Weight Watchers has Changed My Life or At Least My Stories!

I am not going to be able to attend my regular Fat Girl's Club (a.k.a-Weight Watchers) meeting tonight (I have a work event to attend.), so I thought I would tell you a story about how going to the meetings has changed my life! Don't worry-it isn't a serious story! It's true but not serious!

A little background knowledge is required for this story. The Weight Watchers program assigns points to every food. The points are based on calories, fat, and fiber. Based on your weight and activity level you are assigned a certain number of points to eat each day. The average person gets around 25 points. It really is a great program and one of the most successful weight loss programs.

On to my story-Occasionally things go missing around our office. Staplers, tape dispensers, and other office supplies magically grow legs and end up places where they are not supposed to be. Before Weight Watchers, co-workers would ask me if I had seen the missing item and I would simply reply, "I ate it". (Side note:I realize this reply is a bit juvenile, but being serious and grown up has never been my cup of tea. I tend to tread on the lighter side of life.) Now after Weight Watchers, my reply has changed to, "I ate it", followed by the number of points it would be. For example, Heather is missing her stapler. Heather asks me if I have seen it. My answer, "I ate it. It was 37 points." It's a little known fact that staplers are very high in fat! :)

The Monday Edition: My Favorite Things

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a great Monday, and I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too! My weekend was filled with fun and a lot of friends. Our friends from Mississippi came to visit us this weekend. We also had my brother-in-law and his girlfriend staying with us.

On Sunday, I met two of my girlfriends at Starbucks, and we discussed the booth that we are going to have at The Oconee County Fall Festival. My friend, Kelly, and I will be selling jewelry, and my friend, Katie, will be selling tutus. If you live in the area, please come out and visit us. The festival will be held in Watkinsville on October 18th!

I am still very giddy from such a fun weekend, so I am having a hard time narrowing down my favorite things today. I have several things to share with you today! I hope you don't mind!!

1) My first favorite thing is the tutus that my friend Katie makes! They are so cute, and the price is so reasonable! I think they are a perfect gift for the little girl in your life! The little girl in my life right now is a dog, so Katie is currently making my little Scout a tutu. I will post pictures when it is finished! You can visit Katie's shop at http://www.mykatiebell.com/.

2) My next favorite thing is my new blog look! On Thursday, I was struggling with trying to find a new look for my blog. I tried a few free sites, but all of the backgrounds seemed a little too busy and not very pink chick. I found a great web-site that had great backgrounds at a very, very reasonable price! Only $10!!!! Her custom blog designs are also a steal! Check her out at http://shabbycreationsdesigns.blogspot.com/. Shabby Creations is great. She is so nice and easy to work with! She is also very fast!

3) My last favorite thing today came courtesy of Monograms and Manicures. I don't wear a lot of t-shirts, but these cute political t-shirts are just too much! Republican or Democrat, you can cheer on your candidate in style! There are several designs and shirt options!

I hope you have enjoyed my favorite things! I also hope you like my new look! I will be hosting a give-away soon, so keep checking my blog for a chance to win!

A New Look

As you may have noticed, my blog has a new look. I added a column, changed my background, and also changed up the colors. Please, please let me know if you find it obnoxious or see anything that should be changed (colors, text, etc...). I'm not committed to it, so you won't hurt my feelings. I am just trying to spice things up a little.

I have also added the follower link in the upper right hand corner of my blog. I would love for you to join if you follow my blog! I also love new blog friends, so don't be shy!

A Fun Tip for Today

Feeling a little fat or bloated? No need to worry! Just find your nearest coke machine (or other convex surface), turn to the side and look at your reflection! I do it every time I buy a diet coke at work. It makes me look like I am a size 4. Now I know I am not a size 4 (and probably will never be thanks to my big, child-birthing hips), but that glance into the coke machine sure does add a little pep in my step. It also gives me motivation to stick to my diet. Just don't forget that most coke machines are in public. I have received quite a few strange looks in the break room!

Why Old People Fart in Public: Mystery Solved!

I am so very lucky! Not only do I have wonderful parents, but I was also blessed with two wonderful older sisters. There is nothing like a chat with your sisters to lift your spirits or to keep you giggling for a week.

On my last visit to my hometown, my sister, niece, and I piled into the car to grab lunch. We went to Shady Lane to pick up my favorite chili dogs in the whole world. Shady Lane is a little drive thru in Tifton that has been there since the beginning of time. The food is cheap, the place looks a little dirty (but it's not, it always gets an excellent score from the health inspector), and it has the best chili dogs east of the Mississippi. I give it 2 thumbs up and the fat girl seal of approval!

