Monday, April 25, 2011

Introducing One Cup Connection!


I found out recently that the word keurig, which you're probably familiar with from the extremely popular line of brewers, is derived from the Dutch word for "excellence". Interestingly enough, the website One Cup Connection is also derived from a word meaning "excellence"!

One Cup Connection carries some of the most popular one-cup coffee machines. You can peruse their wide selection of K-Cups for coffees, teas, and hot chocolate -- they've got all the good, tasty brands like Caribou, Donut House, Gloria Jean's, and more! They also have Green Mountain Coffee, which you may recognize as my favorite coffee brand ever.

One Cup Connection is family-owned and operated with over 50 years of experience in the coffee industry and more than 100 years delivering quality products to its customers.

If you're on the prowl for sales and deals, check out their specials page. And if you're of the Facebook persuasion, One Cup Connection has a Facebook page where you can scope out their latest promotions!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Another day in our litigious society

From the City Pages blog: "Steve Uhr says Linda Zinter 'forced' to take wrong classes"

Linda Zinter, a former graduate student in the U's Master's of Liberal Arts degree program, sued the university after her adviser, as we put it, "suggested" she take courses to complete her degree. But Zinter's attorney points out that the classes weren't just a suggestion--Zinter had the impression that they were a requirement for her to graduate. ... The whole problem started when Zinter had only one course left to complete for her master's degree. Her adviser recommended (or forced) her to take two classes that weren't required, wasting her time and money. Zinter received a "C+" in one, and then dropped out of the second, leading her to get an "F" ... Zinter sued for $6,775 in tuition damages, and she and her lawyer have said they may also seek damages for lost wages suffered as a result of not completing her master's degree.


SERIOUSLY!? I went to the U of M and I had no trouble figuring out degree requirements. Here's a list of the graduate programs in the College of Liberal Arts. Pick one and look at what classes are required. This lady is acting like she was majoring in Feminist Studies and her academic adviser told her to take STAT 5302, Applied Regression Analysis and ESci 5353, Electron Microprobe Theory and Practice, in order to complete her degree. I realize that probably sounds like I'm attempting to perpetuate the commonly-held view that women suck at science, but I only picked those because of how far removed they are from liberal arts. I'm a woman with a science degree and I guess I just like to poke fun at people like that.

I think this woman is upset because she expected the adviser to do everything for her. All the academic adviser is responsible for is advising you on what classes to take, not dragging you down to the registrar and forcing you at knifepoint to sign up for certain courses. If you have questions, ask them. Look in the student handbook. Check online. Do your research. Don't be stupid.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Be nice to yourself, mmmkay?

Everyday Health has a recently-published article titled "6 Unhealthy Things You Should Stop Saying Now". Presented for your enjoyment, the six things and my rebuttal (huh huh huh, I said rebuttal):

1. "Look at my arm jiggle."
Not everyone who makes negative comments about their body is fishing for compliments. Some of us legitimately have jiggly arms and floppy asses to complain about. If no one else is blunt enough to tell me, "Hey, you have droopy knees!", I'll do it for myself.

2. "You always..." or "You never..."
But my husband always farts in bed! What if I am being as specific as possible with my comment? I don't think that's going to cause things to spiral out of control, to the point where he's pooping on the comforter. However, this is the one point in the article that I disagree with least, mainly because guys don't seem to "get it" if you speak in anything other than definitive, black-or-white statements.

3. "I'm such a pig."
First of all, the example given in the article doesn't really seem that bad. A whole bag of pretzel M&Ms? God forbid you eat 150 calories beyond the saltines and applesauce you've been subsisting on. Seriously, pretzel M&Ms? How about "I'm such a pig because I accidentally the whole thing! Is this bad?" If you inhale an entire Pizza Hut, that's something to be concerned about. But pretzel M&Ms? Feh. Eating candy from the vending machine in the break room is nothing to beat yourself up over. As for calling yourself a pig, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

4. "I'm soooo sorry."
What's wrong with apologizing for bumping into someone in the elevator? Saying nothing makes you look like an inconsiderate ass. I definitely don't see this as damaging my self-worth. What this article should really have for point #4 is overuse of the word "love". You do not "love" that necklace or yogurt or end table or whatever. I do realize that one of the word's many meanings is "strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything", but I doubt people who habitually overuse "love" are that passionate about everything. I see nothing wrong with people loving Mom, apple pie, and Elvis, but I do have a problem with people who "love" everything. It devalues the word. The same goes for the word "hate"; everyone is always spouting "oh, I hate this" and "I hate that". What's wrong with "like" and "dislike"?

5. "Ugh, I'm beyond stressed."
Like, ohmigosh. The author of the article says that admitting you're stressed out "[implies] incompetence." No, it doesn't. It implies that YOU'RE STRESSED OUT. There's a difference between "I am so stressed about the metric ton of stuff I have to do" and "meh, I'm not gonna do any of this bullschwa so I can chillax."

