… and it is all my fault!

When B and I first started dating, his foolish Yankee-self had no idea the importance of your soft drink choice.  To him, soda was soda and he didn’t really have a favorite.

Then I came along and showed him the light.

Why hello Nectar of the Gods.  How have you been lately?  I know that picture is a little old, but that is how I will always remember you.  (Anyone else notice that is (one of) the former Dr. Pepper logo design?)

Tis true fellow readers, the day B met me is the day I turned him into an addict.

Now, I love my Dr. Pepper too, always have and I always will, but I understand the importance of limiting your soft drink intake.  I try to limit myself to one drink a day, typically my morning pick me up.  Weekends are harder and sometimes I need a boost at lunch, but I *almost* never have a coke (coke=any soft drink.  Texas/southern thing, remember?) after work.  Always water with dinner or else I will be buzzing at midnight while I should be sleeping.

B on the other hand, well I am afraid I only have myself to blame.  The man has a Dr. Pepper morning, noon and night, and several times in between.  He will drink a coke before going to bed!  This still amazes me and I still feel I have to tell him every time that he won’t be able to sleep and then every time he manages to fall asleep before me.

For awhile I managed to switch the family the Diet Dr. Pepper.  It was hard and we all suffered, but I kept reminding myself of my reduced caloric intake.  Several times over the years, Dr. Pepper, fully loaded, managed to sneak back into our lives.  I think this time it is here to stay.

B and I both agree that we don’t love the aspartame we are putting into our bodies drinking Diet Dr. Pepper.  While no calorie is a huge plus, the aspartame gives us headaches and who knows what else.  We are kicking that artificial sweetener to the curb.

So once again we are back on the regular Dr. Pepper road and my only hope is that I can break B’s four-a-day habit this time around.  Any recovering addicts out there have words of advice?  I am not going to have to send him to rehab am I?  Hopefully once we get back the cold chills and hot flashes the road to recovery will be much smoother.

Time for another Exposaroonie challenge and it couldn’t have come at a better time. This week’s challenge is vibrant color. I was kind of down in the dumps this week so color was a perfect subject to get me out of my funk.

During the week I kept trying to think of colorful things I could snap a picture of. Flowers, nah, mine aren’t very vibrant. Something at work, nah, too boring. Something around the house, nah, I am pretty neutral. Wait a minute! In the nick of time I remembered the most vibrant thing in the house. My dishes!

I absolutely love my dishes. So bright, so colorful, just opening my kitchen cabinets makes me smile.

Aren’t they pretty? Something about primary colors just makes me happy. It takes me back to kindergarten.

Be sure to head over to Exposaroonie and check out this week’s submissions.

Remember when I confessed to my nasty addiction of buying too much shampoo?  Well old habits die hard and I have decided I need more shampoo.  No, not like I ran out of shampoo and I need to make a run to Target to restock, I need a whole new brand!

My good old standby has been Aussie’s 2 in 1 Volume Shampoo plus Conditioner for years.  I have baby fine hair, but a lot of it so a light conditioner was perfect for keeping the rat’s nest at bay without a heavy residue left behind.  Plus the oomph of volume was much needed.

Well it seems that the water pressure/quality at the new house has completely changed my hair.  The rat’s nest of tangles in nonexistent!  Sweet, right?  Not really.  Now using my favorite Aussie shampoo is making my hair so soft, I can hardly get it to hold any sort of style.  (That sounds pretty pathetic right… wah, my hair is so touchably soft I don’t know what to do.)  Seriously, I can’t even get a curling iron to stay wrapped around my hair!

Here is where you come in.  Instead of blindly going into Target and buying hundreds of shampoos (you know, feeding the addiction), I want to make an educated purchase.  So tell me, what is your favorite kind of shampoo?  While we are trading secrets, tell me your can’t live without hair product.

My wallet and too touchably soft hair is counting on you guys!

Do you have a Wii?  Let me back up, have you heard of the Wii?  Surely you have.  If not, come out from underneath the rock!  The Wii is taking over my life… again.

That’s Mii!  Big head and all.

I go through Wii phases, as I do with most habits and hobbies.  Right now I am in a Wii phase, in the zone, if you will.  It started the end of April when Mario Kart came out.  For the next three weeks I played the crap out of Mario Kart.  Every night I was playing, and getting pretty good!  I could actually beat B.  Not that I am competitive or was trying or anything.  Not me.

If you do the math, I stopped obsessively playing Mario Kart on Monday.  Nintendo must have some marketing geniuses out there who knew this would happen because what did they do, released Wii Fit yesterday.

Love it!  My only complaint, I have to get up and it makes me sweat.  What?  That’s the point?  Well crap, I guess I should have read the box better.

I am kidding.  It really is pretty cool.  How genius is Nintendo?  They made a video game that appeals to all ages, all sexes and it incorporates exercise!  It might not appeal to you workout/aerobics buffs who will scoff at the simple exercises and claim it isn’t really a workout, but what are you doing reading my blog anyway.  Shoo!  You make me feel bad.

Last night we started off slow, just playing some balance games and trying a few yoga poses.  And you know what, I feel it this morning.  I am not in horrible, uncomfortable pain, but I still feel some tension in my calves and thighs.  According to my Wii Fit bank, I played/worked out for 22 minutes last night.  Not bad, I say.

After my workout (don’t laugh fitness buffs, I thought I told you to leave!) I took a quick break to watch American Idol.  Woohoo David Cook!  And then it was back to Wii!

A group of my online friends were getting together a Mario Kart game.  I ended up playing with them until 10:30!  Time flies when you are getting the crap kicked out of you.  Remember when I said I was pretty good?  Nope, apparently B just sucks and he is the only person I can beat.  Either that or not playing for three days will really ruin your game!  Another genius marketing ploy by Nintendo.

So that was my night.  Wii Fit, American Idol and Mario Kart.  All part of my avoiding and procrastinating.  What, I have 11 days to pack.  That is plenty of time. 

P.S.  To a certain someone out there, B says, when are you going to woman up and play online with us?  Really, he said that.  I can’t make this stuff up.

(Hi Megan!)

 It is time to make some confessions around here.  I know this make shock some of you, others are probably aware and relieved I am coming to terms with my addiction.

Last week I told you about my shampoo habit.  There is more.  Much more. 

I am a chapstick addict.

Wow.  That feels better just saying out loud.

I think it started around college.  Maybe it was the lousy dorm air vents.  Maybe it was the Oklahoma air.  Maybe it was because I was on my own for the first time.  However it started, it hasn’t stopped.

I hide chapstick around the house.  I can recount at least 11 tubes hidden around my house.  That doesn’t include the four in my purse and two in my desk drawer.  I need this stuff!  I can’t sleep at night without one last application.  I can’t go long after a meal without digging through my purse to find the right after dinner flavor. 

I am not particular about the brand either.  Sure, I might favor Burt’s Bees or Cherry Chapstick, but I will try anything once.  At the Walmart after Christmas sale, I came home with three holiday themed tubes.  Every time I see a commercial for a new brand/flavor, I have to go buy it.

Do you think I need help?  Can’t this just be my personality flaw?  It’s not like my work is effected.  I am a function addict.  That counts for something right?

Have you checked out the new photography website created by the amazing Ashley and hilarious Emily?  Exposaroonie is the brain-child of these two talented photographers.  If you have any interest in photography or even if you just like oogling other people’s pictures, I highly recommend you check out this site.

Remember when I used to post a weekly PhotoPie challenge?  Then I got all uninspired and intimidated by the awesome pictures being posted so I chickened out on posting for like three weeks.  During those chicken weeks, Exposaroonie was born and it is so awesome I just had to buck up and keep trying.  Plus, I don’t want to be a quitter.

So I present to you, my bad habit, or this week’s Exposaroonie challenge.

