PSA: Arctic Zero

Hey guys.

I am going to make this short and sweet, a little PSA if you will.

Ice cream is good. I want it every night. Actually, I would take a little ice-cream after every meal. It makes everything better.

I stumbled across Arctic Zero on a health blog and thought… hmmm…. could it be? A pint of ice cream for 150 calories? Sign me up!

So I purchased it (FYI - I have only seen it at Hy-Vee and Wal-Mart) and brought it home. Post supper time, when I typically start debating if I should drive through Runza for a twist cone, I busted into the freezer for my first AZ experience.

I sure was excited. I purchased the cookies and cream flavor…. as it is my standard go-to flavor in the frozen dairy department.


Experience as follows:
First bite: Mmmm. Cold. Frozen. Mostly like ice cream. Not as creamy, but good.
Second bite: I guess it tastes like cookies and cream. Sort of.
Third bite: This tastes pretty watery.
Fourth bite: Why is this called cookies and cream?
Fifth bite: Am I eating frozen sand?


There was no sixth bite, gang. Don't waste your $5-8 (depending on where you get it) for this poor ice cream substitute. It's just like I thought… if you want dessert, go big or go home.

Talent Lists

Friday through Sunday of this past weekend was devoted to meeting up with some of my girl friends. We voyaged to Denver and got in some serious QT. In typical gathering style, we purchased a few bottles of wine, Oreos, chips and ice cream for our first evening together. Our spread looked like we were suffering from one giant, collective break up.  Which, by the way, we are not.

Side note: Who do I need to contact to get Blue bell ice-cream in Omaha/Lincoln? Or am I missing it somewhere? HELP.

Anyways, while we were chowing down, one of my friends mentioned her “talent list.” Wait… what? I don’t have a talent list. Also, what is that?

Apparently a couple of the ladies had previously done this. In short, a talent list is pretty self explanatory. It’s a list of things you are talented at. And it’s supposed to be specific.

As in…

Giving= unacceptable talent list material

Thoughtful gift giver= acceptable talent list material

… or something. I think. So, we started making our own talent lists. Some talents are funny. Some are random based off of past events. Some are obvious.

Even so, it is so much more difficult than it sounds. A million things begin to run through my mind. Mainly, what am I good at, anyways? I don’t know! I can’t think of anything. I am certainly not athletic. I have taken the strengths finder…  are those talents? Nope… too vague.  Panic was setting in as I realized I actually didn’t have any talents. Well, this is upsetting. I am not good at being put on the spot, I know that much. We will call that an anti-talent.

The activity ended up turning into something that I am quite certain a group of guys would never partake in: essentially going around and identifying what we thought each individual was talented at. And let me tell you… this is an activity that you should do with your people. (It is better fueled with wine and sugar, but do as you please).

I am sure you are all dying to know what my talent list ended up looking like. Unfortunately, it’s written on a paper towel and is not in my possession. And it’s certainly not my point. My point is somewhere along the lines of “how we see ourselves is so much more negative than how the people who love and care about us, see us.” See,  I was literally incapable of thinking of more than a few things that I knew I was “talented at”. But these women, who have known me for (some) shorter periods and (others) a long time, had no trouble identifying my talents.

Que: so many warm and fuzzy feelings. And I swear it wasn't (just) the wine.

As an activity (if you aren't hurting for a little free time), jot down a few things that you believe yourself to be good at. If you are familiar with your talents, by all means, continue on! But if you, like many of us, struggle to come up with more than a few, ask a close friend or family member to identify a few of your "talents." You will most likely be surprised to see how you are perceived by the people who know you best.

Let this be a reminder to us to never forget to tell the people we love what we really think is great about them. We all have less than pretty qualities. But for most of us, the good qualities outweigh the bad. Find the good in others… and focus on those things.

  

The Motherboard

I believe this has been my longest blog hiatus, ever. About two months ago, my computer decided to pull the ultimate prank and refuse to turn back on. It started doing this frightening beeping sound when I tried to charge it.   Though I know nothing about computer repair, something told me this was not good.  I hesitated to google the symptoms. Everyone knows how that goes… one minute you have a sore throat, and the next you are dying of a rare disease. Same for computers. So… I did it anyways because I like to get the facts up front. It didn’t sound good, and I was scared.

Like any normal person would do, I went into denial and put my computer in the closet, hoping it would rest up and turn on in a few days.  Well, fast forward a few weeks, and my computer wasn’t making the healthy recovery I had hoped for. I caved and took her in. A week went by before I got the official diagnosis… the motherboard. I am sure my blank stare encouraged the computer repairman to dumb down his spiel and say “We need to send it away to get repaired or replace it. It’s shot.” Wait, what?! I have only had this MacBook for about 3 years. Don’t these things have like, lifetime warranties? Aren’t they indestructible? Am I making these things up?  I saved my temper tantrum and instead told him to do what he needs to do… what do I know anyways?

Well gang, my computer is finally healthy. Coincidentally, I still haven’t picked her up. Blogging from my phone is tricky, but I like the challenge. And I didn’t want to leave anyone hanging any longer. That is, of course, making the assumption that anyone is “hanging.”

 

Anywho, it is Fall! Over at my apartment, I am bathing in pumpkin scented everything. Literally. Have you guys tried Pumpkin Latte and Marshmallow from Bath and Body Works? I was like a kid in a candy shop when I saw the fall scents were out. I smell like pumpkins, my apartment smells like pumpkins, I am ingesting pumpkin flavored goodies…. It’s chaos around here. If you go and buy anything pumpkin scented (to wear) this Fall, I would make it THIS. Yum.

 

 

So, I am going to keep this short and sweet because typing for an extended period of time on my IPhone screen makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a spoon.  

 

XOXO