From His Lips to My Blog

Mom saw WIS-TV weatherman Ben Tanner earlier this afternoon, and he said to GET READY! My Starbucks friends may scoff, but we're gonna get something frozen tonight and tomorrow morning - enough to buy us at least an hour or two extra sleep in the morning!

Luckily, I went out early this a.m. to buy coffee and tofu, the single woman's version of bread and milk. I do need to stop on the way home to get a battery for the camera so I can capture the beauty of the ice in the trees, though.

Here is the official warning as of close of business today:

313 PM EST WED JAN 31 2007

...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 12 PM EST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON THURSDAY.

SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL LIKELY DEVELOP TOWARD SUNRISE THURSDAY. THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD CHANGE TO ALL RAIN BETWEEN 10 AM AND NOON.

ICE ACCUMULATIONS AROUND ONE-TENTH OF AN INCH ARE EXPECTED IN COLUMBIA... WITH LESS ACCUMULATION IN AREAS SOUTH AND EAST OF COLUMBIA.

IT TAKES LITTLE ICE TO MAKE DRIVING HAZARDOUS. BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES ARE THE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO FREEZING RAIN. BUNDLE UP WITH YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL - TWO OR FOUR LEGGED - AND PLAN TO SLEEP LATE THURSDAY MORNING.

(Just checking to see how many of you actually read to the end! )

Why It's Great to Be a Single Chick!

1. NOT having a joint checking account. (Oooh, that's a biggie!)
2. Being able to come and go as I please.
3. Not having to make up the bed, wash anyone else's clothes or clean up after anyone else.
4. Cook when I want, eat out when I don't!
5. Not having to share the remote.
6. Being able to sleep 'til noon on the weekends! (Oh, wait, this may actually belong on Top Ten Reasons Not to Have Children list!)
7. Being able to always do what I want, pretty much when I want to do it! It's all about ME!
8. Flirting and crushes.
9. No in-laws!
10. No football, action movies or wing places!

Ahem, I'll stop at 10 as not to make my married friends too envious.

Oooh, one more!

11. Asking for directions

Fellow Singletons, add to the list! Marrieds, share the great things we're missing.

The Apprentice: Episode Four

Is anyone else still watching? I'm getting quite bored with this season's offerings. I haven't picked a favorite, and every episode seems more predictable than the last. I did love it when The Donald told all of them to take their hats off in the board room, that they were inside. That was the high point. Oh, and seeing that cute guy from last season, Sean. I wonder if he and that girl from last season are still dating? THAT'S what I wanna know.

CONTEMPLATING Going Back to My Roots

Bunch of us went out to M Cafe last week, and our waitress had the most beautiful hair. Dark brown with lots of gray. She was young - younger than me - but it was a really hip look. I'm CONTEMPLATING going back to my roots to see what they look like! I've got a good bit of gray, and I want to see how it looks. Of course, I haven't been my natural color since I was 15, so I can't make any promises. But I did recently go a little shorter, so it would be a good time to let the grays grow in. What do y'all think?

Name That Candy Bar

Can you tell I have been totally busy and have nothing of interest in my life to blog about? No floods, no dog baths, no allregic reactions? Hopefully this weekend will be blogworthy, but until then, enjoy this sweet diversion!

Can you name this candy bar?

It's a Twix!

Take the rest of the quiz!

What Kind of Sports Car Are You?

Take the quiz and find out!

I'm a Dodge Viper.

According to the quiz, I'm all about raw power. I'm tough, I'm loud, and I don't take crap from anyone. Leave finesse to the other cars, the ones eating your dust.

I really don't think that describes me at all.

Share your results!

Two Great Quotes...

...from my "Hey, Girlfriend" page-a-day calendar.

If you can’t be a good example, them you’ll just have to be a horrible warning. Catherine Aird

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. Jennifer Unlimited

Blogging Chocolate Instead of Eating It

Look at these darling purse - it's CHOCOLATE! Check them out at http://www.chocochocohouse.com/.

And on that note, today is Women's Healthy Weight Day! I walked to lunch today and then ate healthy! I also overdosed on great green grapes! Tomorrow is the third Greater Columbia Shrinkdown weigh in. I lost seven lbs. the first week and stayed the same the second. I may be down an lb. tomorrow.