Shampoo!  It’s not that I have a problem shampooing my hair, I have a problem buying shampoo.  Too much shampoo.  Pictured are 8 bottles of shampoo that have all been opened and used.  Four of those regularly sit in my shower as part of my weekly rotation.

Above is the picture I submitted for the challenge.  But, since I am a doofus and I was quickly trying to upload my challenge submission at 11 p.m. before the midnight deadline, I goofed.  I actually meant to upload this picture,

The light was weird in the bathroom, so I photoshopped the picture to be grainy and almost black and white.  Oh well, you get the point.  I have a shampoo problem!

Small confession: After this picture was taken around 6 p.m. yesterday, I went to Walmart and bought another bottle of shampoo.  I think I need help!

Head on over to Exposaroonie and check out this week’s awesomely bad habits!  You can also vote on the picture you like the best.

*The following post may or may not be directed at a certain someone.  Certainly not anyone I know in Texas.  Definitely not this person.

Hello Mario Kart for the Wii!  Did anyone else run out and buy it Sunday morning?  Umm, I actually didn’t, I was too busy sleeping.  B ran out instead.  By the time he returned, I was ready to go.  I might have even gotten a little impatient and snappy while I not so patiently waiting for B to hook up the Wii. 

I love the new Mario Kart!  For the past week or so, B and I have been practicing on the Game Cube so we would be up for the new challenge.  While the new game is very similar to all the other versions, it is different.  And better.  And kind of more challenging, but maybe I am still getting use to the Wii style. 

The game comes with a super cool Wii steering wheel, but for me, it sucked.  I am not very good at gradual turns, so trying to use a wheel that has no definite start or stop point was near impossible.  I spent the first few races cursing at the game and running into every wall.  After I calmed down, I tried the Game Cube remote.  Ah, that is better.  Something I am use to and I can control.  Finally, I found perfection simply using the Wii remote and nunchuck.  This seems to be my sweet spot.  But hey, the wheel is free when you purchase the game, so try it out.  I am sure it works for some people.  I love how you actually have options.  Smart thinking Wii gods.

Since I was productive Saturday, I treated myself to nothing on Sunday.  Nothing but naps and Mario Kart.  Isn’t that how every Sunday should be spent?  I think so.  I am pretty good and practiced now, so whenever you are ready, BRING IT ON!  The online play is kind of frustrating to set up, but once you get started it is tons of fun.  Just be sure you have your player and car picked out ahead of time.  There is only a limited amount of time to chose and I got stuck with some poor choices in the beginning.

That is the only tip I offer.  Now, Bring. It. On.

*If anyone is interested in playing Mario Kart for the Wii online, let’s trade game codes.  I love a challenge.  I said challenge, I admit I am not as good as I like to think I am. 

I absolutely love Fridays.  Even though I have to work and I normally go straight home to do nothing afterwards, I still love it.  It’s something about knowing I don’t  have to wake up early the next day.  Oh yeah, I am not a morning person.  In case you weren’t aware.  I can be down right mean and violent some mornings.  I wish some people would learn not to test me on those mornings (I am looking at you B).

Today is an extra special day though.  Today is inspection day at our new house!  It’s really the last hurdle before closing day.  Plus, it’s another excuse for us to go see the house.  This time I remembered the wide angle lens for the camera so I hope to get some good pictures of every room.  I might even post some next week.  I wish June would hurry up and get here!

My extra good mood might also be coming from my super comfy $13 outfit I am wearing.  Have you ever been to Steve and Barry’s?  B and I live right by one, but the mall it’s in is pretty sketchy and last time we went to the store it was crap.  Well, outside of the college t-shirts, it was crap.  When my family was in town earlier this month, my sister in law wanted to check out the store.  I am here to tell you, go, go now.  They have great stuff!  And cheap!  Everything is the store is $8.98 or less.  The Sarah Jessica Parker line, Bitten, is adorable.  I bought my new favorite pair of jeans for $8.  I am so going back to buy a second pair.  You can’t beat $8 jeans that are cute and comfy.  I also bought a $5 OU t-shirt.  Seeing as how I work on the campus, I can never have too many t-shirts.  If I had limitless funds, I would have come home with more than $35 worth of stuff.  Still, that $35 got me one pair of jeans and 4 shirts.  Not bad my friends, not bad.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday and has a great weekend planned.  I will probably be going through closets and semi-packing.  The weather promises to be nice, so I might even make it outside.

 In honor of Earth Day, B and I carpooled to work today.  Ok, maybe we do that every day so it isn’t really in honor of Earth Day, but it still our green stamp!

We have also switched all our light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs. 

And though we turned the air conditioner on yesterday, we have it programmed not to run while we are at work. 

Instead of buying bottled water.  I fill up a reusable plastic bottle.

B and I also buy select a size paper towels.  While I may still use too many paper towels, I have at least made an effort on the amount I use each time.

My next project is recycling.  At the new house I plan on signing up for the city’s recycling program.  I also plan to recycle coke cans.  Lord knows we throw enough away every day.

 What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?  How about showering together to conserve energy?  That is one thing I may never compromise on.  I like my alone time!

Ah, the Nectar of the Gods.  A term I coined years ago to describe my feelings about Dr. Pepper.  Sweet, caffeinated Dr. Pepper.  When B and I first started dating, he did not understand my undying love for DP.  My willingness to put DP before everything.  He quickly learned do not stand between Megan and a Dr. Pepper.  It is really a sick and unhealthy love don’t you think?

This week’s PhotoPie Challenge is favorite beverage.  It gives me a perfect excuse to go on and on about obsession with Dr. Pepper, the Nectar of the Gods.

I have always had a love for DP.  It was my soft drink of choice.  (Normally, I would call it my coke of choice, but I don’t want to confuse any Yankees.)  A few years back, I decided I could really reduce my calorie intake if I stopped drinking so much DP.  Not being able to completely abandon my addiction, I switched to Diet Dr. Pepper.  Sure, it gave me my caffeine fix, but it will never be “just like regular.”  Trust me there is something diet about it.

Every once in awhile, in a moment of weakness or a deal to good to pass up, I indulge myself with the real thing.  Recently, I discovered the real, real thing was available right under my nose!  This is getting complicated so let me back up.

Dr. Pepper was originally bottled in 1885 in Waco, TX.  Back in the day, all soft drinks were sweetened with pure cane sugar, but in the 1980s sugar prices sky-rocketed and most U.S. soft drinks started using high fructose corn syrup.  The Dr. Pepper bottling plant in Dublin, TX refused to make the switch and still to this day produces pure cane sugar Dr. Pepper.

A little history lesson, don’t you feel enlightened now?  Now back to my point, I recently discovered the real, REAL thing was available right under my nose.  Right here,

Again, sorry to the Yankees, I don’t think they have Jason’s Deli up north.  For all the Texans and Oklahomans, you must go here now!  Jason’s Deli is on this kick to eliminate MSG, trans fat and high fructose corn syrup from all their products.  That last one is going to be tricky, but they started with serving Dublin Dr. Pepper!  I immediately died when I found this out, died and went to heaven that is.

Oh sweet Jesus, they don’t just serve it, they have it on tap.  When I win the lottery, I am going to install this in every room of my new mansion.  Don’t think I am kidding!

On the EmilyPie photo challenge though.  We were suppose to photograph our favorite beverage, preferably without the drool I demonstrated above, but I can’t help myself.

I submit to you sweet, icy Nectar of the Gods.

It was so good, I had to go get a second glass.

I also took home a to go cup, but I think I have done enough damage here.

So what is your favorite beverage?  And don’t forget to head over to EmilyPie and check out the other favorites, or submit your own!

(And don’t worry Yankees, if you want to purchase this wonderful beverage you can do so here.)