The Fayre Word for 9/30/06...

Good morning. I found out this morning how it feels to sleep until 8 a.m. Quite good.

Here's today's word:

assiduous \uh-SIJ-uh-wus\ (adj.)
marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application

The Fayre Word for 9/29/06...

Gym this morning and then breakfast at Shoney's with our Early Risers (from the YMCA) group. Not the greatest food, but fun to hang out with everyone.

Here's today's word of the day:

madeleine \MAD-uh-lun\ (noun)
1 : a small rich shell-shaped cake
2 : one that evokes a memory

The "Being Thoughtful" Controversy...

I have to give a little background before I go into today's story. A few months back, Chris and I had gone to Krispy Kreme and bought a dozen hot donuts. Even though we ate some in the car on the way home, we had a few left over. I had gone out and was really looking forward to coming home and having a donut (I think there were 2 or 3 left). However, when I got home, they were all gone...Chris had finished them without leaving one for me.

As a result we had a huge conversation about being thoughtful. And since then we tease each other all the time about being thoughtful. (Note: the next day he drove all the way to Krispy Kreme and bought me a half dozen donuts.)

So, now to today's incident. We had some cake left over from Chris' celebration on Sunday. I had a very small piece last night, still leaving a fairly big chunk. So today, about lunch time I was thinking about how nice it would be to have a piece of cake...I even entertained the idea of eating cake for lunch. I wandered downstairs and noticed that the tupperware container the cake had been in was empty and in the sink. I said aloud, "It can't be." But I called Chris at work and he confirmed that he had indeed eaten the rest of the cake (for breakfast, no less). Now one could argue that it was his celebration and therefore his cake to eat. But, let me just say that everyone knows how much I love cake. I ask you, wouldn't it have been thoughtful for him to leave me even a small piece?

I guess my call to Chris made him realize how much I really wanted a piece of cake. I was still working when he got home from work. He came upstairs and set a piece of cake (from Ukrops) and a red rose on my desk. So even though his earlier behavior didn't exhibit thoughtfulness, he definitely redeemed himself this afternoon!

Note: I made some changes to my template and believe that I have fixed the issue with my right hand column not displaying correctly in IE. If anyone can confirm that for me, I'd appreciate it.

The Fayre Word for 9/28/06...

Still struggling with my cold, but at least I made it to the gym this morning (the first time this week). Anyway, there's my confession for the day. =)

Had another GRE study session yesterday afternoon after I got back from Northern VA. Wow, this is going to be tough. I'm actually going to resort to making vocabulary flashcards. I haven't done that in years. Oh well...they (The Princeton Review book) say that the thing that will most improve your GRE score is increasing your vocabulary. Today's word of the day is a little weak, but once I start making my flashcards, I'll have some really fun words. Keep on the lookout.

Here you go:

ruminate \ROO-muh-nayt\ (verb)
1 : meditate, muse
2 : to chew repeatedly for an extended period

The Fayre Word for 9/27/06...

Morning all...I'm still in Northern VA but have a few minutes to get this up before I get ready for work. Hope you are all doing well.

Here's today's word:

corollary \KOR-uh-lair-ee\ (noun)
1 : a deduction from a proposition already proved true
2 : something that naturally follows : result
3 : something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels

Note: I've noticed that when I view my blog in IE, I don't see the right column with my pictures, links, archived posts, etc. If you're viewing this in IE, do you see it?

The Fayre Word for 9/26/06...

I'm sure you all have been holding your breath waiting for this all day today. Not. Anyway, I got a cold over the weekend and haven't been feeling well. I rested most of yesterday but had to drive up to Northern VA today to spend a couple days in the office.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to get ready, left the house at 6:15 and didn't get to the office until 9:15...lots of traffic. I usually have lots of meetings when I'm in the office (that's the main reason I go). But today was crazy. I had meetings from 9:30 until 5:00 with only one 15 minute break in between. Yikes. I even ate my lunch in a meeting. What a day.

Tomorrow was looking decent with only one meeting, but now I have four. Still hoping to get on the road by 2 p.m. and get home for a 4:30 GRE study session and then church.