Back to my story (sorry I get a little off subject, I blame it on adult ADD)-While waiting at the drive thru for our chili dogs, my niece was up-dating me on school. She was telling me how there was a group of girls that were not very nice to her. I was explaining how we have all been in that situation, and that she shouldn't worry about them. She should just hang out with her friends. At that moment my sister chimed in with her words of wisdom. "Don't worry about what those girls say," she advised. "The older you get the more you really don't care what other people think about you, that's why old people fart in public."

I thought her advice couldn't have been more perfect. I also thought it couldn't have been funnier! My niece, sister, and I all had a good giggle while waiting for lunch, but more than a week later I am still giggling! Now I know why old people fart in public! The mystery has been solved!

Monday Edition: My Favorite Things

How is it already Monday again? Wow! This weekend flew by. I feel like I should put rest and relaxation as my favorite thing this Monday in hopes that I get some soon. However, I realize that would be totally lazy of me and no one likes to read a lazy blog. Anyway, who needs rest and relaxation when you have caffeine!!!!

I have hinted at this favorite thing before, but I have never written about it. Today's favorite thing is the skin care line I love and adore-Dr. Patricia Wexler's skin care line at Bath and Body Works.

I am so in love with this skin care line. I use the day time moisturizer, the night time moisturizer, the regenerating serum, and the under eye cream. It keeps my very dry skin moisturized and even keeps those nasty fine lines and wrinkles under control. This skin care line carries a wide variety of products including cleansers and moisturizers for acne proned skin. Currently there are sample sets available for purchase at your local Bath and Body Works. The sample set includes a month's supply of the key cleansers and moisturizers included in the skin care line. If you are not happy with your current skin care products then give these products a try! I give them an A+, and I think you will too!

I also have a very special favorite thing today! My oldest sister, an avid reader of my blog and all around wonderful person, called me this afternoon to tell me about a new favorite thing that she has discovered. Her new favorite thing is the Reese's Whipps Candy Bar. I haven't tried it, but I definitely trust her judgement. It's chocolate and peanut butter-what's not to love! It also has 40% less fat than your average candy bar. That makes is 5 Weight Watcher Points. Most candy bars are 6 points.

I hope you have enjoyed today's favorite things! I am off to walk to the store across the street to try the new candy bar for myself! Have a wonderful Monday!

Show And Tell: A Tour of Omega (a small, southern town)

TGIF! Fridays are so wonderful and full of promise! Last Friday I was delighted to head to South Georgia for some much needed family time! Little did I know what wonderment awaited me!

My grandmother (we call her Nanny) lives in a tiny little town called Omega (by the way it is not pronounced how you think it would be, no tiny South Georgia town is pronounced how you think it should be). Omega is not only home to my Nanny, but it is where my mother was raised. It is also home to Three Chicks and a Hen (my mom and sister's gift shop). This little town also holds many childhood memories for me. For example, every Monday afternoon when I was in the 4th grade I went to Omega to take piano lessons. The woman that conducted my piano lessons was also the same woman who taught my mother piano lessons, my aunt (who is 10 years older than my mom) piano lessons, and Noah himself also took piano lessons from her. John the Baptist was also given the opportunity to take piano lessons from her, but he chose to play

another instrument. :)

Omega is a very special place with a community feel, and much to my surprise and delight they were having a festival the very same weekend I was visiting. The Pepper Festival even included a parade. I really enjoyed the parade, and I love Omega (so please don't think I am poking fun) but I had to giggle at some of the parade entries. The animal control truck (pictured below) was one entry in the parade that still makes me giggle. I just think it is funny that animal control decided they needed to be in the parade.

There were a few antique tractors that were really neat. There were also some random riding lawn mowers and a couple of kids on dirt bikes. The Shriners had their tiny cars, which are always fun to watch, but they make my mom nervous (so it is actually more fun watching my mom watch the tiny cars). However, my favorite part of the parade was the hillbilly truck. It had a stuffed dog on the side that lifted his leg and peed on innocent parade spectators. It was amazing. The picture is below. Unfortunately I didn't get a pee action shot.

My niece and nephew and I enjoyed the parade festivities. Below is a picture of my niece and I at the parade. It was a self portrait, so that is why you have a nice up the nose shot of me. There are no pictures with me and my nephew. He wasn't feeling well that day. He left before the parade was over.

I didn't get to attend the rest of The Pepper Festival activities. Three Chicks and a Hen was very busy after the parade, so I had to help out in the store instead of frolicking through the festival booths. However, I did take a little time out to take a few photographs of Omega. Here is your tour of Omega, GA (a very tiny, but very charming southern town). A big thanks to my mom who helped with my photo tour.