6. "I can't afford this."
The article says that if you pick up a pair of $1195 Louboutins and say, "I can't afford this," it means you're not in control of your own situation. Um, no, I think that shows I'm in pretty damned good control of my situation. If I look at how much it costs to take a trip to Rio or how many hours of work it would take to pay off an iPad, there's no amount of creativity that's going to get me to buy those things. If I can't afford a luxury item, I don't need it. This is why Americans are in debt -- they buy crap they don't need with money they don't have.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I think I'm getting old


Last night, my husband's friend was in town for a business meeting and said he'd stop by afterward to visit. I don't have a problem with things like this, since my husband is normally fairly antisocial (his words, not mine). The only problem is, his friend didn't come over until 9:15 PM. Am I getting old, or is that not an appropriate time for a friend to drop by? I was getting tired at 8:30 PM. But we all sat around BSing, drinking Shock Top raspberry ale, and eating fudge until close to 11.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Isle of Eden loves seals

I know there are 80 bajillion websites out there that have done a review of Isle of Eden's products, but I've found few that mention this company's "Scrubs for a Cause" line.

Enter.....

Baby Harp Seal Love.


I recently received my order from Isle of Eden: an 8 oz. jar of Baby Harp Seal Love. I'm not a fan of vanilla, but this product has a nice, baked goods-type of vanilla scent. The bottom layer smells like butter mints. Overall, the scent is pleasant, and if I liked vanilla, I'd love this product more. Even six hours after a shower, I can still smell the faintest trace of seal scrub. The scrub itself is not particularly abrasive, though I wouldn't use it on my puss. The crystals don't dissolve immediately, and the scrub washes cleanly and completely off my skin. My skin feels noticeably smoother and I didn't even use lotion. The very best thing about Baby Harp Seal Love is that all the proceeds go toward saving these sweet little creatures! It doesn't specify outright, but it looks like Isle of Eden makes a donation to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit organization whose mission is "to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species."

As many people have commented, Isle of Eden's turnaround time (TAT) is not the greatest. However, I received this handmade product in a little over 2 weeks (12 business days), so I think that's pretty decent. I won an Isle of Eden gift certificate in a blog contest a while ago and decided to use it toward the purchase of 3 more items: the Whipped Bath Frosting in Her Name Was Lola ("Real Italian Blood Orange Oil blended with Creamy Vanillas and Coconut Milk, and a finishing touch of Sweet Orange Oil"), the Bee So Soft Body Creme in Amour d'Coconut ("Fresh-Cracked Coconut blended with French Pastry, Almond Sugars, Exotic Vanilla-Infused Marshmallows and Plush Candied Almond Silk"), and the Gourmet Body Scrub in Pumpkin Moon ("sweet, gently spiced ripe pumpkin, toasted Bourbon vanilla beans, brown sugar, molasses and incandescent golden amber on a comforting bed of vanilla buttercream").

Conclusion: show the baby harp seals some love and buy some Baby Harp Seal Love.

Are people really this rude?

I was just reading an article hosted on KevinMD.com, titled "Why answering a cell phone during an office visit is a problem". It's an erudite, James Bond-esque take on patients who are inconsiderate enough to think their cell phone call is more important than the 15 minutes out of their oh-so-busy week spent at a scheduled doctor appointment.

I silence my phone on the way to my appointments. While I'm waiting to be seen, I dink around with my phone. However, the moment the nurse calls my name, the phone goes back in my purse. Nothing in my life -- and perhaps I'm fortunate for this -- is so pressing it can't wait for my appointment to end. I prefer to treat people with the respect they deserve.

I found it interesting that, when I had a tooth pulled in February, the dental assistant asked if I had a cell phone to occupy my time while the dentist was seeing another patient. I was too nervous about the impending extraction that the last thing I wanted to do was read FMyLife or send text messages to everyone I know, so I politely said no (though it probably sounded more like "nurrr" because of all the Novocaine).

What are your thoughts on this? Would you ever answer your cell phone during a doctor appointment (or other appointment, for that matter)? Have you ever had a doctor answer his phone during your appointment?

Friday, April 08, 2011

Guess who won a pair of heels!

Check out this post from Princess Dominique: The Dolce Vita Briar Pumps Winner. Those are my feet! :D

Don't forget to stop by her blog for the Weekly Shoe Giveaway! There's only one day left to win a pair of Streetzie's High Heel Bunny Slippers.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Monday, April 04, 2011

Fuzzy pink bunny slippers

Have you ever had that nightmare where you've gotten up, gotten dressed, and gone to work, only to realize you're still wearing your fuzzy pink bunny slippers? Now, you can live out that dream in Streetzie's high heel bunny slippers. No kidding.


I'm not quite sure why these exist and if I should love them or hate them. I mean, they're kind of cute in a Peggy Bundy sort of way, in the same way marabou slippers are. And lord knows, I wouldn't wear those out of the house. Since we have carpet, I'm not sure I'd wear them inside the house, either. Speaking of marabou slippers, I tried to get rid of a pair of them at a white elephant Christmas party at the office two years ago and ended up getting them back. It's not that I didn't like them, but they were a half size too small and they made a perfect gag gift. Too bad I was the one gagged by them. Anyway, bunny slippers. The more I look at these, the more I like them. Sure, they're not practical, but they're cute shoes and they don't have to be practical. Well, these Pleaser USA boots are neither cute nor practical, but that's a matter of taste (and it looks like one of the creepy fetish models is tasting the other's heel; that's a big bucket of "ewww" right there. didn't your mother teach you not to put weird shit in your mouth?).

Anyway, my lovely friend Princess Dominique is giving away not one, but TWO pairs of high heel bunny slippers in her Weekly Shoe Giveaway. I'm in her posse, which is pretty sweet. I've learned about tons of interesting shoes, thanks to Princess Dom, including Kandee (if I had $231 going spare, I would totally get the GLACE CHERRY heels) and Ms. Mary Mac (Wonka, anyone?).