Anyway, it's almost midnight...why am I still up? Talking with Mike and Sonja...that's why. Oh well...off to bed I go, but before I do...here's today's word:

rowel \ROW-ul ("OW" as in "cow")\ (verb)
1 : to goad with or as if with the pointed disk at the end of a spur
2 : vex, trouble

The Fayre Word for 9/25/06...

This weekend was busy, but good. I'm not up for posting about it in detail right now because somehow (even though I've been faithfully taking my vitamins for several weeks) I got a cold. Yuck. I hate being sick.

Anyway, here's today's word:

gadarene \GAD-uh-reen\ (adj)
headlong, precipitate

More about the weekend later.

The Fayre Word for 9/24/06...

Good morning. Today's going to be a busy but good day. Today we are having a special ceremony for Chris at church to honor him for receiving his next level of credentials in the ministry. Read Chris' blog for more on that.

Anyway, before the day gets away from me, here's today's word:

curmudgeon (noun)
A grouch. A mean-spirited, irascible person.

Note: Try not to be a curmudgeon today. =)

Who can resist...

Now you may think we're crazy, but both Pebbles and Bam Bam have Old Navy t-shirts (Bam Bam even has a sweatshirt). Anyway, after their baths last night we decided to put on their t-shirts because they were still damp and it was kind of chilly in the house.

Here are a couple of pictures so you can appreciate just how cute they really are.

Pebbles (aka Baby Girl)

Bam Bam (aka Little Man)

Pebbles and Bam Bam posing together

The Fayre Word for 9/23/06...

Got up at 7:00 this morning and met my friend, Heidi, for our Saturday run...2 miles. Not our greatest time but at least we did it. Then to Starbucks for coffee. And in about 30 minutes (in which I desperately need to shower), my friend, Leah, is coming over for our first official GRE study session.

So, with that in mind, here's today's word:

firebrand \FYRE-brand\ ( noun)
1 : a piece of burning wood
2 : one that creates unrest or strife (as in aggressively promoting a cause) ; agitator

The Fayre Word for 9/22/06...

Back from the gym...man it was hard to get up today. And don't tell anyone, but we actually went to bed at 9:00 last night...probably would have been earlier if Survivor hadn't been on. =)

Anyway, good morning and happy Friday to all.

Here's today's word:

lotusland \LOH-tus-land\ (noun)
1: a place inducing contentment especially through offering an idyllic living situation
2: a state or an ideal marked by contentment often achieved through self-indulgence

The Fayre Word for 9/21/06...

Back from the gym and about to get ready.

Here's today's word:

fortuitous \for-TOO-uh-tus\ (adj)
1: occurring by chance
2: fortunate, lucky
3: coming or happening by a lucky chance

Have a good day.

Just because I said I would...

I just got home a bit ago. Had to drive back to Northern VA from Baltimore and then from there, home. I had a very interesting phone call with my dad on my way home...I think we were on the phone for an hour and a half. I have to say that I am thankful that we have developed a real relationship over the last number of years, and even more so during the last year.

Anyway, I'm exhausted from all the driving and working. =) And don't have much of anything intelligent to say but I said I'd post later, so I'm sticking to my promise. I'm sure you're thinking, "You should have just passed...We'd understand." =)

Good night all.

The Fayre Word for 9/20/06...

I didn't have a chance to post again yesterday because I couldn't get an Internet connection last night. I drove up to Northern VA yesterday to spend the day in the office and today I'm in Baltimore at a conference. Got here a tad late and am waiting to go into the next session. So, I figured I'd at least post today's word.

Here it is:

insuperable \in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul\ (adj)
incapable of being surmounted, overcome, passed over, or solved.

I'll be home tonight so definitely more later!

The Fayre Word for 9/19/06...

Morning all.

Here's today's word:

acerbic (adj)
Sour or severe.

More later.

Happy graduation to me...

For those of you who don't know, I just graduated from college in August after working on my degree on and off for 14 years. Sounds so strange to say that I'm a college graduate.

Anyway, I got some money from various people as graduation gifts and I wanted to use it for something special that would always remind me of my accomplishment. So I put the money in savings and went on the hunt for something...I wasn't sure what. But when I found it, I knew it.

It's a David Yurman ring. I love his jewelry...my mom brought me back a bracelet from the Carribean a few years ago. Anyway, I ordered the ring the first week of July and it finally came in while we were on vacation last week. We drove out to pick it up today. I absolutely love it and wanted to share it with you. The picture does not do it justice.

A win for the team...

A win is exactly what Dallas pulled off last night (27-10). I can't really say it was a great game since there were, what seemed like, a billion penalties on both sides. But Dallas looked good and didn't fall apart in the second half like I feared they would.

I hope this win pumps them and they keep the momentum, but even so, at least they beat the Redskins!

Go Cowboys!

The Fayre Word for 9/18/06...

Morning...it's back to the gym we go.

Here's today's word:

delectation \dee-lek-TAY-shun\ (noun)
delight, enjoyment

Hoping for a win...

As any true Cowboys fan would attest, we can live with a losing season as long as they beat the Redskins. Tonight is this season's first chance for Dallas to show who's boss. I'm so hoping for a win.

Go Cowboys!

The Fayre Word for 9/17/06...

How come it's so much harder to wake up early at home? We woke up early every day on vacation (without an alarm) but this morning was like torture.

Anyway, here's today's word:

commodious \kuh-MOH-dee-us\ (adj)
comfortably or conveniently spacious; roomy

An actual conversation we had on the beach...

Okay, I lied. One more thing vacation-related. But, I promise, it's worth it. This is an actual exchange of dialogue Chris and I had the other day on the beach.

Chris said, "Did you put sunscreen on yet?"

"I'm not in the sun," I replied.

To which he replied, "You are both directly and indirectly partially in the sun."

We laughed until we cried. Can anybody tell me what this means?

Vacation wrap up...

Okay...here's the last vacation update you'll have to endure. =)

We're home...yeah! We were so excited to see the doggies. But thought I'd share the last day and a half of our vacation.

Yesterday (after we left Atlanta Bread Company) we got in a good chunk of beach time. Then we got ready and headed out. We ended up eating at Dick's Last Resort. I've wanted to go for years, but could never convince Chris to go out to eat somewhere where they yelled at you and were rude to you. But, he was game for it, so we went. It was actually quite fun. They weren't as bad as we thought they'd be. Our waiter called us dorks and losers, but he was always smiling. We both had to wear ridiculous paper hats...I'll post a picture of me wearing mine, but Chris decided he didn't want to post his! =) And, most surprisingly of all, the food was delicious!

After that we shopped at Barefoot Landing. I had forgotten, but the last time we were there we got to see several tigers...they have a preservation area right in Myrtle Beach and they are working to try to preserve some rare tigers. Anyway, we found them again and spent a long time hanging out around their area. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for them) the adult tigers slept the entire time...but we were still able to get some very cute pictures. We also saw some baby tigers, which also slept a lot...but again, very cute pictures.

Around 8:45 we headed over to the House of Blues. We had stopped by there earlier and a guy gave us free tickets for a show they were having. So we decided to check it out. The show started at 9:00 and was a bunch of amateur bands. We stayed a little over an hour...enough to sit through the first band and a bit of the second. Too bad they didn't switch the order...the second band was great. The first, unfortunately, was quite bad. The music was okay but the lyrics were awful. I'll spare you the details.

We left the House of Blues and decided we needed some nourishment...you guessed it...Krispy Kreme. Another half dozen donuts to be shared between the two of us. We figured it was the last night of vacation and we should live it up!

This morning we got up early and caught the better part of the sunrise. It was beautiful. We did make it out on the beach for a bit, but the biting flies were out and drove us crazy until we finally packed up and went inside. We showered, cleaned the condo and packed the car...and despite a missed turn on our way home, made it home in 5 hours.

Wow...it's great to go away, but so nice to get home...especially when you have 2 doggies waiting for you. Thanks, Misty, for picking them up yesterday and taking care of them until we got home.

Here are some final pictures from Myrtle Beach.

Me wearing my hat at Dick's Last Resort.
They make these for you and you HAVE to wear them.

Doesn't he look so comfortable?
Baby tigers. Aren't they cute?

Baby tigers...sleeping in a different position.
Me eating hot, yummy Krispy Kreme donuts!

This morning's sunrise.
Sun hitting the ocean this morning.

The Fayre Word for 9/16/06...

Kind of late today because we just got back from Myrtle Beach.

But here's today's word:

solicitous \suh-LIS-uh-tus\ (adj.)
1: full of concern or fears: apprehensive
2: meticulously careful
3: full of desire; eager

A vacation wrap up a little later this evening!

The last vacation update from Myrtle Beach...

We're at Atlanta Bread Company again to catch you all up on our glorious vacation. Yesterday was a great day. We hung out here in the morning (as you all probably know from yesteday's entry) and then got in some great beach time. I actually went in the ocean and played in the waves...something I haven't done since I was a kid. I really don't like being in water and not being able to see my feet and what I'm about to step on. But I did it.

We had dinner at the Melting Pot which was fantabulous. It was so much fun and so much food. We started off with a cheese fondue which had a Mexican kick to it. They brought us tortilla chips, bread, carrots, celery, cauliflower and apple to dip in it. Wow...it was incredible. I was sort of weirded out by the thought of dipping apple into this cheesy dip, but I tried it and...it was great! Then they brought us salads, which were great except there was a tad too much dressing on it...should have gone with my first instinct of "dressing on the side, please." After the salad was the entree: shrimp, chicken, filet, teriyaki beef, pork, potstickers and veggies. We cooked those in some sort of beef broth. Wow...was it yummy.

The dessert deserves it's own paragraph. We chose the smores fondue, which had chocolate, marshmellow and graham crackers it in...they even lit it on fire to toast the marshmellow. And to dip in it: strawberries, pineapple, banana, graham crackers, marshmellows (coated with graham cracker crumbs and oreo cookie crumbs), cheesecake, pound cake and brownie. Oh my gosh. I thought I was going to go into diabetic shock...it was absolutely phenomenal. I told the server that they should have rolling chairs so people could roll themselves out of the restaurant to their cars. Man were we full. Thanks, Sallie, for the gift card!

After that we went to Broadway at the Beach again (because we can find it now) and saw an IMAX movie, Deep Sea. Good thing I went into the ocean earlier, because I probably won't go in again! =) It's amazing to see the different creatures that God has created...some very ugly ones, too. But, as Johnny Depp and Kate Winslett (the narrators) shared, all these creatures are needed to keep the ecosystem in proper order. How can you not believe that God created this world? It's so intricately designed.

From there, we walked around and did a little more shopping. I know...but can't help it. Something about being on vacation screams, "spend money." Even if you don't have it to spend.

Here are some pictures from yesterday. Enjoy. Check out Chris' blog for more pictures.

Me working on a triple Sudoku that plagued me for 3 days.
But I finally got it...and I checked...all correct!

Chris in a Toby Keith cowboy hat...blackmail material!

This is an actual store at Broadway at the Beach.
How awesome is this?

We saw this tshirt the other night and couldn't stop talking about it.
Had to buy it for myself!

Our friend, Misty, picked up the doggies this morning from the doggie hotel and took them home. She'll take care of them until we get back tomorrow afternoon. I know they were so excited to get home...Pebbles to her couch and Bam Bam to his favorite spot on the floor...watching their favorite TV station...The Food Network! =) Can't wait to see them...so glad they'll be there to greet us when we get home!

The Fayre Word for 9/15/06...

Back at Altanta Bread Company to catch up on e-mail and blogging.

Here's today's word:

bilk (verb)
1: to block the free development of; frustrate
2 a: to cheat out of something valuable; defraud b: to evade payment of or to
3: to slip away from

Vacation update...

As I mentioned in my earlier post on The Fayre Word, we lost our wireless connection yesterday at the condo where we are staying. Not sure why, but oh well.

Anyway, yesterday was overcast in the morning and then got icky and rainy later in the day. We were able to get in a nice long walk in the morning and then sat out for a while before all the rain started. So at least we got in some beach time.

After lunch at the condo we hung out at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks for a bit and then went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the afternoon. It was a decent movie, but not as good as the first one (not surprising) and quite long (2 1/2 hours). The ending left it primed for number 3. We ate dinner at the condo and then just hung out and went to bed early. =)

This morning the last of the rain is passing over and the forecast promises some sun later this afternoon. So, we're hanging out here at Atlanta Bread Company this morning and then will head out to the beach a little later. And the the Melting Pot for dinner! Woohoo! I've wanted to go for a long time but have never gone. I got a gift certificate for graduation and we decided to use it on vacation. Can't wait.

Anyway, that's about all there is. No pictures really since we didn't do much worth photographing yesterday. If we don't miraculously get our wireless connection back at the condo, you probably won't here from us (me and Chris) until sometime tomorrow. I know you'll be holding your breath in anticipation! =)

The Fayre Word for 9/14/06...

We mysteriously lost our wireless connection at the condo sometime yesterday while we were out, so we were disconnected from the world. =) We had to venture out to find a wireless connection somewhere...and the verdict is...Atlanta Bread Company.

Here's today's word (it's not that tough, but is suitable for vacation):

balmy (adj)
Soothing; refreshing; mild.

A lesson in how NOT to apply sunscreen...

Not sure this picture needs any explanation. Laugh out loud...it's okay.

The Sunrise...

It's quite cloudy this morning, so we only got glimpses of the sun coming up through the clouds. Even so, it was amazing. Here's a picture...see Chris' blog for a chronology of this morning's sunrise.

The Fayre Word for 9/13/06...

We're up to watch the sunrise this morning so thought I would go ahead and get this up.

Here's today's word:

endemic \en-DEM-ik\ (adj.)
1 a: belonging or native to a particular people or country; b: characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area or environment
2: restricted or peculiar to a locality or region.

More vacation fun and pictures later.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood--I mean, Myrtle Beach...

Special Note: Before I get to my post, just a note on the title. I'm hoping you all picked up on the Mr. Rogers reference. If you know me well, you know that I LOVE Mr. Rogers...I even own a CD done in tribute to him. Don't laugh! I can hear you...

Today was an awesome day. We got out on the beach early and the new beach umbrella we bought last night worked wonderfully.

After a few hours on the beach (check out the pictures below--we saw cute doggies) we had lunch, got ready and headed for Broadway at the Beach (after spending more than 30 minutes online trying to get directions). We made it this time! Woohoo!

It was lots of fun...we shopped (even bought my dad a Christmas present!), ate and went to Starbucks for decaf, nonfat caramel macchiatos! Dinner at Margaritaville was awesome. The food was delicious and even more impressive than that, it was hot...temperature hot. If there's one thing I hate when I go out to eat, it is getting food that is not piping hot. Both our appetizer and our entrees were steaming hot. Love it!

Here are some pics from today. For more pictures, check out Chris' blog.

What's the next best thing to having your own beagles?
Seeing someone else's!

He's back and he brought a friend!

Isn't this beautiful?

Chris in front of the Kiss Coffeehouse.

Us at Margaritaville.

Last night's adventure in Myrtle Beach...

So we spent a few hours on the beach, came back in to relax for a while, cooked dinner here at the condo and decided to go out for a while. We wanted to head down to an area called Broadway at the Beach. There are restaurants, shopping, etc. But after driving 20+ miles down the main drag, we figured we didn't go the right way. So we finally turned around...it's about 9:15 at this point and I'm starting to doze off in the car (which isn't unusual). I was awakened by what felt like an abrupt slowing down and turn. I open my eyes to see that we are in the parking lot of...guess where? Krispy Kreme!

Okay, so we have a weakness for hot Krispy Kreme donuts and there are a billion of them down here. Chris and I originally decided we wouldn't go. Of course that didn't stick. So then we revised our original decision to say that, if we went, we would only get 1 or 2 donuts each and not a whole dozen. So, what did we get? We compromised and got a 1/2 dozen. Of course the guy behind the counter advised us that for only $1 more we could get a whole dozen...and we actually refused. Wow...we're really making progress.

We watched at the window as the hot donuts travelled down the conveyor belt and through the glaze shower. Chris wanted to take a picture, but we figured that the people in the shop would think we were completely crazy. We finally got our donuts and they were the freshest and hottest ones we have ever had. The guy literally put them in the box immediately after they had been through the glaze. We sat right in the shop and polished off the extremely yummy six donuts...they just melted in our mouths.

Krispy Kreme rocks!

After that indulgence we decided we needed to walk for a few minutes and at least pretend to walk some of it off. So we stopped at a place called Barefoot Landing (huge area around a lake that has all kinds of shops and restaurants) to walk around. And in our journey, we encountered this guy. A bunch of women were trying to get some seeds out of the machines to feed him...it was quite amusing.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to scratch your own back?

That about wraps up our evening...exciting, huh? Tonight we're determined to actually find Broadway at the Beach. We'll let you know how it goes.

The Fayre Word for 9/12/06...

Another beautiful morning at the beach! =)

Here's today's word:

visceral • \VISS-uh-rul\ (adjective)
1 a: felt in or as if in the viscera : deep b: of, relating to, or located on or among the viscera
2: not intellectual : instinctive, unreasoning
3: dealing with crude or elemental emotions : earthy

More in a bit on our adventure last night!

Today on the beach...

Thought it would be fun to share a few pictures from the beach with you. For more pictures, visit Chris' blog.

For those of you that know me well, you will get a good laugh out of this one. I think he/she/it smelled the fear.

He's coming right at me!

Us at the beach!

The Fayre Word for 9/11/06...

It's a beautiful morning here in Myrtle Beach. I'm sitting in the living room of the condo where we are staying looking at the ocean and listening to the waves crash against the shore. I wish you could hear it too. It's an amazing testimony of God's creation.

Anyway, more about the beach later. Here's today's word:

réchauffé \ray-shoh-FAY\ (noun)
1. rehash
2. a warmed-over dish of food

Are we moving or going on vacation?

Chris and I have always had a tendancy to over pack. Some of you who know us might know that's an understatement. But, when we kept pulling out duffle bags while packing our beach stuff, I knew a picture would be priceless. So, before he started packing the car, we took a couple of pictures. We just laugh because we'll be back next Saturday, but we've probably packed enough to last us a month or more!

Have a good laugh at our expense!

View from one side

View from the other side

The Fayre Word for 9/10/06...

We're hoping that we can pick up a wireless Internet connection where we are staying at the beach. If not, we'll have to track down someplace with free Internet so we can keep you all up to date on our vacation. But just in case you don't see The Fayre Word every day, you'll know why.

Here's today's word (it's a good one):

poltroon • \pahl-TROON\ (noun)
a spiritless coward : craven

Leaving our "children"...

In preparation for leaving for the beach tomorrow, we had to drop off the doggies at the doggie hotel, or as they probably think of it, doggie jail. It was very sad to see them being taken back to their run and even sadder when we arrived home and had no one to greet us at the door.

I think they knew something was up because they moped around the house all morning and were extra sweet.

Miss them already...

The Fayre Word for 9/9/06...

It's Saturday and I'm up at 6:50 a.m. That's what happens when you go to bed at 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night! =)

Here's today's word:

meander (verb)
To wind, turn, or twist.

Living with a football fanatic husband...

Back from the gym and, as promised, I want to share how the opening night of football season was in our humble abode. Let me just preface this by saying that I love football. But I'm not crazy!

Okay, now don't laugh at me. The telling of this story involves something you might find funny. I went upstairs at 8:30 p.m. to watch the end of Big Brother and get ready for bed. Yes, that's right. Try to hold in the laughter. At 9:00 I turned the channel to the game and picked up my book to try to read, but I knew I'd just have to reread those pages the next time I picked up the book. Can anyone else relate to that?

Anyway, at about 9:10, I put the book back on the nightstand and turned off the light, keeping the game on. I watched it for a few minutes before I fell into the first stage of sleep. I don't think I ever made it past the first stage (until the game was over) because every so often, I'd be jolted by a scream, yell or loud clapping from downstairs. This happened more than a couple of times. And it wasn't only to celebrate the Steelers scoring, once he even yelled, "Yeah! First down, baby!" First down? Is that really worth the risk of waking up your wife? Apparently so...in my house, anyway. I think I even yelled down one time, "Hey, you're being loud." But I guess the first Steelers game of the official season warranted that kind of loudness.

All this to say...My husband is crazy about football and even more so about Steelers football. This should prove to be an interesting season...it always is with the two of us routing for different teams.

Go Cowboys!

The Fayre Word for 9/8/06...

Good morning.

Here's today's word:

adamant (adj)
Unyielding, inflexible.

More to come later on living with a football fanatic husband! =)

The Fayre Word for 9/7/06...

Today was my first day back at the gym since last Tuesday since our gym was closed 3 days last week and then I was in Northern VA for a few days. Boy it felt like I was starting all over.

Here's today's word:

picaresque • \pik-uh-RESK\ (adj)
of or relating to rogues or rascals; of, relating to, suggesting, or being a type of fiction dealing with the episodic adventures of a usually roguish protagonist

Popcorn Mystery, Part 2...

Okay, all. I know someone has to have something to say about this. Here's my friend Rachel's popcorn box information.

Orville Redenbacher's Tender White

Serving Size: 2 Tbsp unpopped (makes about 4 cups popped)
Servings per bag: About 2.5

Calories in 2 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn: 180
Calories in 1 cup of popped popcorn: 40

The math here doesn't work either! If 2 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn equals 4 cups popped, and 1 cup popped equals 40 calories, then ONE serving size should equal 160 calories. But, under calories, it indicates that 2 tablespoons unpopped equals 180 calories. Where do the other 20 calories come from??

And, again, why do we need to know how many calories are in a serving of unpopped popcorn??

GAAAAHHH!!

I encourage you to check out your popcorn box.

Read Popcorn Mystery, Part 1.

The Fayre Word for 9/6/06...

One more day in the office, 2 more days of work at home and then I'm on vacation. Woohoo.

Here's today's word:

mimesis • \muh-MEE-sis\ (noun)
imitation, mimicry

Can anyone solve the popcorn mystery?

Me and a friend, Rachel, have had an ongoing conversation about the ridiculousness and difficulty of interpreting and comprehending the nutrition information for popcorn. So she suggested that I raise this issue on my blog and see if anyone could help us figure this out.

You wouldn't think that it would be that hard to figure out how many calories there are in a serving of a particular food. However, popcorn (and a few other items like rice and pasta), seem to be the exception. For some reason, they (the people who put together the nutrition information) feel it is important to include the serving size for unpopped popcorn. Why? Does anyone eat unpopped popcorn? So who cares that one serving of unpopped popcorn is 1/4 cup?

The picture below is a little blurry (I won't tell you how long it took me to take it), but hopefully you'll get the gist of this. Under Nutrition Facts, it says:

Serving size 1/4 cup
Makes about 5 cups popped
Servings per container 2 per bag

Calories 110

the nutrition facts on my current box of popcorn

So, I think this is how to interpret it. One serving of popcorn is equal to 1/4 cup of unpopped popcorn (for those who choose to eat it that way) and 5 cups of popped popcorn and that there are 2 servings of popped popcorn in each bag, making a total of 10 cups of popped popcorn per bag. And, that each serving of popped popcorn (5 cups) is 110 calories. So, I guess in a way that makes sense.

But just when you think you have it figured out. Wait, there's more. On the front of the box (which I did not take a picture of) it says, "25 calories per cup." Okay, so hang in there with me. I know I'm not a math major but if each cup is 25 calories, than 5 cups (what is listed as one serving) would be 125 calories, right? So how come the back of the box says that 1 serving (5 cups) is 110 calories?

This is just one example. I'm anxiously awaiting Rachel's e-mail with a picture of her popcorn nutrition facts because each brand seems to have a different approach to explaining the nutrition information.

I challenge you to take a look at your popcorn box and see if you can make sense out of it. Let me know what you find!

Happy popping...

The Fayre Word for 9/5/06...

Morning all...it felt good to get some sleep last night, even though I'm not home and miss Chris and the doggies!

I was going to say, "Without further adu," here's today's word, but I don't know how to spell, "adu." Anyone know? I tried looking in an online dictionary, but it's too early to be researching this. =)

Anyway, here it is.

clamorous (adj)
Loud and noisy, perhaps in protest.

Do you ever have days that seem like more than one day?

Today seems like it has been at least 2 different days. We stayed at my mom's house last night and did not sleep well...for a variety of reasons. Chris and I found ourselves both awake at 4 a.m. We remember having a conversation, but now neither one of us can remember what it was about. Then he decided that it would help to have some soothing music to listen to, so he got his laptop and found an easy jazz station on iTunes. We both eventually fell back to asleep (after the unmemorable conversation) and I awoke an hour or so later to some horrible, not easy music and had to crawl over him to try to turn it off.

Anyway, that gives you some background on how this day started...it's a wonder that I'm still up at 10:23 typing this.

We had a lot of fun at the Nationals game today. We got to see the pitcher hit his first major league homerun. That was kind of cool. And I have to say that I LOVE stadium hotdogs. Yum.

Me and Chris at the game. Aren't we cute?

Chris has more pictures posted, so visit Chris' blog to see more.

Have to spend tomorrow and Wednesday at the office, but I've got wireless Internet access at Mike and Sonja's now, so I'll be good to go in the evenings.

The Fayre Word for 9/4/06...

Here's today's word...

empirical (adj)
Based on observations and measurement.

I'll have more to say later when I'm awake! =)

What a day...

We're in Northern VA and got to hear our best friend preach tonight. He talked about faith and how we cannot please God without it. And that faith means trusting God no matter what. I think we all need to be encouraged to increase our faith. I know I do.

Not only did we get to hear Mike preach, but I got to see his wife, my very best friend, Sonja. I couldn't ask for a better friend. And while Chris and the doggies will be going home tomorrow after the Nationals game, I'm staying until Wednesday to spend 2 days in the office...so I'll get to hang with her for another couple of days...I'm really looking forward to it.

Not only was I challenged tonight, but I was challenged this morning. We sang the song Surrender this morning...one of my favorites (see lyrics below). I truly have to surrender to God daily. Otherwise I try to accomplish things in my own strength. But it's God's desire for us to depend on him and surrender our struggles, fears, sorrows and burdens to Him. As hard as that is, my desire is to do just that.

We've had some rough things happen over the last few months and it has really worn me down. It seems like I can't shake the sadness and hurt that follows disappointment. But God desires that I surrender that to Him. This song is my personal prayer.

Surrender
I'm giving You my heart and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of You my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life

And I surrender
All to You, all to You

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You, for the glory of Your name
To know the lastin joy, even sharing in Your pain

Going to see the Nationals...

We got some tickets to see the Washington Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals tomorrow so we're heading up to Northern VA. I'm sure Chris will take pictures, so I'll be sure to post one or two.

Hope you all enjoy the long weekend...more later.

The Fayre Word for 9/3/06...

I'm varying my sources because today's word at Number2.com was accentuate. Not too bad, but still pretty common. When I created my Google homepage the other day, I added a Word of the Day feature, which proved to be more challenging today.

Here's today's word:

hinterland • \HIN-ter-land\
1 : a region lying inland from a coast (noun)
2 : a region remote from urban areas; a region lying beyond major metropolitan or cultural centers

The Fayre Word for 9/2/06

I was getting a little worried that these words were too familiar and not very challenging. This one seems to be a bit better (I get these words from Number2.com every day...it's a test prep Web site).

corpulent (adj)
Very fat; obese.

P.S. In case this is the first "Fayre Word" you've seen, I'm doing this as prep for my GRE on November 2.

Marketing that doesn't make sense...

Okay. So I have an ax to grind with whoever developed one of the marketing campaigns for Progressive insurance. If you've seen the TV commercials, maybe you've already thought of this, but if not, here's my grievance.

The commercials talk about how helpful the customer service people are by giving quotes from Progressive as well as their competitors. And then the announcer says the most stupid thing I've ever heard.

"Hey, if they're this helpful when you're shopping for car insuranace, imagine how they'll once you're a customer."

Am I the only one that thinks this is an incredibly stupid marketing campaign? Everyone knows people are much more helpful when they are trying to get your business than after they already have it. Why do you think cellphone companies offer special plans to new customers, not existing customers?

If you want to see this commercial, go to the Progressive Web site and scroll down to the 6th commercial.

The Fayre Word for 9/1/06...

It's hard to believe it's already September, but I have to say that I'm ready for fall, cool weather and sweaters. I'm tired of being hot all the time.

Anyway, here's today's word.

bewilder (verb)
Confuse, perplex, mystify.