Our first stop on the tour is Omega City Hall. Omega City Hall is located right outside of the downtown area. It houses city officials along with the police department. It is one of the newer buildings in Omega being built within the last 10 years.

Our next stop is the downtown area. The downtown area houses several little businesses including Three Chicks and a Hen, a beauty shop, a little grocery store, and a hardware store.

A charming sign painted on the side of a building points you in the right direction if you are headed to the hardware store. I don't know why, but I love signs like this. By the way, the pink van is a delivery truck for a florist. Not sure why they picked hot pink, but I think it is a great color!

The newest building in Omega is the fire station. This isn't the best picture of the fire station, but at least you get the idea of what it looks like.

There are two main churches in town. The Methodist Church and the Baptist Church. The Baptist Church is where my mom and dad were married. The church used to be brick, but they had to stucco it due to a moisture problem.

The Methodist church is located right around the corner. I couldn't get a great picture of it because of the huge magnolia, but I thought I would share the snapshots that I was able to take.

Our last stop on the tour is Omega Elementary School. Omega School used to go all the way through high school, but now they just have an elementary school. My mom used to walk to and from school everyday. It was quite a walk, but she said that all the neighborhood kids walked so it was a lot of fun. I think her dog, Buttons, followed her to school most days too. Omega Elementary is currently under renovations, but I will share the pictures any way.

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Omega! It is a great little town full of wonderful, friendly people. The next time I am in South Georgia again I will make sure to do a photo tour of my hometown, Tifton. Have a great weekend!

Monday Edition: My Favorite Things

Hi readers! I am sorry I haven't written a new post since last Monday. Work has kept me very busy, but I promise I will be better this week! I have so much to share with you that I wish I could just write a dozen new posts right now, but I will exercise restraint and just share with you my favorite things today!

Since I started my blog I have been addicted to reading other blogs! I love it! I didn't realize I was so addicted until I was poking fun at my Wonder Twin friend about her addiction to The Home Shopping Network when she told me that it was just like me being addicted to blogs. She said she didn't understand my addiction with blogs just like I didn't understand her addiction to HSN. Admitting your problem is the first step to recovery, but I don't plan to recover! I will admit it-I am addicted to blogs, but there will be no twelve step program for me! Instead, I will share with you some of my favorite blogs (other than my favorites that I have listed on the side of my blog). Have a happy Monday and enjoy some of my favorite blogs. Feel free to share your favorite blogs with me too!

• Beach Bungalow 8
• Working Girl
• RHB Designs
• Monograms and Manicures
• Homemade by Jill
• A Cup of Jo
• Nie Nie Dialogues
• It's The Little Things
• Musings of A Housewife
• A Beach Cottage

Monday Edition: My Favorite Things

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday! My Monday is going by so fast! I had no idea it was almost the end of the work day! Before I hop in my car and head home (yes I blog at work and no that does not make me a bad person or employee), I want to share with you my very favorite clothing store along with a few of my favorite clothing items they are carrying right now.

I am an Ann Taylor Loft junkie! I love Ann Taylor Loft! I feel like it caters to my age group. It has sassy, fun clothes that are also work appropriate. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in their Summer collection, and I haven't been that crazy over their Fall collection. However, there are a few pieces in the Fall Collection that I think are just adorable. I'm sure they will have more fabulous Fall things in the months to come. The Summer-Fall transition time is always tough.

This cute pants above are the Marissa fit. I just love the fact that they are red. I used to have a divine pair of red pants, but they bit the dust more than a few years ago. I have been yearning to replace them, but I haven't found a suitable pair until now. These babies are on their way to my house as we speak!

This jacket is much cuter in person! It is a must see if there is a Ann Taylor near you! It also comes in a mustard yellow, but I prefer the black! I tried this coat on a few days ago, but it hit me in all the wrong places! So sad! I'm sure it would look precious on someone who isn't as short-waisted as I am. I am still not giving up hope on this jacket. It comes in petites, so I am going to try it on when the petite size arrives at my local Loft. I am also waiting for it to go on sale. It is a little pricey! However, I am convinced that it would be a perfect addition to a precious Fall wardrobe.

How cute is this green jacket! I just found it today while online shopping at Ann Taylor Loft. I am going to have to visit this jacket in person! I will let you know how it looks, but I will be surprised if it is anything but absolutely adorable!

Okay, so those are my favorite things for this week! I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment and share with me your favorite things! I love reading your comments and learning new things!