Team United Way is in 12th place (out of 60-something teams) with an average weight loss of 3.1 lbs. Dead last? One of the Shrinkdown sponsors, Lexington Medical Center! Yep, the chart is showing an actual average GAIN of 18.2 lbs. for them. What's up with that?? I'd be losing it if I were there public relations person!

TWINS?

For about the umpteenth time (hint, that's a lot), someone asked Sister and I if we were twins! We totally don't get it.

Sister has curly, red hair and brown eyes. I have short, straight brown hair and blue-green eyes with gold flecks. We're close to the same height - both short - but Sister weighs about 20 lbs. less.

I think it may be our mannerisms are very similar, and it's probably very pronounced when we're together.

Below is one of the most recent pictures of us together. What do you think?

A Royal Super Bowl

Now this year's Super Bowl is one I'll watch - Prince will be the halftime entertainment! YAY! I can't wait!

At Starchicks, we found out that one of the regulars KNOWS Prince. He owns several radio stations, and several years ago, promoted a Prince concert down in Atlanta. He had some great Prince stories. Who knew we've been sitting with a Prince person all these Wednesdays at Starbucks??? COOOOOL!

So I'll be indulgent today. For those of you old enough to remember Prince, what is your favorite Prince song? It is hard for me because I have so many favorites, but I'd say my current favorite is an oldie called "Take Me With You," an upbeat, catchy tune from Purple Rain. But since most of you probably haven't heard it, I'll say that "Seven" is a close second.

Okay, THIS is Cool: PlantLove™ Botanical Lipstick

What it is: A 100 percent biodegradable lipstick tube made entirely from corn, which is a renewable resource and greenhouse gas neutral so it does not contribute to global warming. The outer carton is made of biodegradable flower paper, infused with real flower seeds - simply moisten, plant, and wait for a bouquet of wild flowers to grow!

What it is formulated to do: Smooth and silky, the innovative botanical formula is infused with Orchid Complex™ and meadowfoam seed oil as well as jojoba and shea butter. Not only that, but it's environmentally friendly, containing no mineral oils or petroleums.

What else you need to know: CARGO is donating two dollars from the sale of every shade to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The PlantLove™ seeds we sow today affect future generations so we are investing in the earth and our children for the future of the planet!

I think I need AT LEAST one of these to use in my KMB "Buy Recycled" presentations, n'est ce pas? Check it out at Sephora. (And they're offering a great new sample, in addition to the regular three samples. Just type ADDICTED in the promotion code box during checkout.)

Fun with Conversation Hearts!

Unless you live under a rock, you've noticed all of the Valentine's Day candy out in the grocery stores! My favorite V-Day candy is the Conversation Heart! They're cute, clever and relatively harmless.

Indulge me as I explore Conversation Hearts a little early:

Make your own e-Conversation Heart!

Find out the new Conversation Hearts sayings for 2007.

Did you know that about eight billion hearts will be produced this year; enough candy to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Ariz. and back again 20 times Click here for more fun Conversation Heart facts.

For those of you who will see me in PERSON Valentine's Day week, BOLO for a fun sweet treat. Want to be sure you get one? Post a comment here or send me an e-mail.

The Apprentice: Episode Three

So, folks, The Apprentice is getting a little predictable. I actually flipped back and forth between it and Beauty and the Geek last night. But thanks to Michelle resigning (before she could be FIRED), there was a little surprise. I think Michelle is just a little too used to getting by on her looks; she sure didn't show any superstar abilities otherwise.

Still haven't found a favorite to pull for, but James and Frank are both wearing on my nerves.

What's Up With Backward Palmetto Trees?

So what's up with these cars with the Palmetto tree decals applied so the moon is on the right side?! The crescent moon should be on the left side of the tree, not the right! How hard is that to figure out?? And far be it for me to suggest that any certain school, ahem, is graduating "ignuant" students, but most of the ones I see applied backwards are orange Palmetto trees!

Women Over 40

Y'all have probably seen this a million times via e-mail, but it bears posting nonetheless. While attributed to Andy Rooney, it is actually an embellished version of a piece created by Frank Kaiser, a columnist whose Suddenly Senior articles are published on his web site and syndicated to a variety of newspapers across the U.S.

