**Weighing in on Exercise

Another great Ghost Blog! This ghost has filled us in on the why's and why not's to exercise. "Weigh in" by giving them your thoughts on this post! -Nomz and Sazaran




Exercise…it’s a love/hate relationship!

This blog is about exercise (that nasty 8 letter word)…
I must start off by saying that I HATE TO EXERCISE. I HATE it with a passion. Some days I just want to *PUNCH* exercise square in the face!
I’m a 5-day/week exerciser…some early mornings and sometimes after work. I am consistent with my routine and never miss a day, ever. Most of my friends might think I have a ton of energy, ‘love’ to work out and some may think of me as their idol or inspiration. I am NONE of that. I H-A-T-E to exercise!!!
I exercise ONLY because, at my age (mid 40’s), I need to, consistently and for the ‘health of it’…
• I want a strong heart
• I want to live longer (God willing)
• I don’t want to wait until a doctor tells me I must lose weight
• I don’t want to be reliant on medicine for my heart or cholesterol
• I want to be strong to avoid everyday lifting/moving injuries
• I want to gain muscle mass, to offset bone loss
• I want to avoid unnecessary medical bills/costs
• Exercise clears the mind and helps me avoid depression
I hate exercise because:
• It tries to control my life
• Gets violent with me and abuses my body
• Make me sweat hard and get really stinky
• Keeps me from sleeping in or relaxing after a long day at work
• Controls my eating decisions
• Make me constantly sore and aching
• Makes me cry or curse sometimes
• Some days, I feel like I’m pushed so hard, I might die, literally
But, exercise does…..
• Allow me to splurge on my bad eating habits from time to time…yay!
• Makes me take a 2nd look in that mirror…rawrrr!
• Allows me to buy new clothes that fit!
• Makes me all around….a very happy person!

It has taken me many, many years of ups and down in weight, attitude, and self acceptance…to get my mind in control enough to be wrapped around that 8 letter word called ‘exercise’ (that I despise so very much!).
I STILL wake to my alarm at 5am and spend 30 seconds arguing out loud with myself (coming up with every excuse why I should stay in bed…i.e. ‘I’m tired’, ‘I can make it up another day’, ‘It won’t make a difference’, ‘There is a foot of fresh snow out there’, blah, blah…and I NEVER, EVER win. I always get out of bed and head to the gym.
Exercise will NEVER be easy.
You will NEVER love exercise.
DO IT…for your health…and start NOW!

“IF EXERCISE WAS EASY…EVERYONE WOULD BE ‘DOING IT’!!”

**Ghost Blogger

♫Things I Love About Eastern Colorado

Most of the time love, does not actually mean love...when I'm talking about Eastern Colorado.

You know, after a whole six visits or so, I’m fairly unfamiliar with Eastern Colorado. So picking on it, probably isn’t fair. But I’m doing it anyway.

Eastern Colorado is like…the part of Colorado where a state line was drawn on accident. It actually belongs in boring ol’ Kansas, but somebody slipped when drawing the line. That, or they were really determined to make the state square. Either way, if you’re looking for excitement, it’s not the first place I’d check.

Picture this: flat, yellow, weedy, territory. Like…Dances with Wolves, only without the wolf. Or the Indians. Or even Kevin Costner. Yeah, it’s that pretty. But what is there, you ask?? Well, things like:

Truck Pulls.

If you’re a normal blog reader, you’ve seen the pictures, heard me talk about it, etc. I don’t need to go there again. They’re FUN, but they also exist in prettier places.

Iliff.
Iliff, Colorado.

Seriously, there is a road sign that says the “Town of Iliff welcomes you!”. Not only is it confusing because capital “I”’s and lowercase “l”’s look the same (see?!?!?), but how the heck do you say it?! I say it like MILF, only without the M. So it’s even less cool than MILF. If you don’t know what a MILF is…ask your boyfriend. It’s something they teach them at a young age. In a discussion about this fabulous little town (home only to pretty vacant buildings and one peculiarly awesome looking café, rumored to rock the lunch menu), my boyfriend told me it’s said like eye-lif. Which is like Eye Lift, only less cool. Why would you name a town after something less cool than both MILF’s and Eye Lifts?? See my thought process here?!?!

