Friday Fave Five!!!

Theme: Movies/DVDs we've watched (in theater OR rented, bought, or borrowed) in the last 6 months. We don't get out to theaters as much anymore, but I did think of a couple we liked. So, here we go.

1. Cinderella Man.

2. Stepford Wives. We actually watched this on our honeymoon -- I resolved to be less of a Man Eating Corporate Chick so he never turns me into a robot. He laughed.

3. Zoom! Just rented this last weekend.

4. Casino Royale. I dunno -- I don't watch all the Bond flicks, but I did rather enjoy this one.

5. Arthur and the Invisibles. We saw it for family night in January. The way they transition between live action and the animation is awesome. And David Bowie plays the best bad guys.

Yep! Friday Fave Five!!!!

No theme this week, just random thoughts.

1. Airborne, pink grapefruit flavor. Any time hubby or kiddo get the sniffles, I'm guzzling this stuff, and I haven't gotten sick nearly as much as them ... even with copious amounts of making out with hubby. Skip the other flavors though, esp. the hot apple whatever ick.

2. Paying off debt and building savings. Still working on this miss frugal thing, but talking with frugal people and reading books have helped a ton lately.

3. Baskin Robbins sugar free candies. Aspartame free hard candy goodness. Helping my sweet tooth a LOT.

4. Lysol spray in Crisp Linen scent, and Lysol foaming cleanser. Keeps the bathroom squeaky clean when I'm only up to spraying rinsing, and not scrubbing. Picked up the cleanser at Costco -- love the stuf.

5. COOKIES! My lurve sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies and PB choc bars ... see item #3 for combating this problem.

Friday Fave Five!!!

Another theme.

1. Roses. See Valentine's Day.

2. Chocolates. Even from different countries, like the chocolate-covered ground sesame candy bar hubby brought home from the Asian market.

3. Dinner. Even if it's something from Stouffer's. If hubby takes care of dinner, I like it. Which, Tuesday this week, he came home with a huge lasagne and said, "I had a feeling I needed to take care of dinner tonight." And he did.

4. Lunch. Even if it's something from Stouffer's. He brought me a whole bunch of Lean Cuisines (which he gets cheap at work -- anything from Nestle/Stouffer's). I like the french bread pizzas and a few varieties of the meals -- just not the Mexican dishes, which is weird, since I lurve Mexican food. But the beef portabello, turkey dinner, and swedish meatballs are good. and it helps to have something in the freezer I can pop in the microwave and not really interrupt work with making.

5. Chinese pork. I realize I made this, but I made it *with* hubby. Cantonese pork is now going to be something I make fairly frequently. We liked it that much.

Yes, I do get agitated with my sweet husband at times, but he is my favorite person. *mush* And when I remember all those wonderful things he does for me, with me, and to me ... rowr. The agitation melts away and I rather enjoy life again.

So ... there you go. My 5 favorite things this week revolve around my husband. Who will be waiting up for me tonight, so I'd better get work done. rowr.

Friday Fave Five!

This week we have a theme.

1. Electric heating pads and microwaveable rice packs or hot water bottles. Helps with cramps.

2. Fun-flavor chocolate chips. Nestle came out with caramel, peanut butter, mint, etc., swirled chocolate chips. Because hubby works for Nestle at the Stouffer's plant, he gets them for a steal.

3. Plain old walmart pretzels. Salt. Sugar. Salt. Sugar. Hush.

4. Midol. Not extra-strength though. That stuff is crap -- it is *only* naproxen sodium (Aleve), and does not contain the caffeine and diuretic regular Midol has. GRRR.

5. Playtex tampons, regular size, no deodorant.

If I could make a "PMS survival kit," it would include the above (only, the chocolate could be M&Ms or Dove bars or something and the pretzels could be anything salty -- nuts, chips, etc.), a box of tissues, bubble bath, a bottle of spring water, and a hug from a hawt man. Oh, and there would be two versions: One with angry girl music and Kill Bill, and another with mellow music and Alex&Emma (or something similar).

Friday Fave Five!!!

1. Homemade chicken noodle soup -- with homemade noodles. Tried it for the first time this week. Lurve that stuff. Making it again tonight to take it to the neighbors who had a baby last week via C-section.

2. Homemade half whole-wheat bread. I used to make it all the time, but haven't for a while. Had energy last night, so I made some to accompany the soup. We're having some for dinner too, and I had enough to put some of the dough in the freezer for later. (need to pick up some apples and dessert or something to round out the meal)

3. Udderly Smooth Udder Cream. It is a great hand cream. We gave one to Munchkin's teacher for Christmas and she adores it, too. Bought it at Wally's in the "cosmetics" area where they keep the body lotions and sunscreens and stuff, not in the nail care or body care aisles.

