The Public Humiliation Diet

Weight and weight loss is something I am always interested in reading about.
And it sure does not hurt if somebody has something humorous to say about that as well.
So today I got pointed to this internet treasure: The Public Humiliation Diet
Enjoy!

Gossip girl

Hi, my name is Melissa and I like Celeb Gossip.
Oh, this isn't a self-help group, right? OK, then nevermind.
Yeah, but it is true. I do like it. I have a few websites I check every day for some juicy stories and I don't see anything wrong with it. I mean I stalk.. ehm, I mean... I follow other people's lives on their blogs too and I have never met some of those either.
I am not a crazy fan though.. like I would not go and wait in front of a hotel just because [enter random famous person's name here] might or might not have checked into a room there. Heaven knows I have better things to do with my time.
I wouldn't even ask for an autograph when actually seeing someone famous in person. I mean what would I do with that anyways? In the end it is nothing but a signature, right?
I do admit though that is kind of neat to see someone you just know from TV and movies in person.
My list of people worth mentioning is pretty short though:

- James Cromwell (2006 - We were waiting to pick up our rental car at an ALAMO station in Los Angeles when we spotted him at the counter)
- Leonard Nimoy (2009 - FanExpo Toronto)
- Avery Brooks (2009 - FanExpo Toronto)

Yes, I am aware we have a Star Trek theme here.. lol

Well, anyways..
My favorite story of the day is: Kelly Preston and John Travolta are expecting a baby
And why is that so noteworthy? Because Kelly Preston is 47 years old! Wow.
I am not saying this is wrong, but it sure is a little crazy. She will be in her mid 60s when this child turns 18. I hope she still has enough energy to chase around her other 10-year old child and take care of the new baby. ;)
But I wish them all the best. After they lost their son last year they deserve some happiness.

Waiting game

So yesterday Ace finally had his first pediatrician appointment.

Yes, that is right. It took us 11 months to find one.
It is not like we did not try.
After our extended midwife care was over at 3 months I called every single pediatrician's office accessible. With no success.
They would not even put us on a waiting list - even if we had kind of a referral from friends who are already patients there.
"We have too many patients already." I heard that so many times.
Eventually we had some luck and at one of Markus' job sites he met one of the neighbors who is a doctor at a family doctor's office.
With her help we not only got on a waiting list but also got pushed up so that after "only" 6 weeks of waiting we were able to get an appointment. Yay.
Unfortunately it turned out that this was just some kind of "Meet and Greet". The doctor told us how things at this office work and asked some basic questions about Ace and our medical family history. I also was able to talk to him about vaccinations since we have delayed that so far, but that was basically it.
Ace did not even get measured or weighted.
And now? Guess! Yep, we have to wait again.
4 weeks until the next appointment which will be his 1 year well-baby check. Then he will also get his first shots.

Yes, it is a waiting game.

Hooked

I love coffee.
But in general I am not a big Starbucks fan although there seems to be a shop at every corner these days. I find them overpriced and actually like the taste of Tim Horton's coffee way better.
But I love to try new things and now that Starbucks has launched their new However-you-want-it - Frappucchino incentive I find myself at a Starbucks location every day.
But only between 3pm and 5pm, cause that is when they sell Frappuchinos for half price until May 16th. LOL (Yes, I am a sucker for deals.)
It is a great offer so I am currently "investigating" the different flavors available.

So far I have tried:

Cafe Vanilla
Caramel
Java Chip

My favorite is still the Caramel, which Markus and I used to get as a treat at the Starbucks 20 miles away!
(Yes, things are or at least were different in Germany..)

The entire incentive has just one purpose of course: They want to get you hooked.
It is not like as if there weren't crazy lineups already in the morning when people need to get their fix before work, but now they are also trying to turn on those people who are not so much into their hot coffees.
Too bad is not going to work with me. I am too cheap to spend $4+ each day on an iced coffee.
Even if it has a fancy name: "Ok, she wants a Skinny Java Chip Single Shot Frappucchino"
Well, maybe if she would put my name on it. I'd love to be Susan on Monday, Megan on Tuesday, Ally on Wednesday, ... You get my point. But they don't do that here. (Another reason to move to the US perhaps? ;-))
But I might get one once a week.. during summer time at least.

Oh crap, does that mean they have succeeded with their evil plan and got me at least seasonally hooked? :-P

Thieves

Random things happen all the time. Here is the latest story:

We went to Walmart to pick up some things and since we were out of bread we also bought a bag of bagels. Later that night I opened to bag and to my surprise I found 2 small bagel pieces on top of the stack. I checked the bag. It said "Content: 6 bagels". So I counted and realized that there were only 5 bagels in the bag. Well, and those 2 small pieces, of course.
Someone must have gotten hungry in the store and helped himself. LOL
I told Markus, we laughed a bit and then went on with our evening.

A little bit later, Markus decided to eat some cereal.
Just a couple of days earlier at Costco we had bought one of those value bags that have 4 individual 1 L bags of milk inside. He opened the bag and found that only 3 bags were inside.
Somebody must have gotten thirsty in the store as well!

What do we learn here:
Always check the bags/packages before you pay and leave the store.
There are food thieves on the loose.. :P

Consideration

Ace is a very good and content baby, but nonetheless he behaves like all babies do when they are exploring their world: He wants things his way, gets into everything and gets upset when we have to tell him "No" in certain situations. He might cry, yell and complain or get a little angry. Normal behavior.
But he also has a very considerate side which always amazes me.

On the weekends we like to take a family nap.
But sometimes it happens that Ace is not tired yet. But he tries to fall asleep nonetheless.
He can hear and feel him moving next to me... trying to find a position that will help him to doze off. He is very quite while doing that though.. He puts his thumb in mouth since that is soothing to him.. He snuggles up close to me for a couple of minutes until he realizes that this won't work.. Then he moves around again to find another sleeping position.. In general he just tries really hard for up to 20 minutes to fall asleep so that we all can take a nap together.
Eventually though, when nothing had worked, he looks up and with a "Dah!" he announces that he is done trying. In case none of us moves right away, he then touches our faces to make sure we are aware of the "situation".

I really find that amazing.. how such a little guy can already be so considerate to try to do us a "favor". :)