In attempt to give it a chance to earn points in coolness, I googled its history, hoping for some sort of cool background on its less than stellar name, and found this:

Iliff

I don’t know about you, but I remain unconvinced. No offense to the residents, AND I would love to be proven wrong!

The Loose Caboose

If I remember correctly, this cute little named residence was in Sterling, Colorado. We drove by at approximately 9 miles per hour, long enough for my brain to think: That place should not be a restaurant. If I were to name a place Loose Caboose, it would be a whore house. After a text to one of my favorite girls, her brilliant self told me that a restaurant could be named Loose Caboose, if immediately after digesting said food, your caboose had problems…ah hem.

Veggie Stands

Ok, so this is actually a benefit of Eastern Colorado. They have fresh grown vegetable stands, or mini farmer markets, all over the place. It’s the most color that side of the state ever sees. YUM.

Roadside Bathrooms

They are few and far between, and with little kids, that’s not really an added bonus for me. The last one I was in was ran by a really sweet Oriental couple. They really were sweet, telling me that my kids were adorable. But they charged my cute kids use the bathroom. Not lying.

The Johnston’s

My guy's parent's have a little place out there. It officially has the cutest kitchen I’ve ever seen, they live near a town with the best coffee shop ever, and they’re really amazing people. Worth every bit of Eastern Colorado pain and suffering. They’re like…the silver lining. ;)

Yours Truly,
Nomz

Boba!

A challenge for all you texture freaks out there (I belong to that group, FYI): Boba Tea. No really, it's one of those things that you will either hate or love. Me? I hated it for a few years; now, I love it. For my birthday, I would like a Boba maker. If they have those. You'll be my best.friend.ever. if you get me one.

So, what is this Boba, you ask?

Wiki says, "Boba tea, also called Bubble tea or simply Boba, is a tea beverage containing tapioca balls. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s..." It's also called Pearl Milk Tea (which totally sounds like a mermaid drink, right?!). It comes any way: iced, blended or hot- I recommend blended- you can get it in a myriad of flavors: lavendar, green tea, honeydew, watermelon, strawberry, coffee, mocha, almond. You name it; they probably have it.

So, the texture issue: this large tapioca ball is gelatin and slimy (I do not use the word lightly, here, people) on the outside and slightly hard/slightly sweet on the inside. At first, it encouraged my gag reflex beyond humorous. I felt as if I were sucking down balls of snot. Lovely, eh? Now, though, it seems I can't get enough. I love it. I could have it everyday. It makes the perfect summer treat... and now that winter is upon us, it might be in competition with the seasonal eggnog latte.

Most coffee shops are starting to offer this cup full of win and the price will run you anywhere from three to five dollars. Which is normalish, right? Compared to the cost of Starbucks, anyway (and their drinks aren't even that cool).

So, like I said before, this is a challenge (to my dear co-blogger, NOMZ, especially) try Boba Tea. And let me know what you think. :)

I say, you say...

For those of you lovlies that are my faithful Facebook friends, you certainly have seen the recent rant I posted about the difference between "you're" and "your". I'm not naming names, but there are a few people who seem to confuse the two. Very nearly have I tossed my computer out the window when I see such errors.

So, I'm setting the record straight. And don't get all huffy, because I shall be talking about my own English conundrums with a request for help and/or clarification. This should please our professors and writers, eh Nomz? ;-)

First things first:

You're is a contraction. It is you and are combined for convenience (in my opinion). Examples: "When you're outside, please rake the leaves." or "You're quite the comedian!". If you aren't sure which to use in a sentence, try breaking it down. "You are quite the comedian!"

Your is the possessive form of you and can also be an adjective. So, when you use it, it will most always be talking about something in possession of someone. Example: "Is that your jacket?" or "I like your idea!" See how the two really cannot be interchangeable?

