Well. It’s Friday. Earlier this week I got an email from the gals over at The BlogRollers, informing me that I was chosen to be their Friday Featured Blogger. So I filled out the questions and am excited that they chose me to feature. Thanks, ladies! If you are here reading this from The BlogRollers then welcome! Check out some of my earlier posts to get a feel for what my blog is about….

A couple days ago I stumbled upon this blog called, Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. They are starting a weight loss challenge today and I just randomly decided to sign up. So here’s the skinny on me:

CURRENT WEIGHT: 176lbs

GOAL WEIGHT: 135lbs

MY GOALS:

• Drink more water
• Eat more frequently
• Cut out Soda
• Excercise 3 times a week

I AM ON “TEAM K”:

Allison
Jones
Mel
Cristina
Kelly K.
Teresa G.

UPDATE:

So today started off pretty well. In the morning I brought a bottle of water to work with me and had a Yoplait Light (100 cal), then another one a couple hours later. When I got home…well. I ate 2 packs of fruit snacks, 3 Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, another box of fruit snacks, like… a liter of Mountain Dew, and entirely too much of that casserole my mother in law made…..so….welcome to my world. We lose. The end. Wait no! I promise to do better! Have any of you other crazies gone a lil overboard?

The other night I was reading my scriptures and came across this scripture and thought of you.   1 Nephi 14:11 –

” And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth,

and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth,

among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”

Retaliate in any way you see fit.

Love,

Joanie

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5-Second Rule…Rules:

Wet textured food – Goes in the trash
ANY public surface – Goes in the trash
Bathroom surface – Goes in the trash

Other than that….We’re good!

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Here are some 5-second rule pictures from our

house. Apparently cornstarch, chocolate, and

rotisserie chickens fall under the 5-second rule….

Okay that last pic is pretty white trash.  I will have

to add that to my “Top 10 things that make me white

trash” post

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Earlier this week Melissa invited me to work with @Clorox and Samantha Bee from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  Samantha spoke about her parenting style and how she was guilty of using the 5-second rule in her home. While listening to her speak about this I could tell that we had very similar parenting styles, though she probably would not openly agree with that after seeing the pictures above……

Anyway, @Clorox and San Diego State University conducted a study that demonstrated that using the 5-second rule may not be the best parenting practice. The study found that germs attached to food/baby bottles when dropped on several household surfaces within 5 seconds.

Did I ACTUALLY think that the 5-second rule was real? Okay. No. I have always thought someone made it up as a joke. Will I continue to live by it regardless of that? Absolutely.  The 5-second rule stays in our house. Fortunately for  people like me, @Clorox has their Clorox Wipes that are so easy to use and no laundry comes from using them. My mom used to make us use 3 wash cloths per bathroom in our house when cleaning them. I’m sorry but that is 9 too many wash cloths for me. Thanks.

There are some really great products and tips that you can read about on SimpleandSurprising.com

Now, onto the giveaway!

-Win a Clorox Surprise Pack valued at $20-

How To Enter:

• Leave a comment here with a 5-second rule story of your own.  (1 entry)
  
• Leave a comment here with the url to a funny 5-second rule picture you have. (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment telling me you subscribed (1 extra entry)
• Follow @Clorox On Twitter and tweet : Debunk the 5 Second Rule Myth & Win $20 in Clorox Products  http://bit.ly/dumOt8 #5SecRule – Leave a comment saying you did so. (1 extra entry)

Giveaway ends February 10th 2010 at midnight. Winner will be informed by email. US only.

I was compensated monetarily by Clorox for this post. All opinions are my own.

Aside from the great pacadermish bed, there was this wicked awesome jetted tub! At the front desk they have rubber duckies and bath bombs you can purchase to make your bathing experience more fun.

There were robes to wear, and I made some new friends…After that Rob and I went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes (wearing our own clothes, not the robes).

With a bed as high as the one in “The Sultan’s Palace” room you’re able to see all the “lovely” sentiments people secretly have written on top of the molding. Check it out!

