Best TV quote of the night:

Two and a Half Men

Charlie: "What are you doing?"
Jake: "Well, I'm trying to research cars but you wouldn't believe what comes up when I type in Hummer."
Charlie: "Actually, I would."

Dear Santa,

I have been thinking long and hard about what I want this year for Christmas. At first, I had a list of lots of things that I thought I really, really wanted.

The first draft of my list went a little something like this:

A shiny new Mercedes









A trip around the world











This guy



and this one




A nice house with a pool and hot tub




One of these (no, not Al Roker...a Snuggie)




And, a pony







But then I really thought about it, and I realized none of these are things that I really need (except maybe the 3rd and 4th ones, hubbahubba). I already have everything that I need and many things that so many people in the world or even in this country don't have.

I have a home and a warm bed to sleep in every night. I have a job. I have my health. I have family and friends that love and care about me. I have plenty of food to eat. Please Santa, don't let me ever take these things for granted. EVER.

So, I have revised my list and these are the things that I really want.

I'd love to see peace on Earth, which includes no war and no violence (especially the domestic kind).





Equality for everyone




How about an end to hunger, starvation, and homelessness?
There are way too many resources available in this world for these things to still be an issue. Seriously.





The Cure

no, not these guys...



BUT: The Cure for diseases....ALL of them, (cancer, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer's, malaria, mental illness, depression, addictions.....I could keep going, but you get the point) 'cos diseases aren't cool.

Santa, I know that this is a very tall order. However, I don't think it's a totally impossible one. I've already had a little talk with your boss, the other big guy, and he said to stay positive and just do what part I can to help out, even if it's just a little bit. I think if everyone does this, then a lot of little bits can add up to lots of GREAT things. So, just pass it on, mmkay? OK....moving on..

Please watch over our brave, BRAVE men and women who are protecting our country. Many of them won't be home for the holidays because they are selflessly fighting for and protecting our rights and freedom to be able to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and any other cultural festivities that we so choose. So, to them I say THANK YOU. Stay safe and come home soon.

Also, what I really, really want this year are health and happiness for me, my family and friends, nearby and all over the world. Please watch over them and keep them all safe.

That about does it. Have a safe flight. You know where to find the milk and cookies. Although this year you're gonna have to settle for soy milk and allergy free cookies. If this is a problem, you'll have to take it up with my allergist.

And I really won't complain one bit if you leave George Clooney under my tree..just sayin'.

Love always,

Tina :)

Happy holidays to all of you. Even if you don't get everything that you want, I hope that you always have everything that you need. xoxox :)

Things that amuse me..

I don't understand the people who pull up to a red light, and can NOT sit still and just wait for the light to change to green. They...keep...inching....forward, as if the extra 6 inches they manage to scoot up helps them get to Wal Mart any faster once the light goes green. I know that there are certain circumstances where 6 inches may make a big difference, but it's definitely not at a traffic light.

Things I learned on the Dr Oz show today:

The #1 thing that dogs choke on is women's underwear. #'s 2 & 3 were toys and food. I'm not even kidding.

I'm sure there are men everywhere rejoicing because they now have an excuse to throw out their woman's granny panties.

I'm so glad I have a cat.

So I was watching "Top Gun"...again...

...because for some reason I still really love this movie.

...because I loved this movie long before Tom Cruise went crazy and started jumping on people's couches in a half crazed crazycultinduced proclamation of love for his soon-to-be-child bride.

...even though it has some of the cheesiest lines EVER and I will never ever admit to saying either of the following phrases out loud: "I feel the need...the need for speed!!" or "HEY GOOSE YOU BIG STUD!! TAKE ME TO BED OR LOSE ME FOREVER".

....and I will never admit to owning and still listening to the soundtrack, ON A CASSETTE TAPE. For the youngins who don't know what cassettes are, click here.

Other pre-batcrapcrazy Tom Cruise movies I love: "Rain Man", "Interview With A Vampire" and "Jerry Maguire"

Never underestimate...

...the value of a good night's sleep. For example, today I don't feel the urge to staple things to my head and the sound of certain voices aren't making me want to stab myself in the eye with sharp objects. That, my friends, is definite progress from yesterday.

I wonder...

...how long it would take for someone to notice that I've stapled all of the post-its on my desk to my forehead in an effort to wake myself up. I'm really beginning to think it was a bad idea to take a double dose of supersleepyinducing allergy medicine at 2 am.

DietSchmiet aka How I've Lost 20 Pounds....so far..

I've been getting lots of compliments on my recent weight loss (thank you!!) and lots of questions as to how I did it. I've lost about 20 pounds in the last 3 months (yay!!) and am feeling better than I have in a very long time, thanks to a few interesting discoveries along the way.

I started out doing a low carb diet, since I managed to have success on this diet about 10 years ago. The last time I did it, I managed to lose about 30 pounds. This wasn't from dieting alone, as no diet should be. I was also exercising pretty regularly. The thing is, I didn't stick to it and managed to gain it all back plus about 10 extra pounds on top of it. Yikes!!

There were also a LOT of life changing and very stressful situations that happened between then and now. I won't go into details on those right now, but let's just say that these situations did not do any favors to my weight or waistline. I know people who lose weight when they are depressed or stressed out. I, however, was quite the opposite. I ate. I ate bad food. And I ate a lot of it.

So here I was, 40 pounds heavier than I was the last time I thought I "successfully" dieted. I made up my mind to try to do something about it (for about the 500th time...haha). But this time, I've managed to stay strong enough to stick with it for more than just a few days.

Soooo, as I was saying, it started off as a low carb diet. Only this time I wanted to do it healthier. I was eating more veggies and leaner meats....not just meat and cheese and eggs. The first week was rough. I was still craving the foods I had given up and I was feeling very tired and run down. I thought it was just my body getting adjusted to having to learn to burn off my stored fat for energy instead of carbs. I remembered feeling kind of tired the last time I did the diet 10 years ago, so I decided to stick with it. I was starting to lose weight, plus I was exercising. However, I still wasn't feeling any better. In fact, I was feeling worse.

On top of all of that and totally unrelated (or so I thought), I had also been dealing with some sort of skin condition off and on for about 5 years where I would just randomly start itching in different places on my body, usually arms or legs, but I wouldn't break out (yeah...I know...weird AND frustrating). This was also happening more frequently. So, after suffering with this for too long and fed up with having to keep Benadryl always on hand, I finally decided to make an appointment to see an allergist about 3 weeks ago. And, guess what...I found out I was allergic to eggs and dairy products (What The Fruitloops??!!). I was basically told to go on a 'cave man' diet for 6 weeks and then come back and be re-tested. NO eggs, NO dairy, and NO processed foods with the exception of Thanksgiving day, where I did cheat, (Come on, I was NOT about to pass up pumpkin pie AND homemade macaroni and cheese...nuh uh) BUT... I didn't beat myself up about it and I got back on track the very next day.

So now, basically all I'm eating now are lean, unprocessed meats, lots of veggies, LOTS of water, and some fruits and nuts. And in the last 3 months, I've lost 20 pounds and I feel a lot better than I have in a verrrrrrrrry long time. If you really think about it, this is a very healthy way of eating. Also, on top of walking and rebounding, I'm also trying to incorporate strength and flexibility exercises such as weights and yoga, back into my fitness regimen.

So there you have it. That's the verrry long story of how I've been losing weight...haha. I still have a long way to go. I would like to lose about 40-50 more, but 20 is definitely a very nice start and I'm very proud of myself!

Th...th...th...that's all for now, folks!
Take care and be nice to yourself and others. :) xox