The biggest issue I have with this error is that it can cause some... confusion (for me, at least) when trying to read a sentence. Using the correct word is just as important as using a comma or period in the right place.

A-hem: other things.

~Its is possessive (like your) and it's is a combination of it and is.

~ The difference between "and I" or "and me" is a tough one. I've always remembered it this way: when you break the sentence down into two separate sentences, use the word that fits. Example: "This picture is of Tim and ___". Here, I would use "me" since the sentence would not make sence if it said "This picture is of I". Another example: "Tim and ___ are going to the mall." Here, I would use "I" since "Me is going to the mall" is incorrect. Tell me, English professionals, is this correct??

~Do I even need to get started on their, there and they're??!

So now, my issue(s). I, for some reason, have a horrible habit of putting the accent of "contribute" in the wrong place and I have no idea where I got it from. For once and for all, is it CONtribute or conTRIbute??? Do my British peeps say one instead of the other? I'm really trying to figure out where I picked up the word I use. The same goes for "distribute". When it comes down to it, I do not use grammar correctly all of the time. But I do try. So, if you see something I write that is not the way it should be, tell me! I promise I won't get offended and I'll try to remember the rules of proper English.

Oh, and do feel free to provide your own grammatical corrections here in our comments section. :)

Okay... nerdy rant over.

♫ Chewing on Shoes, and Advice

Sometimes, I look back at the way I was raised, and say self, whether you like it or not, there were some things that your parents were right about.

There were lots of things they said over and over again. Depending on my age at that time, I probably disagreed with the majority of them. Thank God, I was born normal. I’ll probably touch on a lot of them on this blog…obviously, they (being my parents) made me who I am.

A few to touch on today:

Broccoli, regardless of its tree-like appearance, actually does taste good…and…sadly…they were right when they said it was good for you. The more research I do on broccoli, the more I find that it’s loaded with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Calcium, and Fiber. It’s like a prenatal vitamin, only green, and less horse-pill like. Moral? Eat your trees. Cover them in cheese if you need to, but eat your trees.

Tomatoes: Cause Cancer.

Sigh. Ok, so that’s my own theory. It’s the one food that my mom will eat that the rest of us cannot seem to fit in to our mouths. And as much as the research tells me that they actually prevent cancer, I am holding to my theory that tomatoes.cause.cancer. Seriously, they’re like…juicy seeds wrapped in red leather. I’m pretty sure chewing on a muddy red high heel will give you the same nutritional value, and even taste the same or better.

Don’t eat too much candy, it’ll make you sick.

I’m pretty sure this is one of those things that every child believes is a mind game that parents use to steal your candy after you’ve gone to bed. And, being the smart kids that we are, test the theory after we move on to college. Sadly, this myth is not for the candy thieves, it’s completely true. Eat enough of your favorite candy, and the sugar actually seems to throw a little surprise party in your stomach.

Let’s dive deeper.

My parents told me all the time not to get lost in somebody too fast, and that I have to be completely happy and in love with myself, before I’d ever really find love or happiness with somebody else. I’ve been boy crazy since I was, literally, four years old. First kiss was with a guy named Jason under a trampoline, and it’s been a boy-crazed ride ever since. Every time I brought, or didn’t bring, a new boy around, I got the same talk. Nomz, you’re losing site of yourself again…this isn’t going to work… I was fast to scream: MYTH! BUT, they were right. Again. This is a big one for me. This is one of the ones I wish I would have learned at a younger age.

It took me losing a few incredible people, getting my heart stomped on and broken, and breaking a few myself, before catching on to this concept. Every time I got hurt, I’d leap in to another set of arms. Ah hem, notice I said arms. Not bed. I never found comfort in sex, please don’t assume I’m a hooker. ;) Kissing on the other hand….