Oh and by the way, if I did an edition on my not so favorite things this week's not so favorite things would be porta-potties! Those things are absolutely disgusting. I think I would rather have my kidneys burst or use the bathroom on a tree (even if it is in public view) than ever use a porta-potty again. As you can tell there is a story behind the whole porta-potty thing, but I fear it is too graphic and gross to write about. I will spare my wonderful readers the horror that is a porta-potty.

I'm Not A Stalker-I just Strategically Place Myself!

Strategically placing myself began my freshman year in college. There was a cute boy in my college algebra class, but he dropped out during drop/ad. I was so disappointed. We had already started bonding over math problems. Leaving Chemistry a little late one day, I ran into him again. He smiled and seemed genuinely happy to see me. We even carried on a brief but meaningful conversation. Being smarter than the average bear, I figured out that by leaving Chemistry five minutes late I was assured to run into him every day. My friend laughed at me and told me that I was stalking the poor boy, but I didn't consider it stalking. I mean I wasn't following him to his car or dorm. I was only "strategically placing myself". Well, my strategic placement worked. He asked me out and we date a few months until he dumped me for a girl that looked like a man! Gross!

I hadn't thought about "strategically placing myself" in a very long time until last night. A friend of mine has been taking pictures for the media, and he has been able to get into some awesome places and meet some really neat people including Coach Mark Richt (UGA Head Football Coach and total cutie) and Uga VII (not really a person but a damn fine mascot). Seeing a picture of Uga VII licking my friend on the cheek posted on my friend's facebook page made me so very jealous. I commented that I wish I could get my picture made with Coach Richt like he got his picture made with UGA VII, but I didn't think that my husband would approve of me getting some Mark Richt sugar. I received a message back from my friend inviting me along to an event he was shooting where Mark Richt would be present! Really! Oh Glorious Day! I did have to promise not to kiss or lick Coach Richt though.

So, last night I went to the event! I had so much fun! I even took the big, fancy camera from work so I looked official. Not only was Coach Richt there, but there was also a number of football players there. I like the football players, but I was after a photo-op with Coach Richt. After all, strategically placing myself had worked in the past. Well, did it work? Of course it did! I have a picture with Mark Richt and Matthew Stafford (Quarterback). A big thanks to my friend who invited me along!

Monday Edition (on Tuesday because of Labor Day): My Favorite Things

Sorry for being a day late. My computer was being a little cranky, so I had to wait until today for my Monday Edition! I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. My weekend was great. It was a bit busy though! UGA opened their season with a win against Georgia Southern. Of course, we had to tailgate and attend the game! The Bulldog Nation also got to meet Uga VII. He is absolutely adorable. I just want to hug him! Although football games are fun, the highlight of my weekend was the 80's Prom. A friend hosted an 80s prom on Sunday night. It was perfect! There was a professional photographer with an 80s prom picture background, a fully decorated dance floor, and a punch fountain! It was amazing! I promise to share pictures with you later!

I have a dirty little secret! I don't know how to change a tire! I know, I know! Everyone should know how to change a tire! Well I don't know how, and I probably won't learn any time soon! If you knew how clumsy I was, you would probably think that this was a good idea. Keeping me away from jacks and tire irons is definitely ideal! For everyone that doesn't know how to change a tire, I suggest keeping a can of Fix-A-Flat in your car. Fix-A-Flat seals the leak in your tire allowing you to pump it up and drive safely to your destination or nearest tire repair place. It is truly a wonderful product. I must warn you-tire repair places will charge you an extra fee for repairing your tire because they have to strip out the Fix-A-Flat product, but I think the fee is totally worth it!

Just the other day I was getting gas when I heard a woman on her cell phone distressed because she had a flat tire. She was about 60 miles from home, and she couldn't get in touch with her husband. Fix-A-Flat to the rescue! I grabbed the can of Fix-A-Flat out of my car, and we used it to seal the leak and then pumped up her tire. She was very grateful, and I was very happy that I could help! Now I realize that Fix-A-Flat can't solve every flat tire issue, so I am sure you are wondering what I would do in that situation. I would call my husband, family member or friend. Can't get in touch with anyone? I would call 911. They will send someone to help you. Hopefully if you are a single gal it will be a hunky single patrol man! :)

Side Note: The can of Fix-A-Flat can explode if it gets too hot. You know-the whole contents under pressure warning. I have never had this happen to me, and I have had Fix-A-Flat in my car during the middle of a hot Georgia summer. However, I did see a picture on the Internet where a girl had this happen to her, so I though I should warn you.