Our DirecTV DVR has been on the fritz lately. It frequently freezes the picture when you play back a recorded episode. My husband downloaded a fix for it but we're not sure it actually fixed anything. To test it out, we watched the latest episode of South Park that we recorded the other night. In case you didn't watch it, it was on those Cash 4 Gold places. While it was quite funny, it was a also a little sad. Stan's grandpa and other old people would spend thousands of dollars to buy gold jewelry from the home shopping networks. They would give the jewelry to loved ones who would then sell it at the Cash 4 Gold places. The show ripped into everyone involved in the whole scheme from beginning to end. But the sad part is that it showed how lonely the elderly are and that they really just want to spend some time with loved ones. Everyone should watch the episode and not just for the laughs.
Delightfully warm
Surprisingly, spring has sprung here in the Philadelphia area. For the past week or so, temperatures have been in the low 70s. Tomorrow it's supposed to hit 81! I guess that means it's time to put my electric blanket away. I can't really store it anywhere because my husband likes to turn the air conditioners to 'absolute freezing.' I'm probably one of the few people that has a use for an electric blanket in the summer. I am just super glad that it was a very mild winter and now it's over. I can bask in the warm sunshine for the next few months. It will be a delight.
Doritos Locos Tacos
My husband told me about the Doritos taco at Taco Bell the other day. He said it was pretty good. While I normally don't listen to him, I found myself wanting to try it. Today was the day. First off, let me say that I feel bad for the people that work "mcdonalds jobs." at fast food places. The Taco Bell I went to was at one of the local malls and they were slammed. Yet they still got my food out in a decent amount of time. Many props to those people. OK, the Dorito taco. I got the supreme version because I love me some sour cream. The best part of the taco was that the taco shell did not fall apart. Normally, I order soft tacos. I just can't handle taking a bite into a hard taco and having the whole damn thing fall apart. Since these only come in hard taco form, I didn't have a choice. Thankfully, the shell doesn't fall apart at all. I'm not sure how they managed it but win! The down side is that it's basically a big Dorito shaped like a taco shell. That means there is orange Dorito dust on the shell. It didn't make it untasty; it was just unexpected.
Would I recommend eating it? Yes, if you like Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos. Ooh, I wonder how it would taste if they used the ever-popular Cool Ranch flavor. Anyway, it was pretty awesome for a taco. Go eat one.
Still on that?
As I said in my previous post, I have been on the lookout for a sound system. But I am easily distracted by shiny things. While I don't need a new microphone (I have a fairly new Blue Snowball), the peavey microphones do seem pretty awesome. Even though my Snowball is awesome, it's a USB microphone. Meaning I need a computer to use it. If I was out doing a fundraiser, I'd need something that would plug into the sound system. A wireless headset microphone would be better though. Then I could use it for my Hip Hop Hustle class too. Hmmm...
I need sound
Recently, I was asked to do a Zumba fundraiser for a local company. Not a problem. I would like to upgrade my sound system a bit though. As I was browsing around the internet for opinions and prices, I came upon a very nice Epiphone Bass. My husband plays the guitar a bit and I seem to recall him talking about wanting to learn how to play the bass. He already got his birthday present but maybe I'll file this away in my brain for Christmastime. By the way, does anyone have any opinions on speakers? I need something I can plug my Zune into that will be loud enough to use in an indoor basketball court/gym. Thank you!
No sleep for the wicked
I have been having a terrible time sleeping lately. My husband and I were thinking of getting a memory foam mattress in the hopes that it would make our bed a bit more comfortable. However, those are terribly expensive. It would cost something like $300 to get one to fit our bed. Maybe we'll be able to afford it one day. Until then, we try to get as much quality sleep as possible. Not an easy feat.
A different type of weight loss
While I was fixated on weight loss stuff (no, I don't have ADHD), I came across this hcg Austin website. It's an interesting concept. Instead of ramming pills down your throat, they do hormone shots. Of course, I wonder what the side effects are. You can't screw around with hormones and not expect some fairly drastic changes. This is stuff used in fertility treatments; it's not really meant for weight loss. So are more women getting pregnant from it? Are there more mood swings with the extra hormones? I wonder if it would really be worth a try. Well, not me. I don't want to shoot up hormones. But I'd like to talk to someone who has already made up their mind to try it.
Gotta get back on track
My diet has flown out the window this weekend. My husband's birthday was on Friday so I took the day off from work. I proceeded to spend the next three days eating as much junk food as possible. Though, to be honest, we did have some awesome spinach salads for lunch on Friday. But then we bought a dozen cream-filled donuts and we had BLTs for lunch on Sunday. That doesn't even count the rest of the awful food I ate. Now I have to get back on track. On one of our grocery store visits, I mistakenly wandered through the 'diet aisle' and wondered - does 7 day slimming cause side effects? I've had friends do the cleanse thing but I'm not sure how good it is for you. I know those diet pills tend to contain a ton of caffeine and, while I am a bit of a caffeine fiend, I don't want to do that to my body. I wish there was a faster way to shed some pounds.
Yoga
It's pretty amazing that I teach group fitness classes. I've never really been a sporty type of person. The only sport I ever excelled at was horseback riding. But here I am teaching Zumba® and Hip Hop Hustle™. I like both of them because they are a total blast. I've thought about trying yoga but it seems so boring. Though I think I want one of these yoga zafu pillows to snuggle with at home. My office manager has recently tried the hot yoga thing. While I enjoy heat and hot weather, I don't think that will work for me. When I have to do my classes in the heat, it's a killer. Trying to do yoga in even hotter temperatures sounds awful.
Have any of you done yoga? Is it as boring as it sounds?
The Thing
I wanted to talk about the remake of The Thing but I didn't really want to make it a full-on review. (Mostly because I was doing laundry as my husband watched it so I didn't really watch the whole thing.) My husband is a fan of the original movie. Of course, that means he had to check out the new one. While I'm not particularly fond of horror movies, I can appreciate certain aspects of them. And I have to say that this remake was a bit of a let-down. First off, the creatures are never really seen in the original. When they aren't in the host bodies, they are skulking around in shadows. This makes the whole movie scary as hell. You aren't sure what the crew is up against. In this remake? They are all over the damned place. Sure, they are scary looking but it's just not the same. It is a lot scarier when you leave it up to the audience's imagination.
Then they put Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the Kurt Russell role. However, as the "hero," she seems to ask an awful lot of stupid questions. I kinda wanted the monster to eat her. It annoys me when movie people (be it the producers or the director or the studio) won't give us the strong female lead. Ripley from the Alien movies is a good example of a strong woman. Kate here? The only reason she didn't die is because the guys decided to give her the flamethrower. Though, to be honest, I'm still not convinced that she didn't murder the guy at the end. (Some of you may claim that as a spoiler. I already said she's the hero. American movies don't kill their heroes.)
Since I didn't sit through the entire movie, I won't comment on the script or the acting. The pieces I did see were pretty terrible. My vote? Skip it altogether and watch the Kurt Russell movie.