Night Time Lullaby (Courtesy of BBT)

♫ Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr. ♫

Goodnight!
XOXO
Gwen

Life is short. Have an AFFAIR??

This might not be news to everyone, but when I saw this commercial tonight my jaw hit the floor and at first I didn't think I heard it correctly. So I backed up the DVR and watched it a second time only to find that I DID hear this correctly and I was in shock! Have a look:



Let's put aside the creepiness factor that this bears a remarkable resemblance to the old "School House Rock" educational videos, but HELLO! This website at first blush looks like any other dating site, until you read their slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair.". Seriously, I'm still in shock that not only is there a site that caters to cheating spouses, but that they also promote infidelity in national commercials! I know that the divorce rate in this country is significant. According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology: The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage:
50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce.

So obviously there are a lot of people out there in some tough relationships, and I'm sure many of them fantasise about being with someone else and experiencing a different life than the one they are living. However, there's a BIG difference between a fantasy and actually "hooking up" with someone from a secretive adultery service. Look, I'm not one to say when you get married you are locked into it forever without a choice. Shit happens, people change, some are abused, some are neglected, but I have to say that if you're in a marriage that sucks THAT bad then you only have to do one thing . . . get out. Yes, it will only get worse before it gets better if divorce is a giant monkey on your back but let's think of the alternatives.

You make a profile on this site, you meet some interesting people and decide to arrange a date. At this point, if you have a heart and a soul there HAS to be part of you that knows that what you're about to do is wrong. If you're walking out the door with a condom in your pocket or extra makeup to make sure you look right when you get home than you might as well pack a bag too because you're about to take yourself on a guilt trip. Then you have to consider all of the hiding you'll have to do to make sure you don't blow your cover and alert the spouse. What if your partner DOES find out? At worse you'll get divorced and be forced by court order to pay out years and years of alimony/palimony to your ex, or hey maybe handing off an STD would be a great way to say, "Maybe we should break up". Anyway you slice it, no one wins.

So if you are considering using a site like the one above or thinking of cheating on your spouse, do a favor for the both of you and either work through your issues as a couple, or separate. Because if this is crossing your mind as a good idea then you likely are not with the right person for you, or you need to be single.

Good luck out there!
Gwen

P.S. If none of what I said dissuades you from cheating then I give you one more tidbit to consider. What if by signing up for this completely immoral site you are now unknowingly falling victim to a giant corporate merger of the TV show "Cheaters" and AshleyMadison.com? Kiss your ass goodbye in the courtroom, 'cause it's not "Candid Camera" you've been caught on!

My Weekly Indulgence: Sushi & Making it "Special"

Being a self-proclaimed "foodie" that is also losing weight can be challenging. So every week I try to fit in an indulgence or splurge if you will. It keeps me on track with being good all week when I can look forward to enjoying something I love come the weekend. Today I decided to delight in one of my favorite foods . . . SUSHI!! Because it's such a delicacy for me I treat my meal with great respect to make it seem really "special". I pop on over to my local Blue C Sushi and grab all of my favorites to go off of the sushi carousel that runs through the entire restaurant. Very metro.

Here's where I'll start sounding like a women with an obsession (and if I am obsessed, I'll take that moniker and wear it proudly). There's a process involved when preparing to dive head long into a plate full of decadent raw fishies. I "plate" my sushi in order to give it all a very elegant and gourmet feeling. **For those of you readers that LOVE sushi this will probably make you drool a little so grab a hanky. The rest of you that loath the idea of eating raw fish, you might want to turn away.** So I arrange everything like so (Yes, this is actually my dinner that I shot a picture of) :

What you're seeing here is as follows starting clockwise: Sesame noodles, Edamame, Philadelphia Roll, Salmon Nigiri, Seared Tuna (with sauce), my most favorite of all the Spider Roll with soft shell crab, and a side of soy sauce. Now when eating such flavorful seafood I must use a system so that each piece gives the most satisfaction. So I'll typically start with a Philly roll and alternate around the plate enjoying each piece as I enter into a magical sushi coma. LOL

The great thing about sushi is that it's all very lean and pretty darn healthy for you. Plus the fact that my guy HATES it with a passion, there's no worry of him wanting to bogart my salmon. When asked he said, "I would have to be starving on a deserted island before I'd eat that, and even then if I was alive enough I'd make a fire and cook it first!". I should mention he's never tried it, so I say he doesn't know what he's missing. =)

There you have it, my weekly indulgence and how I make it something special.