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart. Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free," here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Become an M & M

Check this out: http://www.becomeanmm.com/. It is fabu fun!

"I Never Realized Dying Was So Much Fun"

Even if you weren't an Art Buchwald reader, or even that familiar with him, there is something we can all learn from his death.

Last February doctors told him he had only a few weeks to live.

“I decided to move into a hospice and go quietly into the night,” he wrote three months later. “For reasons that even the doctors can’t explain, my kidneys kept working.”

Refusing dialysis, he continued to write his column, reflecting on his mortality while keeping his humor even as he lost a leg. He spent the summer on Martha’s Vineyard and published a book, Too Soon to Say Goodbye. He gave interviews and looked on as his life was celebrated.

“The French ambassador gave me the literary equivalent of the Legion of Honor,” he wrote. “The National Hospice Association made me man of the year. I never realized dying was so much fun.”

Last year, I saved an article about Buchwald's "extended curtain call" from People. It was the greatest article on how he was enjoying what turned out to be the last year of his life. I'd hoped to share it here, but I couldn't find it anywhere last night. I'll keep looking. For now, check this out: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5249437&ft=1&f=1003.

Don't Forget Bread and Milk on the Way Home!

Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 1 am to 10 am EST Thursday

The National Weather Service in Columbia has issued a Winter Weather Advisory... which is in effect from 1 am to 10 am EST Thursday.

Cold high pressure is building over the area today and cold air will continue to filter into the region overnight. Warm moist air will over run the low level cold air late tonight as low pressure begins to develop off the southeast coast.

As a result, precipitation will develop after midnight. Precipitation will initially begin as a mixture of rain and sleet and as surface temperatures fall to the freezing mark freezing rain will cause ice to form on surfaces. Most icing problems are expected to be on elevated surfaces such as trees... power lines... bridges... and overpasses.

Recent warm weather should keep road surfaces above freezing. At this time, ice accumulations are expected to be light. A significant ice storm is not expected. By 10 am, temperatures should again warm to just above freezing and precipitation should be all rain.

A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for slippery roads and limited visibilities... and use caution while driving.

Tease

If you missed it last week, here's another chance! Tease, the hairstylist reality show, is on again tonight. 9 p.m., Oxygen. And tonight you won't have to choose between this and the President. You will, however, have to miss the last hour of American Idol...Can you stand it?

Tonight's "Mane" Event: Long to Short, With Color!

American Idol?

Anyone watching tonight? I will wait to start blogging when they get down to the actual competition. These first couple of nights are stupid, but pretty funny. I'll be watching for the first hour, then flipping over to Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I think Bobby Goren is totally hot. Oooh, but I bet it's a Mr. Big night.

True Tales of People Who Can't Take It Anymore

Sitting here waiting for East Richland County Public Service(less) to check the sewer lines, I thought I'd blog my FAVORITE book as promised yesterday. I'll know when ERCPS is here as the dogs will go bananas.

I don't recall how I discovered this book, but it quickly became my favorite. I pick it up when I need a chuckle, and I gave multiple copies as Christmas presents this year.

Here's the book description from Amazon:

What can you do when the world is pushing you over the edge? More than you think.For some of us, it's the automated voice that answers the phone when we'd rather talk to a real person. For others, it's the fact that Starbucks insists on calling its smallest-sized coffee "tall." (So true! And while I love Starbucks, what kind of descriptions are Tall, Grande and Venti? I always just say the big one!) Or perhaps it's those pesky subscription cards that fall out of magazines. Whatever it is, each of us finds some aspect of everyday life to be particularly maddening, and we often long to lash out at these stubborn irritants of modern life.

In Life's Little Annoyances, Ian Urbina chronicles the lengths to which some people will go when they have endured their pet peeves long enough and are not going to take it any more. It is a compendium of human inventiveness, by turns juvenile and petty, but in other ways inspired and deeply satisfying.

