"I'm Deeply Sorry..." I Got Caught....

"I'm deeply sorry..." quoth former NY state governor Eliot Spitzer in an article by MSNBC news services amidst charges tying him to an expensive prostitution ring. He's sorry alright...sorry he got caught. You can't tell me he'd be as sorry as he is now if his indiscrections hadn't been brought under public scrutiny.

I'm sure there are powerful people that have tabs on all government officials, trying to discover their dirty little secrets to use as leverage to unseat them from power, should the need arise. The question we should be asking ourselves is who ousted Eliot Spitzer?

Was this marionette not obeying the people pulling his strings? Is this the case of a puppet who tried unsuccessfully to become a real boy? Was Spitzer's name on a long list of people who were aptly busted in this prostitution sting or was he specifically targeted for take-down?

It's Funny

One night, I lay down and went to sleep in my parents house with my giant poster of Steven Curtis Chapman on the wall, frilly bedspread and stuffed animals and when I opened my eyes the next morning...I was in bed next to my husband, in our home in PA and I had the distinct impression that I had been married for quite sometime.....

I went to bed, a 16-year-old, virtually care-free teenager, and woke up a married woman with a mortgage and a desk job and 30 extra pounds...

Yeah, I know it didn't LITERALLY happen that way. It just feels like it did some days. You know, it's funny how life moves on whether or not we're ready for changes to occur. There are no brakes on this ride and no time machine to go back.

I'm in my 30's wishing I was in my 20's. Pretty soon I'll be in my 40's wishing I was in my 30's.

It's time to enjoy where I am now and to stop wishing I was in another time, in another place. Where I work, the motto is, "The Time is Now." It's fairly appropriate to meditate on those words...to stop dwelling in the past or yearning for a future that hasn't happened yet...to enjoy where and who I am RIGHT NOW, before the moment passes me by...to be THANKFUL for where the Lord has me and to see the work he has for me today. I must concentrate on today, lest I miss the blessing before me.

My Upper Lip is Frosted

Go ahead. Take me seriously. I'm de-hairing my upper lip. I'm almost 31 years old and I'm sharing a beauty secret some women don't share, especially because they know that occasionally....MEN read their blog. Gasp!

I use Nair Facial Hair Remover. My Aunt Jenny told me about it. While we were all together for Thanksgiving, we all frosted our faces to remove that unsightly, unwanted facial hair. One word of caution, don't leave it on too long.

I don't really have that much to complain about. My facial hair is blonde. What really gets me is that occasional one-inch hair I find underneath my chin...It's usually just out of my line of vision and once found, it feeds my urge to frost and remove my upper lip hair.

Face it girls...when that peach fuzz growth you've been denying starts being visible against the flesh of your upper lip...it's time for action and for gosh sakes, don't SHAVE it. No woman needs a 5 o'clock shadow.

Look for hair removing cream at Walmart in the beauty isle! Ask a nice sales lady for help if you need to find it.

Don't just do it for the sake of beauty...do it because....well, you look better without a mustache.

AAA Photo Contest

My friends, Jon and Melissa have entered the AAA photo contest, submitting a photo from their fall trip to Kenya. It's a picture of the South side of two elephants (presumably Momma and baby), walking North. Jon and Melissa Heller would appreciate your vote to win! If you would, please visit the website below by March 29th and vote for your favorite photo. Be sure to click on the individual photos if you would like to see the entire picture. http://www.aaatouch.com/ma08contest.html

Thanks,
Rigel

Torso Track, Brocollini, and the Main Line

What DO these things have in common you ask? Why, an ongoing visit to my friend Christi's apt. in Wayne!

Last night was one of "firsts." I drove to Wayne for the first time. Christi made me broccolini with Salisbury steak and toasted bread and I ate them for the first time (all except the toast, I can't claim to have never eaten toast). It was delicious! And she was right, water DOES taste better out of crystal. For dessert we had Girl Scout cookies and tea and sat talked for hours. But wait, back up....

When I got to her apt. she gave me the tour and told me the story of how the laundry room/entry way used to be a very small kitchen, how many roommates she has had...how she came to rent her apt. for an amazing price on the Main Line...very cool... But that's her story to tell...I want to tell you about the Torso Track she pulled out of her closet.

She had been giving me the tour of her apt. and telling me all the things we are to do this weekend. (I am here until Sunday p.m. studying for the Praxis 1 exam and to have some fun and pampering.) She had just showed me the guest room/office (we have the exact same comforters on our beds!) and we moved on to the living room/kitchen area...and she opened the closet and she said, "...and we can go for a walk, use the Torso Track or the exercise ball..." Wait. Hold up. The TORSO Track! What's that?

Christi pulls this enormous, elongated, Suzanne Sommers monstrosity out of her closet and proceeds to give me a demo. "Just three sets of 15 and you'll be feelin' it tomorrow," she said. I bet. I gave it a try.

She explained how not to bust a gut as you kneel on the knee pad, grab the handles in the track in front of you and then slowly extend your arms until you are in a prone position, feet flexed toward the ceiling, arms extended over your head, parallel to the ground. Fortunately, the resistance on the machine assists you to come back up to a kneeling position, otherwise, it would be easy to go down and then never come back up. Well maybe not NEVER...

As I mounted the machine...Christi explained how the machine works your muscles by elongating them and stretching them to help promote your posture (I can use all the help I can get in this area. In fact, as I type here at her computer, I'm slouching) and then she dropped this little jewel..."and Suzanne Sommers says she does this NAKED!" Wow. Not something I would EVER do. As sexy as it may sound, I can't picture ever wanting to put my exposed private parts THAT close to something that could potentially pinch and forcibly remove them from their preferred position. So, I played around with the resistance a bit and torso tracked as we chatted and she got dinner ready.

She had me smell the raw turkey meat she used to make the Salisbury steak. Neither of us really sure how raw meat is supposed to smell, I too, gave it a whiff and pronounced it safe for consumption. It had a "sell by" date of 2/28/2008 and it was only the next day.

I watched her move easily around her kitchen (this girl can COOK.) She plated this green, stringy-looking veggie..."Have you ever had broccolini? she asked. No. No I haven't. But it looked yummy, and it was! Apparently it conveniently comes in serving sizes for two, under plastic wrap on one of those little Styrofoam trays. It's a cross between broccoli and asparagus.

Torso Track...good. Broccolini...tasty. Hanging out with friend in her amazing apt. on the Main Line for two days, studying for a giant test...priceless.