4. I'm finally enjoying the accounts my boss changed me to back in November, essentially giving me a pay cut right before Christmas. But yesterday rocked, this whole last week has been really good, and even though I wore myself out making bread and muffins last night, the heating pad and Pepsi and the fact that I no longer hate my job are keeping me going.

5. Oxiclean. Okay, possibly another TMI moment, but my folks were here for a month this summer, and I don't know how the heck it happened, but my towels in the master bath got kind of ... stinky. We bought more with some of the cash from the wedding, because two people need more than 4 bath towels (we have "pink" towels for other reasons), but they were all just still ... smelling. So, we started dumping a scoop of Oxiclean in with them and Voila! NO MORE STINKETH. So, when I needed to wash Kidlet's winter coat, which had a hard time not being smelly all last winter, I put in a bunch of Oxiclean in with it, too, and it ceased to be stinky as well. I buy it at costco in a 14-pound box and use it in *every* load of laundry now.

Friday Fave Five!!! (okay, it's really going to be 10 this week)

1. Dr. Howell -- an amazing children's dentist. If you have kids and are local to us (i.e., Utah County), go see him. My scaredy cat 7yo loves his office and actually lets him look in her mouth AND she got a sealant this week without too much fuss.
2. Lactose free ice cream -- hubby can satisfy his craving for ice cream without fumigating the bedroom at night. I divided the carton in half and mixed mint in one half and natural peanut butter and chocolate syrup into the other, then froze them in separate containers. He ate the PB/chocolate one in one sitting and didn't get sick. That's a very good thing.
3. Kleenix brand tissues with lotion. We go through them a lot and don't have sore noses to show for it.
4. Uniball signo gel grip gel ink pens. My lurve them. They write well and don't dry out when I leave the cap off. oops.
5. My co-workers. They help keep me sane -- working a job at home where you see no one and the only communication you have is email, having funny co-workers who also listen to you when you're down is a saving grace, one of the Lord's tender mercies.
6. ULTRAM. This drug, taken with Tylenol, has been helping my chest pain and fatigue immensely. PLUS, I'm getting better sleep at night, which means my chest doesn't hurt as much the next day, too, since I'm not tossing and turning. It also means I'm not keeping hubby up or stealing blankets, so we're happy.
7. Tony Little Gazelle. The man drives me crazy, but I lurve me Gazelle, even if I can't use it every day just yet.
8. Root canals ... on other people. Hubby needed one and finally got it. We are *all* happier campers now.
9. Leslie Sansone. I really get jazzed doing her walking videos, and I bought her book to help develop better eating habits, too. Slowly but surely, I *am* bringing sexy back.
10. Dried Apricots. Help calm down my craving for candy and sweets. Except chocolate. There is only one cure for chocolate cravings. gah.

So ... we've had a rough week. teeth and bosses and emotions and headaches and sternum pain and doctors ... me feeling fat and lazy and getting in trouble at work for missing so much of it. My boss suggested I consider going back on medical leave, which I might if I can't get the pain and my depression back under control. Which means ... I *have* to work out every day for the depression, and then pop pills for the pain. Wahoo.

Friday Fave Five!!!

Okay, so if I was talking about favorite overall, hubby and kids would take the 3 top spots. Every week. But I'm not. Just some of my favorite things this week.

1. Heating pads and rice packs. They're keeping me from being in agony 24/7 due to cold weather and a (now-healed) cracked sternum.
2. VitaGloss. I don't even know if BonneBell makes this stuff anymore, but it's gloss with vitamins in it. My lips were really chapped from the cold, so I dug this raspberry flavored gem out of my lipgloss stash, applied it liberally, and now they are soft, supple, and kissable again.
3. Apple Cinnamon flavored massage oil. Not just for massages (nawty or otherwise), but it is helping my sternotomy scar keloiding be softer. (if you want some, I can tell you where to find it!)
4. PEPSI. Helps me function at work. Had two bad weeks at work when I tried to go without. This week is sooooooooo much better, which means my paycheck won't be crappy. Hallelujah.
5. Benefiber. Add it to the protein powder for a drink before you add the liquid, and you've got yourself something that'll make you regular.

Tada! There you have it. My Friday Fave Five!!!



And, because this is hilarious. He-Man singing 4 Non-Blondes: