I’m pretty sure there are much more IMPORTANT inventions out there, but these are ones that made life easier and therefore ones that I really like!

1. Computers. Seriously! I don’t know what I’d do without it. It keeps me in-touch with friends and family that are far away, keeps me entertained when I otherwise would be incredibly bored, and helps me with things that I have problems with.
2. Caller ID. Anyone who knows me well and calls me often knows that I’m a screener. I don’t like answering the phone unless I know exactly who it is, and I want to talk to them!
3. Tin Foil. I cook everything with tin foil. Baking something in the oven? Toss in some tin foil for easy cleanup. Grilling? Toss it in tin foil for maximum moisture retention. Just don’t stick it in the…
4. Microwave(s). I love having leftovers. I love cooking beforehand and saving meals so that I can eat them for lunch or for a quick and easy dinner on a lazy day. I know it can be done without a microwave, but who would want to?
5. Cars. Cars make so many things easier! You can get places faster, you don’t have to worry about hurting when you walk far, and you can go places you’d never be able to get without a car, unless you find a way to get a horse and buggy on the highway!
6. Showers. I know this is a weird one, but imagine if there were no showers, only bathtubs. I have long hair that’s really really hard to get clean even in a shower, so in a tub? I’d have such a hard time in a tub. Showers are quicker, too!
7. Cell phones. I don’t have one right now, and I miss it more every day. The convenience of having a phone wherever you are is often underrated. Forgot what someone wanted at the grocery store? Call them! Need to get directions when you’re hopelessly lost? Call a friend!
8. Alarm clocks. Now, I never wake up to alarms. I’m a really sound sleeper so I just don’t hear the alarm for whatever reason. However, these are wonderful. Can you imagine if we didn’t have alarms? So many people would be late because they overslept!
9. Email. While this COULD theoretically go under “computers” I prefer to have it separate because you can have computers without email! I use this for everything and 99% of the time prefer it to the phone. If I could live my life communicating solely via email and face-to-face conversation I’d be completely happy to!
10. Weight machines. This is weird, but I honestly think that if they didn’t have little machines telling you how to work out, that I’d never get anything done because I’d be too confused! Thank goodness for weight machines.

So there you have it, my list of 10 Inventions That Have Made Life Easier. Go make your own!

So much to talk about that it’s hard to know where to begin, so I guess the beginning would be a good start. So let’s see…

Woke up around 10:30 or so and confirmed my appointment for tomorrow. Scared out of my mind for the blood work because, let’s face it, who wants giant needles in their arm? Oh, well, though. A bit later, Katie (Matt’s brother’s fiancee, and a good friend of mine) called me to let me know that she’d be over to pick me up in a little while. I got dressed, emailed with my mom, and headed downstairs to wait.

Katie and I headed back to her place, where we sat around for a bit, mopped her kitchen floor, and chatted while playing with her daughter (my niece), Lannah. We went looking for Matt’s cousin to see if she’d watch Lannah while we went to the gym, but she wasn’t home. However, we saw a much more disturbing sight on the way to her place. We pulled onto a small side road and saw a boy (around 13 or so) on the ground with three boys on top of him, kicking and punching him while he flailed around. We locked our doors and rolled up our windows (I don’t care if they were 13, we weren’t taking any chances, as they were obviously not friendly to begin with) and as we were pulling into the parking lot we saw one of the boys’ faces - it turns out it was Matt’s cousin’s son. The son of the woman we were going to go find. I believe Katie’s going to talk to his mother later, and since we had no way of getting ahold of the police or anything and since the boys fled the scene, we couldn’t really do anything. I can honestly say it was scary though. I can’t imagine what young boys would have to fight that much about, really.

Anyway, Katie found a sitter for Lannah around 3:30ish and we headed out to the gym. I had my four photos taken for my medical tomorrow while Katie ran to the bank, and then we headed up and she had her orientation for the gym while I wandered around with them. Then we did a bit of cardio warm-up on the bike, the weight circuit, and then 5 minutes on the treadmill. We decided to stop there so we’re not too sore for the next couple days, and we’re going to go back Friday. I think having her around will really help my motivation, and I hope I can do the same for her!

After that, we decided to go swimming (even though the sun and heat and humidity had all but disappeared by this point) so she took me back to my apartment so I could put on my swimsuit and grab a towel, and we headed out to the lake. We swam for about a half hour, in ice cold water, talking about how we’d waited a year to do this again. Regardless of how cold it was, it felt fantastic and I think it was a great way to relax my muscles down after a nice workout.

After this, I came home and made BLTs with Matt, played some EQ2, and am sitting here just relaxing. Tomorrow, I’m going to clean up the apartment during the day, and then head out to the doctor for my medical, and then the hospital for my X-rays and blood work. All in all, it was a great day. Summer’s officially here!

So a little while ago I was approached to do a short video about work safety for a contest, to win a Wii. I’ve wanted a Wii for some time now but didn’t want to spend that sort of money on it, so of course I decided to enter my video!

I might look like a complete cheeseball, and I’m well aware of this, but I think you should go vote for me anyway! Please?

Work Safety - FOLLOW THE SIGNS!

If you don’t know already, I’m the one in a black top, talking about people following directions on signs.

There are quite a few of you lately that are going through unspeakable problems. Things that most people wouldn’t think would happen to good people, and yet they are. I won’t go into detail what they are, or who you are, because I’m sure you already know that I’m talking about you.

I do, however, want you to know that I’m here for you. I can’t do a lot from this far away, but I can always be an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on. So many of you have done the same for me that I am not only incredibly grateful, but I do believe that “paying it forward” means as much as “paying it back” and you just deserve to vent.

I don’t know if the advice I give helps, but I do know that I’m always here if you need a kind word or an idea from another perspective. Until things get better for you, know that every day you’re all in my thoughts, because you are my friends.