucker's sugar-free line. My favorite is strawberry but blackberry is a close second. I buy them in the extra large size at the wholesale warehouses!

9. The Swiffer swivel sweeper. Say that 3 times fast. Anyway, I remember using sponge mops galore back in the day. You had to dip them in a bucket, wring them out, etc. It was all such a pain AND messy. Now I just use the Swiffer wet mop and my life is much happier. And I don't have a fancy Swiffer, just the cheap one they first came out with years ago. The wet wipe disposable pads I use are actually Wal-Mart brand so they are cheaper and work great.

10. I'm sure there's more but I'm going to stop at ten with the Mr. Clean magic eraser. I don't know how this thing works. It's an unsolved mystery but I will tell you this, it has saved my behind on more than a few occasions. It WILL remove black permanent marker from any hard surface! (Why has it never occurred to me to hide the permanent markers in the attic)? Most recently, it removed permanent black marker from the face of our flat panel computer screen. If you missed that post, you can find it here. One word of warning, it will remove the paint finish off your walls. I still use it, anyway, to remove fingerprints, etc. from the walls but if you have a satin paint finish, expect it to look like flat paint once Mr. Clean is done with it. He packs a mean punch! Oh, and for those of you who have been worried about recent rumors regarding the magic eraser, have no fear and click here!

Google Me

So just for the heck of it tonight I go to Google and I type in zumba nj. MY website pops up as first and second on the list! "Holy crap, I'm on Google!", I scream. (Sorry for the rough language there; that's just what came out of my mouth). I don't know why, it just totally took me by surprise. For some reason I assumed that you had to like pay Google to have them list you or at least to have you near the top. The reason I even did this was my 'website activity log' showed that a majority of visitors to my website had come via a Google search of "zumba nj". I didn't understand at all so I had to see for myself. Try it!

Another REAL infomercial

If you remember awhile back, I mentioned that I love infomercials. Here's another one that's actually real. No joking. It doesn't matter that they try to spell out the product name in the beginning. We're only hearing one thing and one thing only.
And notice that they have no MEN using this product. Only women and children. Wonder why...

OK, OK, just one more

OK, I know y'all are all tired of hearing about Zumba so I've started a Zumba website so I can keep my Zumbamania over there and just blog normal stuff here. I just have to share ONE more picture because it is too funny. It was taken at one of my classes this week. We do a fair amount of bootie shakin' and sometimes it catches the new attendees off guard. Poor things...

Hawaii Chair

Although my knee has improved with surgery, it is still giving me lots of problems. Probably because I'm not resting it enough. Anyway, I've decided to take a break from Zumba and have joined the marketing team for THIS:




If you're still not convinced the Hawaii Chair is for you, try one more clip.



I really appreciate how the woman at the end puts so much effort into actually looking relaxed while trying to READ in the darned thing. I'd be throwing up.