1. We meet the junk-mail recipient who sends back unwanted "business reply" envelopes weighted down with sheet metal, so the mailers will have to pay the postage. (When I worked at the SC Republican Party back when I was a child who didn't know better, people did this with bricks, and I thought that was quite clever!)
2. We commiserate with the woman who was fed up with the colleague who kept helping himself to her lunch cookies, so she replaced them with dog biscuits that looked like biscotti.
3. And we revel in the seemingly endless number of tactics people use to vent their anger at telemarketers, loud cellphone talkers, spammers, and others who impose themselves on us.

A celebration of the endless variety of passive aggressive behavior, Life's Little Annoyances will provide comfort and inspiration to everyone who has ever gritted his teeth and dreamed of sweet retribution against the slings and arrows of outrageous people.

My personal favorite from the book is page 43, Road Rage in the Supermarket Aisle. It describes how this guy discreetly adds embarrassing and/or expensive items in unattended carts, usually left smack dab in the middle of the aisle. LOVE IT! I try to do it every time I go grocery shopping, but since I'm usually with Sister, she prevents me from doing it. She says it's mean. I think it's mean for people to rudely block the aisles in the grocery store myself.

So, here's the question - do you have a special way of exacting revenge against outrageous people?

Let me see what suggestions I can find for late service people like ERCPS!

MLK Musings

What a fun day! My oldest friend, Kayren, came through town today, and we were able to spend some time with her. Actually, she's the person outside my family that I've been friends with the longest, not my oldest friend - that would be Mrs. Altman, a blog for another day! Kayren and I met on the ill-fated McMaster for US Senate campaign in 1986 - a secret from my past - and have been fast friends ever since.

We started the day with brunch at the IHOP in St. Andrews. Sister and I had planned on just calling it a day there, but ended up getting some retail therapy at Columbiana Mall. We exchanged gifts over breakfast. Kayren gave me the most beautiful black knit wrap dress from Talbot's, and it fits perfectly! It will look great with my new black BCBG shoes! She gave Sister a DARLING Planet Dog t-shirt that says "You Had Me at Woof." Cuuuuuute! We gave Kayren a SC wine bottle lamp (handcrafted by moi) and a vase shaped like a handbag - Kayren collects handbags. Earlier, I'd given her a purse page-a-day calendar and the BEST book, Life's Little Annoyances, True Tales of People Who Just Can't Take It Anymore. I you haven't read this book, you must! I may even blog it soon.

We had a great time at the mall. We only went to two stores. Bath and Body Works is still having their annual sale, and all three of us did quite well. The BBW at Columbia is one of their flagship stores, which means they have a lotta stuff the other stores don't. My big score was the eggnog candle that originally sold for $19.50. FINALLY, it was marked down 75% off, and I got it for less than $5. Hooray! I can't wait to light it! I also got some Fresh cologne for 90% off! Sweet! Beth stocked up on Restorative Cocoa bath products, so the next time you see her, she'll probably smell like a chocolate chip!

We also went to Victoria's Secret, which totally disappointed me! One of the things I've been looking forward to doing now that I've lost 70 lbs. is shopping at these great lingerie stores, but I haven't been missing much. It was crowded, loud and the prepubescent salesGIRLS - note the emphasis on girls - were just no help whatsoever. What a bummer.

And I'm leaving out the big excitement of the day - our basement flooded this morning! Every few years, we have a plumbing problem downstairs, and today was the lucky day! I threw down a few towels on the way out with the best intention to come straight home to clean up, but as you can see, we were distracted. We stopped by Wal-Mart to get some clean-up products, and I'm about halfway through as I type. I needed a break, though. What is it with the Sisters and flooding this week?

Oh, while we were at Wal-Mart, we hit the mother lode with those Crystal Light-type drink mixes. Crystal Light has a new pomegranate cherry, which looks yummy and promises to help boost immunity. I also found sugar free Hawaiian Punch, my favorite, for only $1 a box. I bought about 12 boxes! There were also some great flavors that were fortified - vitamin, fiber, joint health. Between Sister and I, we must've bought 20 boxes. Love the stuff!

Off to finish drying and cleaning the basement. It's not nearly as bad as it's been in the past, but I need to take care of it. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the last flood we have for a while! And take our advice - basements are nice, but before you buy a house with one, have a plumber check it out THOROUGHLY! And then get a second opinion...

James Brown Land??

I DON'T feel good.

For those who didn't see this article in The State on Saturday, please click and read so we can discuss.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/16449951.htm

Would anyone actually go? I know James Brown was great at one time, but a couple of years ago, he couldn't even sell 5,000 tickets to a concert that he did here in SC. And would a museum include the car(s) he used to run from the law on those many occasions?

I dunno; I think they should bury him and just let him rest in peace...

Episode Two: The Apprentice

1. Trump Trailer Park! Now isn't THAT something you'd like to see Trump develop! Perhaps Rosie could be the first occupant! Hahahahahahaha.

2. Carey is GAY? Really? I never suspected. NOT. His eyebrows were my first clue. I'd KILL for his eyebrows!

3. Eeeew. Trump's got some pasty white feets!

4. Arrow should've lost with those gosh awful men's swimsuits! Egad!

5. If I were a woman on the winning team, I would be insulted by having to go to the Playboy mansion. That ain't right!

6. Does anyone else think Bill Maher could be Hugh Hefner's son? He really favors him.

7. So Carey was fired. Good decision, no? The entire team should be embarrassed that they didn't veto that men's line.

What do you think??

AWOL!

It's Sunday night, just before The Apprentice, and I need to explain my absence.

Friday was BUSY! At work, I had to get ready for Grinding of the Greens, and I had three meetings. After work, I went to the Y to help with the Shrinkdown weigh-in and then worked out. By the time we got home and ate, it was nearly bedtime!

Saturday was the big Grinding of the Greens! We ground Christmas trees and distributed the mulch at three of our seven sites. It was a great day. We had GREAT volunteers - as usual - and gave away most of the mulch. We also raised some $$$. I got about 10 bags of mulch for our house, too. Afterwards, I had lunch and took a little nap - all that mulch shoveling wore me out. Then we went out to dinner and bought groceries, and you guessed it, the day was gone.

Today, we mostly relaxed and worked around the house. I got the mulch out in our herb garden and the garden beside the house. Every time we walk out the back door, it smells like Christmas trees! It's FABU!

Besides all of that, no big news except that at the Shrinkdown weigh in, I'd lost SEVEN lbs. My scales only showed five lbs., and I think that is the most accurate, but if they want to record seven, I'll take it! I think I was the biggest loser on the United Way team.

Don't forget American Idol starts on Tuesday! The first shows are tedious, but funny. And Roxanne, even YOU can get American Idol!

More after The Apprentice!

Beauty Ain't Pretty!

This blog is in response to a discussion with Starchick Bob, who asked about pointy-toed shoes and women's feet. He said that he's heard of women having PLASTIC SURGERY to wear pointy-toed shoes and sent along the following links of interest:

http://www.nycfootcare.com/Media/Media-Docs/SlyMagazine.pdf

http://www.nycfootcare.com/Media/Media-Docs/WYOU22.pdf

These are as pointy as I get, but my toes are not this long and pointy! At least 1/2 inch of the point is empty, this giving way to a new term I coined - "faux toes." I guess I'm lucky enough to have petite feet, but no way I'd ever have plastic surgery for shoes! (For a smaller derriere, maybe, but never for shoes!)

So now I'm curious, is there anything YOU do and/or would do to suffer for fashion?

PS. What Not to Wear (one of my favorite shows!) Tip: Wearing pointy-toed shoes elongates the leg, especially beneficial for short women (and men, too - I suppose).

New Reality Show TEASE

Since I am the queen of all reality shows and am always in search of the perfect 'do, I wanted to be sure you knew about a new one premiering on Oxygen tonight at 9 p.m. - Tease!

Yes, the President does speak tonight at the same time, but between fierce hair and Iraq, the choice is clear, isn't it? (Plus, George Bush's hair NEVER changes.)

A series big on haircuts and bold personalities, each Tease episode will feature two up-and-coming hair stylists as they face-off in an outrageous, Olympics-style tournament.

The aspiring stylists will put their skills to the ultimate tress test in front of a panel of expert judges as they compete for a chance at the supreme challenge - a one-on-one battle with a high-profile master stylist. Should they surpass the expertise of a hair pro, their photo will hang on the Tease hair wall of fame and they will receive the "silver scissors," the crowning symbol of their styling victory.

The show will also be hosted by Lisa Rinna, who happens to have one of THE sassiest, short 'dos in Hollywood.

I Can't Even Title This Post

Remember a week or so ago when I touted the virtues of the MP3 player to do housework to? Read this and weep. Or laugh your butt off imagining this!!!!!!

I came home this afternoon psyched after registering for the Greater Columbia Shrinkdown, and hopped on the treadmill as quick as I could change and turn on my music. After a great workout, I thought I'd just keep on the tunes and clean the house!

I started in my room, where I picked up a few - uh, delicates - and threw them in the sink to wash, and then moved to the kitchen. I emptied the dishwasher, marinated chicken, took out the trash and recycling and went back to my room, all the while dancing around to great tunes. I felt soooo righteous that I was getting sooo much done!

Sometime later - and I plead the Fifth, Momma - I return to the bathroom to hang up a towel, and it looks like the toilet has overflowed. Nooooo, I forgot to turn the water off when I was rinsing my unmentionables!!!!!! And because I was jamming to the tunes, I never heard it!

You'd think these crazy animals of mine would've warned me, but they slept right through it - until it was cleanup time, that is! Then Winston traipsed through the wet bathroom and the rest of the house. Oh, Lord! It took every towel in the house and then some to get up that water, and do you know how heavy wet towels are???? I had to literally drag them down the stairs to the laundry room.

Long story short, the bathroom floor is spotless, my unmentionables as clean as a whistle, and every towel in the house is in the wash. And my MP3 player, which is still on, is now playing Oops! I Did It Again. I swear!

Shrinkdown, Go Ahead and Give It to Me

(I don't know what it is about my posting titles coinciding with 70s/80s song titles!)

Today is the kickoff for the Greater Columbia Shrinkdown. I'm participating on United Way's team again this year - as a "friend" of United Way. I went at 12:30 p.m. to register and weigh in. It wasn't quite as chaotic as last year, and I was finished in an hour.

I skipped most of the screenings - I don't think I have prostate cancer - but did get my blood pressure checked. It was 132/88. She said the bottom number was getting high. That WAS actually high for me, and it was high having to fight all of those crazy people in line. I swear, some people do ANYTHING for a t-shirt...

I've started a Blog for the team, too. Beth says that she doesn't think anyone on Team United Way will blog, and so far, she's been about right on this one, but I'm the eternal optimist, I suppose. (I still say many thousands of you are reading Our Sister Act and just not posting comments, but Sister doesn't buy it!)

My goal for the 10-week Shrinkdown is to make a dent in the remaining 30 lbs. I want to lose. I wonder if 15 lbs. is too ambitious?

If any of you still want to participate in the Shrinkdown, check it out at http://www.greatercolumbiashrinkdown.com/. You don't have to be on a team to participate, and you can still register even if you missed today's event at the Colonial Center...

Episode One: The Apprentice

I better blog this tonight, or I'll forget all of this by tomorrow evening...

1) Martin shouldn't have asked about going to the bathroom.

2) The show held my attention until they announced the winner of the car wash challenge. Then I picked up my Soduko game and just listened.

3) In listening to the board room, I heard WAAAAY too many people who couldn't speak proper English. At least three of those folks, including the project leaders Frank and Heidi, had major subject verb disagreement, verb tense issues, etc. And these are the tops of the top?! Apparently, they weren't English majors! (And before you all start editing my Blog now, remember, I'm not trying to work for Trump!)

4) I liked the way Martin dressed, and he looked like a dark version of "the pickle man" in one of my favorite movies, Crossing Delancey.

What did YOU think??

Let's Blog The Apprentice LA!

New season of The Apprentice starts tonight, NBC, 9:30 p.m. If you're a watcher, check in the next day to dish!

Here's the scoop on The Apprentice LA:

"The Apprentice" moves to Southern California for season six of the unscripted series, leaving Manhattan for the first time in the history of the show. Trump will once again do the firing - and the hiring - as 18 enterprising candidates vie for the coveted title of "The Apprentice" and the career opportunity of a lifetime working for the legendary business tycoon.

Along with the new Southern California backdrop comes a whole new series of surprising twists and turns that will make this the liveliest and most challenging competition yet among candidates eager to become the next "Apprentice." In a compelling social experiment of haves and have nots, contestants this season will have to earn the right to live like Trump. Each week, the contestants on the winning team will get to live in a luxurious mansion. But contestants on the losing team will have to sleep outside in tents in the back yard of the mansion with outdoor showers and port-a-potties, giving contestants more incentive than ever to win their tasks each week.

In another engaging new twist, the winning project manager each week will remain project manager until they lose, plus they will also sit in the boardroom and help advise Trump on who he should fire each week from their opposing team. Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. will return for several episodes, along with previous "Apprentice" winners, as boardroom advisors to their father.

Extreme Makeover: Dog Edition

Today was an exciting day for the Baldauf dogs - bath, aka batha, day! After a few rainy days and afternoons at "The Bones" (Mom and Dad's house), the dogs were smelly and dirty! We sisters just couldn't stand it anymore! It was time to pack up the dogs and head to the dog wash.

When Cebu heard where we were going, this is the look she gave us. Have you ever seen a dog roll her eyes??

Here are the dogs and Sister at Pet Supplies Plus at Five Points. They have the greatest washing facilities. We're so glad Columbia has something like this now. It beats the heck out of trying to get these pooches in the tub! For your newbies, Winston is the big one; Cebu (pronounced Say-boo) is the furry one. Notice how their positioning around the sign creates the mantra of the day - DOG WASH NOW. (Note how THIN Sister looks!)

Unfortunately, the dog wash was busy when we got there, so we had to shop around! Pet Supplies Plus for the dogs as Ulta is for the Sisters. A true Baldauf girl, Cebu enjoyed shopping!

She especially like the treats, toys and pink beds.

Winston had more fun looking at the fish, snakes and little furry things.

Finally, the wash room was free! Ladies, load your dogs and start your sprayers!

Then we showered them down! Winnie LOVES this part. He likes to drink water from the sprayer before we get started. He's loved water since he was a puppy; he'll stand out in the rain and/or jump in any body of water.

Cebu, on the other hand, doesn't DO water.

It wasn't until after the first "wet dog shake" that we remembered to put on the attractive waterproof (?) aprons.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Winnie ready for a blow out! This picture makes him look like the manly, athletic dog that he's not.

Did you know there are blow dryers for dogs? We dried them for about 15 minutes, but even so, it's a full hour or so after the whole process before everyone is REALLY dry. (Including the Sisters.)

After pictures. Since you can't SMELL the photos, you may not see the difference as much as we smell it! But Winston and especially Cebu look FABU!

When we got home, everyone was worn out! The dogs got a treat - Busy Bones - and afterwards both took LONG naps!

West Virginia & Waiting for Warhol

This morning, Sister and I welcomed our West Virginia friends, H.R. and Carol Scott, to Cola Town. They were coming through town on their way back from Florida and stopped in our fair city for the evening. They got in too late to have dinner, so we met them for breakfast.

For those of you who don't know about my thing for West Virginia, I was invited to speak at their Association of Solid Waste Authorities Conference in 2005 and fell in love with the state and the people. It's something very hard to explain, but the hospitality, warmth and beauty are unrivaled. After just a few minutes, I felt like I'd known some of these folks for years, and I really feel like I have a second family there. I returned for last year's conference, where I did a couple of sessions and a trash to treasure sale. I've kept in touch with a lot of the conference attendees and hold a special place in my heart for West Virginia. But I digress.

Breakfast was a blast. H.R., who works in a position similar to a Clemson Extension agent in West Virginia, was full of himself! He's usually the strong, silent type - or at least when we see him at the conference - but he was like a different person this morning. His wife, Carol, is always talkative and fun, much like us, so it was a delightful way to start the day.

New things we found learned at breakfast:

The mafia is in West Virginia. It's a branch of the Pittsburgh mafia.

Old Man Bowden used to coach at WVU, and Tommy isn't his only son. We heard great stories about the other sons.

The Mothman was blamed for the collapse of a bridge in Pt. Pleasant. (Mothman is a legend like our Lizard Man, but it's really a big deal. Richard Gere was even in a movie about it called The Mothman Prophecies. We met a woman at the conference who really believes. H.R. said that it was probably one of his relatives - HA HA!)

