Some Restrictions May Apply

So if you haven't heard I've been entering on-line sweepstakes lately. Quite a few actually. It's kind of like an obsession. No really... HELP ME!!

It started after I found a little site called MouseSavers.com. It's about all things Disney of course, and they have a page that lists all known currently running sweepstakes that can win you a trip to Disneyland or DisneyWorld. So I started entering those, 'cause I love Disneyland. Then I started entering a few others here and there, and finding other sweepstakes sites, and before I knew it, I was entering 100's of sweepstakes a day.

Being the computer nerd that I am I have some nice macro's I've created that automates most of my entries. Shhhh, don't tell the sweepstakes people... they don't like that kind of thing. I have one macro that is almost 3,000 lines of code long. Still, it takes way too much of my free time, and I'd like to quit, but I just can't. I might win something. Hey it could happen! In fact I have already won several things, including but not limited to:

Several free phone calls from a Disney Princess (gave to a neighbor with little kids)
Starbucks gift card (they have hot chocolate don't they)
Hannah Montana Video Game for the PS2 (it's still in the shrink wrap)
$20 gift card for the Home Shopping Network (bought some reading glasses)
A bikini (no, I haven't tried it on)
$25 Buckle gift card (Haven't used it yet. Do they sell anything that doesn't have a skull on it?)
A salt cellar from Morton Salt (It's actually kind of nice - pretty wood)

And my latest major award...


Yes it's a $5 gift card to Macaroni Grill. I got TWO of them in fact!

Since you can't see the fine print at the bottom, I'll let you know what it says:

Some Restrictions may apply.

Of course... have you ever won anything that didn't have some restrictions?

Coupon must be presented to server.

Duh.

Alcohol not included

Personally I don't care. But maybe a drinker out there can tell me... does it matter to you that they will only take the $5 off your meal, and not your drinks? I mean it's $5 off either way, right?

Limit one certificate per visit.

Understandable. They don't want us blowing our whole $10 savings at one time. That could put them right out of business.

Cannot be combined with any other package or offer.

Again, if I were to use my $5 certificate combined with say, a 10% off coupon... bye bye Macaroni Grill.

So that's it...

OH, WAIT... there is one more little teeny tiny restriction down there in the fine print...

Valid at Niagara Falls location only.

LEAPIN' LIPIDS!!

Blood doesn't lie people... Markie is officially healthier. BYU has a wellness program. They have challenges, and give awards, yadda yadda. They also take our blood every year. It just so happened that they took my blood this year on the same day as they did last year - exactly 365 days apart. I thought that was kinda cool. What was cooler was the results.

As my blog fans are aware I made a resolution to lose some weight this year, and no one was more shocked than me that I actually did it. Over 40 pounds in fact. Now in all honesty I haven't lost any weight in several months... but I haven't gained any either. I have dramatically slacked off on exercise over the past couple months. I have plenty of excuses for this...

1) they changed the schedule at the BYU gym so that classes are now being taught during the lunch hour that I used to work out in.
2) My quiet summer with no students is over, and I've been much busier at work.
3) A student and professor that I was playing racquetball with both sustained foot injuries and haven't been able to play for a couple months.
4) Cherie has been laid up with health prob's, and now is recovering from surgery. (I was playing racquetball with her two or three days a week).
5) The fall TV lineup has started.

I'm hoping that once I can get back into a good exercise routine I can lose those last 20 pounds or so I'd like to get rid of. Still, I was very excited to see the results of my blood test today, and had to share them with the world. So here they are:


Now I'm no nurse; I have no idea what a lipid is, and I don't really understand what these numbers mean or even if they are statistically significant. But even I can see that in every category my numbers have clearly improved. Particularly that Happy-Dolphin-Loving good cholesterol which went up 10 points, and that Low-Down-Lily-livered bad cholesterol which dropped a whopping 17 points! Snaps for Me!!

Calling All Apps!!

Thanks to my sweet honey, and a very strange and fortuitous sequence of events, I am now the proud owner of an IPod Touch!! So I am sending a shout-out asking you to tell me your favorite Apps. I haven't even turned it on yet, and have no idea what it comes with, but once I do I have a feeling I'm going to need some apps, and need them quick. I also have a feeling this could lead to some serious texting... eeeek!

It's Ginormous!!

That's my Cougar!

This picture was in today's Daily Universe.

The Other Thing We Did

The other thing we did last weekend was go to the Utah Olympic Park. We went there after hanging out with Cat Deeley. It was kinda cool - We watched the bobsleders for a while. We didn't do it ourselvers onacuz it's $60 each and lasts for about a 90 seconds.

We also watched the kids do ski jumps into the pool. We found out however, that on Saturday they were having a big event with the BIG BOYS doing extreme inverted aerial maneuvers, and also the loooong ski jumpers would be out; plus a band, bbq, etc. So we went back up on Saturday. It was amazing. These guys can FLY!!

More Info...

So yesterday was Pioneer Day - another great reason to live in Utah, an extra holiday! It was also the day for the Salt Lake City tryouts for season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance. Cherie & I decided to go check out the spectacle. We had very low expectations. I pictured an enormous crowd, a parking nightmare, and very little chance of seeing any of the cast.

As it turned out the crown wasn't very large, and we got a parking spot right in front of the entrance to the theater:



This picture of Cat was taken by Cherie out the front window of the car:


We strolled up and down the line taking pictures of the interesting people there, and talking to a few of them. We talked to one young man who's fiance, a BYU graduate, was inside auditioning. He said she was really good. Her name is Alyse (sounds like Uh-Lease). We're hoping she makes it.

We posed for a few pictures standing in line, but we weren't really "in line", and we never entered the theater. Apparently not even family or friends were allowed inside. this was an open casting call, and the judges weren't present. Only the very best, and of course the very worst, would be called back for auditions before the judges today. And, no... we didn't go back today to try and get a glimpse of Mary Murphy.

Somebody important came out for interviews yesterday and I'm curious who it is. If you recognize the guy in the white shirt on my slide show in the "Behind The Scenes" section, let me know. My guess is he's a producer, or executive of some sort.

Cat Deely came out a few times in the 45 minutes or so that we were there. Once to give a brief interview to some reporter types, once to film a short segment with the crowd, and once more to hop into a limo and take off.

I always pictured Cat as a giantess. She looks so tall on TV. But she was just regular sized; kinda short compared to me. I guess most dancers must just be very short people who make her look tall in comparison. She was very cute and bubbly like on TV while giving her interview and filming her segments, but she didn't spend any time shaking hands, or posing for pictures. She was all business.

Also, the personal assistants, and body guards surrounding her were not very nice or bubbly at all. They didn't like people taking pictures and tried to keep us from doing it. I even got a warning not to post my pictures on-line - shaaaw right.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and we have a few people that we will be looking for when the SLC auditions air in September. After hanging out with Cat we went on to do something else very cool and fun... but that's another blog post. :o)