My Liver Will Thank Me...

My liver and kidney's hurt!

Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit but over Winter Break, I believe I did some damage to my body.  Although I had a fabulous vacation, I didn't do much besides relax, hang with my friends who also had the two weeks off, drink, eat, party, and celebrate.  I guess the holiday season is supposed to be about consumption but I believe I took gluttony to a whole new level.

Although I took a week to recoup after vacation, I spent last weekend drinking and partying in San Francisco for the Nevada vs Boston KRAFT Fight Hunger Bowl Game.  Needless to say, my body HATES me right now. 

After being in a world of hurt, I decided last Monday to say good-bye to my dear friend alcohol for a bit.  I have resolved to give up the hooch until my birthday celebration the first weekend of February.  I know that might not seem like a long time but it's the perfect amount to get my body back on the right track to feeling better.

Dear Liver: I have punished you enough!

I thought about giving up drinking for good, but have decided against it.  I have to admit that I'm the type of person who enjoys having a cocktail or a glass of wine.  While some people hate the way alcohol tastes, I enjoy it.  And more then just the taste of a refreshing Gin and Tonic, Mojito, or Lemon Drop...I enjoy the social aspect of drinking.  I like chatting with my friends, meeting new people, laughing, and cutting lose.  I know you don't need alcohol to do these things, but it does make it more fun!

This past weekend my friends and I celebrated the next chapter of one of our friend's lives.  She is moving out of Reno for a period of time and we wanted to give her the proper send off.  It was interesting being the sober one the whole weekend, and while I was tempted to take a shot the delicious peppermint flavored Rumple Minz, I found it surprisingly easy to say no.  I thought I would have a terrible time watching everyone drink, and being the D.D.  Instead, I actually had a lot of fun! 

And you know what was more fun?  Not being hungover the next morning!  While my friends nursed a two to three day hangover, I felt good.

I always thought people were full of crap when they said the older they got, the more a hangover hurt.  I just thought that was a "light-weight's" excuse for not being able to hold their liquor.  As I'm entering my 28th year on this earth, I'm realizing that a night of drinking does damage to my system.  I don't bounce back as quickly as I did when I was 21!  After just one night of drinking, it usually takes a good 48 hours until I start feeling like myself again.  And you know what?  I'm so damn busy in my life right now, I can't afford to take two days to recoup.  Even more then that, I hate feeling like shit as I try to make it through my daily routine.  If I'm only feeling 50%, I'm probably only putting out 25% of the productivity as I normally do...and that's just NOT acceptable!

So with that said, I wish my friends Tanqueray, Three Olive, Rumple Minz, and Captain Morgan adieu.  And as fair Juliette said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow" until we meet again in 18 days!

Free at LAST

Have I mentioned how much I love my job? 

 Besides the fact that I love what I'm doing, I love my co-workers, I love my kids,

and love how rewarding my work is....I LOVE THAT I GET A WINTER BREAK!

Yes, that's right.  I get the next two weeks off from work.

I don't think I've really had a Winter Break since I was in high school.

And how am I planning on spending my break? 

I want to do as little as possible. 

Yes I have some house cleaning to do (and a reorganization of my garage). And I plan on taking some excursions, spending time with my friends, celebrating the holidays, catching up on things saved on my DVR, relaxing, blogging, and hopefully doing some pleasure reading.

Snow in the Biggest Little!

As snow has been falling all day,
I couldn't be more in the holiday mood.

Now I just need a cup of (spiked) hot chocolate to celebrate!

If I Had a MILLION (or more) Dollars...

The holiday's are supposed to be a time about giving.  A time to be thankful for what we have.  A time to spend time with our family and those we love. 

I think the key word in what I said above is SUPPOSED TO.  As I have gotten older, it seems to me that the holidays have really become a time for mass consumption and overspending.  This year, millions of people nation-wide flocked to stores on Black Friday to find whatever deals they could.  A riot took place in upstate New York as crazed shoppers rushed into a Target.

Is this really what the holiday season is about?

Being Jewish, I (obviously) don't celebrate Christmas.  I don't wake up on Christmas morning to dozens of presents to open.  And to be honest, I haven't "cashed in" on the eight days of presents and loot, that people think goes hand-in-hand with Chanukah, since I was a child. 

As the nation is dealing with one of the hardest-hit economies in decades, you would think people would be more conscious of their spending habits.  I have honestly found just the opposite. 

Look at all of this ridiculous stuff people, who have money to blow, are buying!!!!

24k Gold Pills

Ever wanted to shit gold?

The tag line on these outrageous pills are: "Indulge your 'inner' self with these 24k gold leaf capsules. 

Digest to increase self worth."

Created by artists and visionaries Tobias Wong and Ju$t Another Rich Kid, these pills are for people who have so much money and are looking for a good way to waste it. 

For a mere $799 you too can own these gold dipped pills that are filled with gold flakes. 

At first I thought there may be some health value to these.  Maybe some healing powers of gold? After reading some reviews, I discovered there is no redeemable value to these except for bragging rights for ingesting a shit-load of gold.  And when I say shit-load, I mean shit-load. 

People who did take these pills reported  no side effects except for sparkly poop.

Thanks but no thanks, I will pass on this one.  But if you ARE interested in buying these gold pills,

CLICK HERE to PURCHASE.

Diamond Encrusted iPhone

Bling Bling...you have an incoming call!

Now, I'm DEF a girl who LOVES her bling.  They do say diamonds are a girls best friend after all.  This phone however, takes bling to a whole new level.  You can make your calls and text your friends in style with this modified iPhone.

It features (get this) 500 flawless diamonds!  It includes a SEVEN-CARAT pink diamond inserted into the navigation button that is set in platinum and rose gold.  And if pink diamonds aren't your thing you can also get a clear seven-carat diamond instead.

The cost of this beauty? ONLY $8,000,000!!!

The MOST EXPENSIVE Tequila in the WORLD

Only thing missing is the diamond encrusted worm.

A Mexican distillery recently created what they're hoping will be the world's most expensive bottle of tequila.  This ridiculous bottle is covered in FIVE POUNDS of platinum and is encrusted with FOUR THOUSAND diamonds (over 300 carats of bling).  The bottle is named "Diamond's Law" by the distillery, and is estimated to cost (wait for it) $3.5 MILLION dollars!  The liquid inside is a mixture of three different tequilas that have been aged up to seven years.  This one bottle took over 20 people to make.

Although it would look pretty on a shelf, I could think of a million other (BETTER) ways to spend that money if I had it.  How about a house? A car?  A plane?  And if I did need some diamonds in my life, I prefer to have a copy of that engagement ring that Kate Middleton has on her finger....

A Bear with Golden Hair

A teddy bear that makes all the others look like play-things....

At first glance, this looks like an ordinary teddy bear.  Made by a toy company called Steiff, which claims to have made the world's first teddy bear EVER, they commissioned this golden bear to celebrate their 125th Anniversary. 

This unique bear is actually quit a collectors item.  Its fur is made of REAL GOLD and its eyes are made of sapphires and diamonds.  Although you can find versions of this bear made out of cotton, this bear has a mouth made of solid gold, fur made from gold thread, and eyes with pupils of sapphire and irises made from 20 tiny diamonds. Only 125 of this limited edition "Jubilee Bear" have been produced.

And the cost on this adorable bear...$71,500.

So as we are just a handful of days away from Christmas, I wonder what everyone is hoping to "get" this year.  To change things up a bit, I made some of my friends presents.  It's a craft one of my friends had posted on her Facebook that I thought was really fun.  I will post the project on my blog after the holidays so I don't blow the surprise for my girlies who are receiving this. 

As 2010 comes to a close, I have realized getting two weeks off is present enough for me.  Have I mentioned how much I enjoy working for the school district?

Oh...and to any of you out there who are feeling a bit generous this year, I will be happy to receive any of the above lavish items.  Well, except for the gold pills...sparkly poop will be wasted on me. 

Giving Thanks: Day #5

What I'm Thankful For #5

Today I'm thankful for big comfy sweaters.
After an unsually warm stretch of weather, it has finally gotten chilly.

Today was the first day that I woke up to find a bite to the morning air 

and a light dusting of snow on the surrounding mountains.

It was the perfect sweater-weather kind of day!



The sweater I wore today

I love wearing oversized sweaters like this on chilly days. 

It's almost as if you're wearing a dressy blanket

 that continues to give you hugs as your day goes on.

As much as I prefer warmer weather,

I have to admit that I love when Jack Frost makes his first visit. 

Bring on the offical start of Sweater Season!

I AM TRULY BLESSED!