It sounds like we'll be invited back to the conference for a third time! I'm so excited! This year's conference is very close to Pittsburgh, so I may finally get to make that visit to The Andy Warhol Museum! Yahoo! West Virginia and Warhol Sister Road Trip - can't wait!

A Red Letter Day

1. My Sephora package came today! Yay! In addition to my Benefit Lemon-Aid, which was packaged in a festive red velvet drawstring bag, I also received four great samples that I will be playing with this weekend. Savvy shoppers, remember, you have 'til January 15 to use the promotion code GORGEOUS to get an extra big sample!

2. My face is FINALLY clearing up; I was even able to wear makeup today! The Prednisone is taking it's toll on me - I haven't had more than two hours sleep in a row since I started taking it - but what's a little sleep in exchange for clear skin?!

3. The medical profession redeemed itself today. My fabu doc, Brad Word, saw me today and profusely apologized for the incident that occurred on New Year's Eve. He said that if I was charged the $25 for the call, bring the bill to him. He also gave me his pager number so I can contact him directly next time. He is THE BEST doctor, but unfortunately, is not accepting new patients. I'm glad I'm already in.

4. A very well-placed community leader came to KMB with a great project proposal today. I'm VERY excited about the possibilities, both for the community and Keep the Midlands Beautiful. More as it hopefully develops.

THIS Is How I'll Spend 2007? Update

One reason I like having a blog is that I can get the last word, so here it is! Despite the fact that Dr. On Call Haselden said that I couldn't have had an allergic reaction to latex paint, I just did a quick inspection of the bottom floor and found a room two doors down was painted with latex paint on Thursday. The cans were still in there and everything. Since this has happened to me on three previous occasions, I just can't imagine that this wasn't the culprit on this occasion. Just call me Doctor Baldauf. Now, if I could only prescribe my owns meds...

5 p.m. P.S. I had to leave work early today as there was more painting! My face started to burn, and shortly thereafter, I started to smell the paint. I tried to run a couple work errands, but I -prickly-skinned and barefaced - kept running into people I knew. I drove home as fast as I could and hid my face!

A Worthy Cause

In light of my evening at the homeless shelter - to feed, not to sleep as described on my 12/31 post - I wanted to pass this info from Sister along to everyone. Sister is participating, as are some folks at the Chamber. I hope to participate, too, if it doesn't conflict with our KMB Board meeting earlier that evening. If you have questions, you can contact Sister at bbaldauf@unitedway.org.

Every two years, each community across the country is required by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development to do a point-in-time count of the number of homeless individuals. If done well, the count can help community planning to address the issue of homelessness. This year, communities across the state will be conducting the count on the evening of January 25, 2007.

How can you help? On the night of January 25th, volunteers will be walking around the city of Columbia in an attempt to locate and count any unsheltered homeless people. All volunteers will receive specific training in advance on how to do the count. Volunteers will travel in teams led by an individual who is experienced in working with the homeless, and move around specific areas in the city on foot, noting the number of people observed that are homeless. The teams will also have supplies (food, clothing items) to distribute. Volunteering with the count is a great way to help the community improve its ability to understand and address the needs of homeless people. It will also provide a unique perspective about homeless in our community. To register to volunteer, please contact homeless@uway.org.

If you work or live in another community, feel free to sign up . . . your name will be forwarded to the coordinator in the appropriate area!

Many thanks in advance for your consideration!

Hot Shopping Tip for Chicks

Sorry, guys, but this weekend was too much reality for me. Just taking time to share a shopping tip with the ladies.

If you're a fan of Sephora, now's a great time to buy! If you make a purchase between now and January 15th, type the word GORGEOUS in the promotion box, and you can select one of five extra goodies, in addition to the usual three samples. I selected the Makeup Optional skincare samples from Philosophy. Another option is Pink Sugar perfume, which is my 2007 signature scent - DELISH!

I don't know about y'all, but I like Sephora better than Ulta. There's something about getting a package in the mail, plus I love those beautiful cloth bags your purchases come in. I re-use them for all kinds of good stuff.

Happy Shopping!