In every room there are two pieces of complimentary cheesecake and a bottle of sparkling cider! It really was so nice to have an evening alone and be woken up by a complimentary breakfast instead of two crazy ass children Next time we go to the Anniversary Inn I want to try the “Swiss Family Robinson” room.

Anniversary Inn – Fifth South

460 South 1000 East • Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Phone: 801.363.4900 • 1.800.324.4152 (toll free)

Stay provided by Anniversary Inn

In this photo @inevergrewup @DomesticBecky @sweetlifeinthe @thepioneerwoman @joanieatwater @carolrice @emihill @newspapergrl
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Earlier this month Ree Drummond, creator of the blog, The Pioneer Woman, stopped by Salt Lake City as part of her cookbook signing tour. I actually wasn’t aware of the event until my friend Janet Thaeler had called me and April up asking us if we were going. I have only read The Pioneer Woman like twice and heard about her from my sister in law, April (SweetLifeInTheValley.com). I did record her on the Bonnie Hunt show though! Does that count? I watched it yesterday, finally, so probably not huh?

Anyway, Janet knew there was going to be a HUGE turn out, which there was, and knew the book store was not aware of just how big the crowd would be. So she came up with a plan for us to possibly be able to get in to see Ree. April put together this nice welcome basket of local Utah products that we could present to Ree as a group of local Utah Bloggers.

When we got there all the surrounding blocks were packed with cars, but we magically got a spot in a parking lot right across the street

Turns out you needed tickets to get your book signed and they had passed out all 360 of them before we got there. So I asked one of the bookstore employees if a group of Utah Bloggers could get in to see Ree and present her with this welcome basket full of Utah-based goodies. She said she would check and see. After talking to 3 bookstore emplyees I finally got a “meet me on this back patio and we’ll see if we can get you in”.

So we head back to the patio behind the bookstore and there are several other bloggers that have found their way back there as well, including Heather Armstrong (aka DOOCE). The woman I had spoken with was not letting DOOCE in. Apparently she didn’t know who she was.

Funniest part of the whole evening: The bookstore employee in charge says, “I have no obligation to anyone except for to this woman right here and whoever’s with her”, as she points to me! Of the group of bloggers I was with, I am the one with the lowest traffic, by far and at this point she STILL was not letting Dooce in! DOOCE! Okay this woman has been blogging forever, she’s Skype’d in on Oprah, she had her own book signging not too long ago and makes like freaking, $40K on her blog in one month, and she can’t get in but I can??? Come on. At one point she asked if Dooce was with me, and I was like, “Uh, no, um yes, she’s a Utah Blogger…”. I wasn’t sure if me saying “yes” would be good or bad for Dooce at that point lol. Anyway, they eventually let Heather (Dooce) in by herself before they let us in, which was good since she needed to get home and feed her new baby before her titties exploded.

Eventually, the bookstore employee (who everyone else seemed to think was a Nazi, except me, for reasons stated above ) came back and said she could get 5 of us in. There was more than 5 of us. So naturally we picked Janet (had the basket idea), April (put together the basket with Utah goodies), and me…the one with the nerve to ask if we could get into see Ree and make it sound important. The other 2 spots were just kind of left open and then magically filled by 3 people in half a second lol. Didn’t seem right to let Vanessa and Emily get stuck outside when they had books to get signed and were bigger fans than I was, so I went to that same employee and said, “Um, there are a couple of other big utah bloggers out there, could we have 7 come in???” She said okay, and then as she was letting us in counted 8 of us hahaha. Carol’s friend is a huge fan, so we said she was our picture taker (which she was). So the bookstore employee said, “If a 9th person walks in this door, I’m going to kick them!”. Then I said, “I know, thank you so much, I’ve asked a lot of you tonight…..can I borrow your pen?” WHAT? I hadn’t signed the card Janet brought for Ree yet! (The card Ree lost in her laundry anyway hahaha)

When we got up to see Ree she was so kind and genuine. Plus she had awesome hair. I want it. Anyway, she signed the books of the ladies that were with us as well as some books we had brought in for some friends. Afterwards we all went out to “The Pie” for some delectable pizza and more socializing

Anyway, moral of this story….”It never hurts to ask”

