Got me some Hot Pants!

So...my dreams have come true!

All I have to do to lose two jean sizes is to wear a pair of "hot pants" every night for two weeks.

Count.
Me.
In.

It popped up on my email today. It's the Groupon Deal-of-the-Day. Only $26 (regular $71) for a pair of bike-short lookin' pants that are supposed to "smooth thighs and other dimple-prone areas by galvanizing the skin's internal zamboni to promote a deep warming of body tissues and promote lymphatic drainage. This process boosts sweating by up to 80% and aids in eliminating the toxins responsible for cellulite. Ladies can sport HotPants alone or under other clothing while awake and active, asleep in bed, or executing a series of high kicks when sleepwalking." (Hmmm...cute copy to boot!) The pants are supposedly made of a comfortable bioceramic material (can you imagine wearing bioceramic material??!!!) that emits *~*infrared rays*~* to help wearers naturally and efficiently amp up weight-loss regimens.

Here's what they look like:

I assure you, I will NOT look like that while wearing them, not for the next two weeks, at least. Or even for the next two months. So, I'll wear them in my sleep, if I can stand it.

And yes. I ordered them. Of course.

Actually, I accidently clicked the "order" button, but then I thought the Universe might be sending me a message and I decided against cancelling the order.

If you'd like to have your very own pair of Hot Pants, click on this link to order.

Really, something's gotta give. I do yoga two days a week, but that's more for sanity than anything else. I've signed up to do Jazzercize again, and will begin next Tuesday. Three days a week. I'm determined. That, combined with my healthy-eating regime and the Hot Pants to make me sweat my fat away, and watch out...I may just end up being the skinny hottie was meant to be! (wink-wink.)

There's only 3 days left to order at the incredible low, low price! Let's start a Hot Pants sensation!!!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan 



T.G.I.F.

TGIF!

No, I'm not talking about the restaurant, although I do have good memories of TGIF in Highland Village in Jackson. If you remember it, you're old like me. I loved the colorful Tiffany-style lights above each booth and I remember how sophisticated my friends and I felt when we sat in the bar. 

Back in the day, the legal drinking age in Mississippi was 18, and we'd order up exotic drinks like tequila sunrises or Singapore slings. But I digress....

TODAY. IS. FRIDAY!!!!!

It's been a long week, and even though I have an extremely full day, just knowing it's the end of the week helps me to give a sigh of relief, knowing that the pace can slow just a little bit this weekend.

I am wearing multiple hats these days, but I'm not complaining. I wanted more work, and I'm getting it. My day started yesterday with a meeting at the Gulfport Police Station. I met with the Chief of Police, and someone from Parks & Rec. about the Walk to Defeat ALS I'm coordinating. It will be March 31 at the old V.A. Hospital. The place is better suited for a haunted house. It would be the ideal place to shoot a horror movie. But it does have pretty live oak trees and it's the ideal place for a fundraising walk. I think it's hauntingly beautiful...check out this video and see for yourself: Centennial Plaza.

Next I drove up Highway 49 and stopped in at Mt. Olive's City Hall, where I met with the mayor and the guy who runs their water system. 

I'm doing work for the Mississippi Rural Water Association and my assignment was to write a feature article about the Mt. Olive water system for the Association's in-house magazine, The Faucet. The water guy was about as enthusiastic about water as a dog is with a bone. He loves his job and wanted to tell me all about water pressure, additives, valves, water tanks, pumps...my head was spinning, but I got all the information I need to write the article. 

Then it was up the road to a little slice of Heaven I like to call Donna's #6 Produce. 

I do their facebook business page posts and I had to take some new photos to use online. While there, I picked up some Florida strawberries (they smell divine...) and a sack full of white sweet potatoes. I've only had those one other time, when I was in high school (another very old memory) at my friend's deer camp. Later today, in-between writing about water systems and working on the ALS walk, I'm going to look up some recipes for white sweet potatoes. 

The day ended with a "sip and see" at Leslie Puckett's house, where I got to meet her new granddaughter, Autumn, who is visiting from Alaska. The best part of the night (besides seeing Autumn's little pink painted toes), was seeing her meet her cousins Liam and Spencer for the first time. It was fun seeing Leslie with all her little chickens.

Thank God It's Friday!!!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Waking up in Different Places

For the tenth time this month, I've awakened in a bed different from my own. It's been a busy month!

My first trip was to Jefferson, Texas for the annual Girlfriend Weekend. Now, it wasn't just a weekend trip with a bunch of girls. It is a full-out literary adventure, with over 40 authors and 300 book club women from across the country talking about books.

In. Jefferson. Texas.

  I know....


Kathy Patrick, THE Pulpwood Queen, has put together quite an event, born years ago in her interesting business, Beauty and the Book--part hair salon, part independent bookstore.

This was my third year to attend, and my sister, Sarah, went with me this year. She just had to see what it was all about. In the past, Pat Conroy and Fannie Flagg have been there. This year, John Berent (Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, etc.)

 and Tina Sloan (she played the character of Lilian Raines on "The Guiding Light" for a hundred years) were there. She wrote a fantastic book called "Changing Shoes." Read about it here.

We all had a ball.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast called The Captain's Castle.

It was my second year to stay in Bill and Angie Herlocker's beautiful inn. Staying in a B&B is so much more fun than staying in a generic hotel. Getting dressed and eating a wonderful breakfast at the dining room table with other guests is a great way to really know about a place, and to meet other folks. We met a vacationing family from Austin, some of the authors who were in for Girlfriend Weekend, and a mother-daughter pair who were in for the weekend.

I had a two-day turnaround at home before heading up to Nashville for the ALS Association Winter Walk Forum at the Opryland Hotel. I stayed with my bestest pal, Carol Terry, so I had to get up super early every day to drive to Opryland. It was worth it for the brief visits we got to have.

After a whirlwind grocery shopping trip at Trader Joe's in Nashville Saturday, I drove home, only to turn around again on Tuesday morning to drive to Bay St. Louis on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast for an events conference. I had never been to Bay St. Louis, but I'll go back. It is the cutest, quaintest little town filled with wonderful antique shops, restaurants and the nicest people ever!

Today I woke up to a severe thunderstorm. I could have just stayed in that nice hotel room all morning, but I had to get up and drive to Gulfport for an 8:30am meeting with the Police Chief and Brittany Dyess from Parks & Rec. about the ALS walk I'm coordinating on the Coast. (Check it out: Walk to Defeat ALS, March 31, Gulfport, MS.)

Yep, I've been a girl-on-go, but so has Nicole...she's had speaking engagements all over the state this month. This morning she's in Tupelo, speaking to a group of high schoolers for the American Lung Association. I'm so proud of how she's turned a tragedy into a way to inspire so many others.

It's 10:30 now, and I'm just sipping on my first cup of coffee for the day, watching the rain outside PJ's Coffee Shop in Gulfport. It looks like the sun is trying hard to peak through the clouds.

Here's praying I make it home safely today. I'll look forward to laying my head on my own pillow tonight.

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan