Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever wonder where Jolly Ranchers flavors come from? I have no idea why this popped into my head, but yesterday as I was eating my Granny Smith apple, which I have to say is my very favorite flavor of apple with the Pink Lady a close second, I realized that it tasted exactly like a sour apple Jolly Rancher.Common sense thing, right? Well, don't you ever wonder what kind of flavoring (i.e. sugar &/or chemicals) are used to make things taste like fruits found in nature? So in my ongoing quest to become more healthy and live longer (from watching the Today show this morning while I was getting ready there is a chance that life expectancy could be moving up into the 100's. Although I don't really know if I want to live that long. I mean, what will my body look like then?) I'll be looking at ingredients and labels a lot more closely.

I already do that - I look at sodium content (if I don't, my hands & feet swell to crazy proportions & my fingers look like fat little sausages & I better get my rings off fast!) as well as sugar (to keep my hypoglycemia in check & so I don't get all crazy lightheaded & pass out) and don't forget protein (you know, so you don't get hangry - and yes, that is a real word). That was an awfully constructed sentence wasn't it?

I'll bring back Fabulous Friday tomorrow - last week was out of control busy. This week has been too - hence the lack of commenting until later in the evening. Although, tonight is a Panther's game, so there may be little commenting today, too. Go Panthers!

Birthdays are so fun!

Mr. Potts asked last night if I had blogged about him in a while. I had to be truthful and tell him that I had not. When he asked how many followers I now had (isn't it funny the questions he asks?) I had to tell him that I had lost 2. He seemed shocked by that and asked if I wasn't as witty as I had been. "No clue," I told him.

I did promise that I would tell you about the wonderful surprises he had in store for me for my birthday.

When he got home on Thursday, he brought home a gift bag with two boxes in it. In these two boxes were gifts from Hayden & Pepe! How sweet...they got me two new pairs of pj's. I guess they were tired of seeing me in my cut-off scrubs? I mean, they're comfy....what?? Two new pairs of pj's for me to lounge in. LOVE THEM!! Thank you babies! Aren't they pretty? And soo soft!
Mr. Potts then told me that I would have to wait for my present. Since we had to drop Eva (my car) off at the dealership to get her permanent sunglasses (windows tinted)! I've been wanting to have that done ever since I got her & what a surprise! It was a perfect birthday present. Thank you Mr. Potts!!!

It really was one of my best birthdays ever!

I'll be there

I'm not sure if many of you are like me, but I have a lot of natural empathy and have a tendency to tear up over everything. Moms walking with their toddlers, commercials, Christmas church services, the way my nephew pats my cheeks & kisses me, the list just goes on and on.

Commercials though, the reaction I have to them just amazes me. A few examples:

The holiday Folgers commercial. You know the one - they run it every year. The son comes home to surprise his family. The little girl comes down & finds him. They make coffee. *cue eye watering* The mom comes downstairs and sees him. *commence tears*

I can't even watch Humane Society or ASPCA commercials. Forget it. I'm a sobbing wreck mid-way through.

The most recent one is the State Farm commercial. I'm not sure why, but even the beginning, when the song is playing gets me started. I first saw this commercial while on a treadmill last week. Eyes tearing up, I looked around to make sure I was alone. Have you seen it? Here are some of the key features:

• Michael Jackson (as part of the Jackson 5) is singing I'll Be There
• A breast cancer survivor walking with friends/family, all sporting their pink
• A couple leaning on each other as they survey the devastation of losing their home
• A little boy waiting with his father for his mom, a female soldier, to step off the bus

It gets me every time. Just thinking about it has me tearing up now. The message I walk away with each time I see it or think about it is that you need someone (or several someone's) to lean on, someone to trust. So many of you in blog-land support each other & I find that amazing. So here's to you - fellow bloggers - you are the best.

Yet again, I still can't figure out how to load this video, so if anyone can tell me how, that would be wonderful!.

::Drumroll!:: We have a Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered for a chance to win the MadebyStella earrings and the opportunity to choose their own set of note cards from Molly Lou Gifts. All of your responses made me smile & I wish that everyone could have won!

With everyone's comments, posts on their blogs and referrals, I had a total of 89 entries.
After pressing Generate - this is what came up.

The winner is Michelle from Stuttering Shell! Michelle, please send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get your new earrings sent. I'll also respond back to you with Molly Lou Gift's email and website information again so you can begin working with her.

Michelle, you should be sure to thank RNJenn - she was the one that let me know you had referred her, earning you your winning entry!

Thank you all for helping to make my birthday week so much fun!

Oh WOW!

Umm...so I may have changed my mind. I may just have to keep those earrings for myself. Just kidding. Kind of.

I just got home and checked the mail and the earrings were there. I was dying to see them & HAD to open them. I've officially fallen in love. Trust me - you don't want to miss out on the chance to wear these on a regular basis.

I'm going to order some of my own. Love.Love.Love!

Out of Town Birthday Celebrations

Ahh....birthdays. What beautiful days. Yesterday was beautiful in New England. The temps were in mid 80's. Absolutely wonderful. Today it will barely be in the 70's with tomorrow not even getting out of the 60's. That sounds a little too chilly for August, so I'm happy to be leaving on the high note today.

Yesterday I didn't make it to Kennebunk/Kennebunkport. My stomach started growling around 11:45 - which coincided with driving through Portsmouth, NH. This is a pretty town located on a pretty river (Piscataqua River) which runs tug boats. I decided to stop in their historic downtown and have lunch. I typically don't have opportunities to explore a lot while I'm traveling for work, so this was a nice treat.

Lunch was pretty good, but look at the view I had while eating.I saw several tugboats coming in. If you've never watched them dock, they're fast!
I went for dinner last night with one of my co-worker/friends that live here. It was quite the trendy little restaurant, but our service was awful. Don't you hate when you find a fun little restaurant with great food, but the service is disappointing?

The end of the meal was finished with coffee and donuts. I didn't think to take a picture until after all the food was eaten, but how cute is it that they decorated the plate for me?
The flash was on in this next picture. Hello bright light!
I'll be back to normal commenting tomorrow and hope to get caught up quickly on my reading. So if there is a rash of posting on your blogs, just know that I'm finally able to sit and savor your thoughts.

Happy Thursday - and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

What a beautiful Wednesday!

It is a beautiful New England morning and I'm off to New Hampshire. I'll be passing by Kennebunk today. That may be a good stop for a birthday lunch? Will hopefully have some pictures later.

Happy Wednesday to you all and Happy Birthday to me.