Catch ya on the flip side! (See what I did there? "Catch" and sushi? Get it? Never mind it must be late.)

-Gwen-

Three Words I Never Thought I'd Say

"Thank you Tyra!"

I was watching the newest "America's Next Top Model" (hereafter referred to as ANTM) and before I go any further let me just say I don't watch it for the drama, Tyra's latest pants suit from the future, or the J's. I watch it for, and typically fast forward to, the photo shoots to see the behind the scenes of hair, makeup, wardrobe, shoot locations, photography, and the finished product. It's always interesting to see who gets the boot, and in this first elimination I was actually pleasantly surprised at the judge's decision. Let me explain for those who do not what the show (namely you guys out there).

As the new housemate models were getting to know each other a couple of girls were discussing another girl's thin frame. I believe that this girl's name was AnnaMarie or something like that. So Anna says something about having been "thicker" before, and that her Mom is always encouraging her to gain a little weight. The other girls ask Anna "How much did you weight?", Anna replies, "When I was thick I was 130 pounds". The girls ask, "How much do you weight now?", Anna replies, "I'm about 110 pounds." To which MY reply was, "WTF!! Are you serious??"

Anna explained that she had to be on a strict low calorie diet in order to maintain the weight she liked (being 110 lbs.) and when she looked in the mirror she liked to be able to see her "abs". Girl I swear, you have to have toned abdominal muscles in order to actually SEE them. So at the photo shoot the girls had to wear bikinis and when Anna's turn came up, the photographer and creative director had issues with only seeing bones on her. When you turn your back to me and I can actually see your ribs from the BACK, I'm more likely to think you've been starving for awhile, not that you're model material. I'm sorry but any "model" that looks emaciated is just sad.

At the elimination Anna was the first to go, because of her unhealthy body image. Tyra told her that she and the judges thought Anna would be sending that unhealthy message to a lot of young girls, and that there are a LOT of thin models in the industry but that Anna was "thinner than thin". I had to applaud the panel on their decision because Anna clearly has some body image issues. It's sad to say that the biggest part on her was her ego.

So thank you ANTM, and yes, thank you Tyra for not allowing such destructive imagery of the stereotypical "thin high fashion model" to further influence our young women into wreaking havoc on their bodies just to "fit in".

-End of line . . -

I kicked my own ass and i'll do it again!

So here I am again, back to the blog. I'm writing this up as I sit here fast forwarding through an old "America's Got Talent" in order to catch my favorite act, "Fighting Gravity". I tell ya, if you haven't seen them they are WAY cooler than the Blue Man Group. So anyhow, I'm sitting here in bed after taking some Tylenol PM (we'll get to that in a second if I don't fall asleep before the end) in my panties and my Threadless t-shirt. Let's see if you can figure this one out:

No? Well don't worry I'll clue you in at the end. Today was the day I decided I HAD to get to the gym after putting if off for weeks in an effort to further define this pear shaped body of mine. So I threw on my jogging pants and a tight workout tee and headed down to the gym this afternoon. Once there (since my iPod is taking a dirt nap) I decided to put on the most mindless show I could find on the TV above the treadmill so I didn't have to pay attention  . . . "Maury". In particular I believe the episode was called "My son is blind but I can see that he's not the father!". See, I told ya . . . mindless.

**Side note: Fighting Gravity just came on and although I love what they do, this round wasn't as good as the previous ones I've seen. Maybe I need to rewind and watch again. One moment . . . . . . . . . . . meh, second time was about the same.**

So yeah, there I am at the gym ready to kick my own ass. It's what I set out to do and I'll be damned if that's not exactly what I did. To give you an idea of how I spent my hour there: Leg press, leg curl machine, free weights, push ups, seated row, lateral pull downs, bench press, overhead press, and finally the treadmill for a brisk walk/jog. I worked up a good sweat and by the time I got off the treadmill and back onto stationary ground I felt like I was STILL on the treadmill. lol By the time I got home I felt like someone had punched me square in the pecs. You'd think that after a beating like that I'd curl up in bed and never venture into the gym again. But I have to admit, it felt good afterward, and the more I do it the easier it will become. Back to the grind tomorrow!

I think I'll be passing out now . .
-Gwen-

P.S. Did you figure out my shirt yet, or did you peek ahead? The answer to my shirt is the "Best Mime Ever".

P.P.S. Oh and by the way, the blind guy WAS the father!