In this photo: @newspapergrl @sweetlifeinthe @Dooce (who was taking her twilight obsession one step too far) @joanieatwater-(me) & @carolrice
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While we were waiting outisde on the patio to be let into the bookstore we got to chat a little with Heather (Dooce). She was nice to take a picture with complete strangers, and turns out her and Janet both went on the worst dates of their lives with the same person. You can read about that here: “Me, The Pioneer Woman, Dooce & Jason Gough“

For other accounts of that evening, check these out :

Sweet Tooth Fairy
Georgie Tees
Get Up and Play
Newspaper Girl
Utah Loves Cupcakes
Jet Set Carina
Moosh in Indy
Miranda Walker
Petit Elefant
Jules Keeps the Rules
Two Peas and Their Pod
Food Finery
Sweet Life In The Valley

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• I’m not gonna lie…I have always thought the real warm cozy type of winter boots were ugly. Until now. Seriously? How cute are these boots by Sorel??? (Left: Suka/Right: Shila)

• I’m used to wearing flip flops in the snow. Mostly because I’m an idiot, but also because I had no warm shoes that were worth the effort to put on! I love these “Shila” boots and  think they are definately cute, comfy and warm enough to be worth having a boot with laces!

• Sorel was one of the sponsors of The Summer Social Retreat ’09 (put on by April, SweetLifeInTheValley.com) They were kind enough to give away 5 pairs of boots at the event as well as a few pairs for us to review. I had the hardest time picking between the “Suka” and the “Shila” (shown above)! 

• Sorel offers boots for men and children as well. Check out  their stylish new line! www.sorel.com

FEATURES:

• Waterproof leather upper keeps feet warm and dry
• Fleece lining helps wicks moisture
• Full front lace closure allows for easy access and secure fit
• Removable PU footbed offers great comfort and can be removed for quick drying
• Imported

On November 11th, Vets Prevail will be launching their improved website featuring:

• Open enrollment to the Vets Prevail Resiliency and Readjustment Training – free to over 500 veterans
• An online petition, calling for action to provide on-going care to returning Veterans
• Its very own Veteran community

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Please help spread the word about Vets Prevail to help the Veterans in your life and so many others.

Testimonials from Vets Prevail:

• “In the Corps I was very good at solving problems, but they seemed simpler, even if they involved life and death decisions. Those became easy, actually, but the endless little tasks that you have to do back here at home seem so overwhelming sometimes. Re-learning to break down big problems into smaller steps really helped me out. “  Gunnery Sergeant, USMC
• “Talking to other veterans and trainers during the training showed me how to use the lessons from the program in my day-to-day life.” Sergeant, US Army

+ That was how I first met Mark Horvath of  Invisiblepeople.tv. Through a random conversation over twitter. After learning a little more about what Mark does to help put a face on homelessness, I figured I would try and help however/whenever I could, in my own way. I started making airplanes out of 5 dollar bills when I had the extra cash (sometimes when I didn’t) and I give them to homeless people when I see them. I’ve added a section to my site called $5 Airplane Stories where I share a little bit about a particular homeless person’s story, or my experience from spending time with them as well as a picture (if they’re “OK” with me posting it) of them holding the $5 airplane I made them.

+ Earlier this month Mark was finishing up his road trip where he drove all over the country telling homeless people’s stories (showing us what the faces of homelessness really look like) and he stopped in Salt Lake City, UT on October 2nd. I was able to drive up and meet him in person finally. I followed him around while he passed out new pairs of socks to the local homeless people and got a couple stories.  It was pretty eye opening seeing how these people spend their day and how they have to live. Honestly, before meeting Mark I was really in my own little box. I never thought about things going on outside my life. Turns out it feels nice to care about other people. If you haven’t tried it lately….you should. Thanks, Mark

Dear Hotels~

It’s me, Jones. I was thinking maybe you should like…open up a few rooms where homeless people can come and clean up, shave, dress their best so they can go out and apply for jobs presentably. Then when they get an interview have them back to clean up for their interview as well. I don’t know if that’s even doable, but it was a thought….

Love,

Jones