The point is… I was stubborn enough these last few years that it took me making myself completely miserable, to find me. I was down there, at the very bottom…and once I found myself, I dug out of that hole, and figured out exactly how to make myself happy-regardless of who was or was not in my life, that’s when I found happy. I am happier today, right here, right now, than I ever have been. As much as I am surrounded by amazing people, I know so much of it is me making me happy…and with God in the driver’s seat, this is going to be one heckova ride. Between you and me…boys aren’t everything. If you can’t look in the mirror and like yourself for you, a boy is just going to make your reflection blurry-it won’t disappear.

Until you find yourself…you’re never gonna find anybody, entirely.

Yours Truly,
Nomz

Also: Eat your trees, chew on shoes, and go easy on the candy.

♫ I am a planner, that loves surprises.

Yes, I am one of those complicated females. Lucky for you, I like to write. That’s like…a map to a puzzle. One that is almost as cool as those maps they put on the inside of boxes of chocolates to figure out which is which without diving in to the nasty orange flavored ones. Almost that cool.

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. True, unless you have the even better chocolates, or life, that’s completely mapped.

The most complicated thing about me: I love that life is unpredictable, and I absolutely love surprises, but I hate when things are unplanned or up in the air.

Example:

It’s Friday. It just snowed approximately 13 inches, and in places where the wind blows, upwards of 4 feet.
My normal every-other-Friday-plan: Drop girls off, go to work, daddy gets girls, get off work, go see my guy.

Today: Work is snowed in, got here late. Daddy is snowed in, cant get the girls. Roads closed, cant get to my guy. I love that all this was somewhat unpredictable, but now I’m getting impatient. Tell me that doesn’t make sense. ;)

If somebody has a helicopter I could borrow to get my girls to their dads…or a snow plow, to open the roads, I’d appreciate it.

Yours Truly,
Nomz

♫ In Case You Miss Sazaran...

She's been absent for a few weeks. Not for lack of words, but for better things to do. I know, SIGH, right?! Little does she know that I am stalking her, and therefore helping YOU stalk her.

Let's go over what she's been up to (besides posing for the perfect October picture):

#1. Awesome mommy-For the WIN!

Not only has she taken two busy trips in the last few months to see close family and friends, but she's been doing it solo. Very few mommy's have the gusto to get through airports with a toddler, but her awesome continues to shine, airport after airport. After arriving at destination #2, we'll call it "Wyoming", her ScoobyDoo (bouncing baby boy) got sick. Much to her dismay it included a high fever, fussy time, and very little sleep. Stepping in, being a stellar mommy that she is, she made every effort she could to make sure he got well fast-between late night runs for thermometers, medicine, and doctors...she also nursed him, bathed him, loved him, and somehow, kept her sanity. Thanks to the big dose of mom time, she contracted whatever HE got. She got the fever, the chills, the cough, the sore throat, the headaches, etc. etc.

It's that time of year. She's not necessarily extraordinary for getting sick, but she is, for being sick for two.

This lucky girl got to see them both, in real live person yesterday and am happy to report that they are both wearing their smiles again...talking with exclamation marks, and basking in ChickFilA and friend time.

PS. She gets extra mommy points for putting him in cooler than school shoes. See?



#2. She's full of quotes.

A random burst of quoteage burst out of our Sazaran yesterday, check'm:

“There's no half-singing in the shower, you're either a rock star or an opera diva.”

“I was walking down the street with my friend and he said 'I hear music,' as though there's any other way to take it in. 'You're not special. That's how I receive it too... I tried to taste it, but it did not work.'

“I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.”

“I would imagine if you could understand Morse Code, a tap dancer would drive you crazy.”

"didn't pick dad up from the airport. The roads are SO BAD." Oh wait. That's not a quote. That's an actual story. She's winning the daughter award for the night, driving through a blizzard in attempt to pick up her dad. In this place we call "Wyoming", we're sitting in four inches of blowing snow, with another 10-15" predicted.

So there you have it. A mini blog to toast our Sazaran to being a stellar mommy, a great friend, and a quote-filled, snow braving darling girl! Now...tell her to get her butt back here and blog...y'all KNOW you're sick of my random rants.

Yours Truly,
Nomz