It’s been awhile since I made a list of things I like right now…enjoy!

I really want this tshirt but I have wayyyy too many tshirts already:

Chip On My Shoulder tee

Perfect for summer, the seatless beach chair. How many times have I gone to the beach and wished I had something to lean back on? Nifty, light, and very portable. I like! I’m not too keen on the price though. $50?? It is a cool concept though.

I am loving these new Belkin laptop holders: Belkin PocketTop. Not only does it act as a lap cushion so you don’t burn your thighs but it also has a nice pocket to hold your charger in!

Ok, only true geeky web developer girls are gonna like this: Html head earrings!

Look what we caught…

a freaking sandshark!!

And a stingray!!

Fun times.

There’s word that the new Harry Potter book is already on BitTorrent. If you want it, you can search for it on The Pirate Bay.

I’m officially on HARRY POTTER SPOILER WATCH. As in, don’t talk to me about Harry at ALL. I do not want the last book spoiled for me!!! I will immediately go into “sticking my fingers in my ear, singing la la la” mode as soon as someone mentions Har—–.

In other news, I’m going to the midnight Harry Potter party on friday at the new B&N that opened at Westside Pavillion. Anyone want to join in the fun/dorkiness? I’ve never gone before and I figure this will be my last chance. The line is drawn at dressing up in Harry Potter garb (but only because I don’t own any haha).

Also, I will def tear up if/when Harry dies. Ahhhh, I can’t wait to read the last book!

I’ve been on a hunt for a healthy alternative drink that isn’t overloaded with sugar. Especially now with my reoccuring kidney stone problem :( I just got over a kidney infection but while I was going through it I drank a lot of cranberry juice. I just noticed from this list of the top 7 sugar filled drinks that most cranberry drinks have a lot of sugar in them because it is such a bitter fruit! That sucks, I guess I will stick to drinking it only if I get another infection. I will also start avoiding orange sodas as several of them made the list! Darn, I love sunkist!

Top 7 sugar filled drinks:

1. Hype
2. Minute Maid Cranberry Grape
3. Tropicana Twister Orange Soda
4. Sunkist Orange Soda
5. Fanta Orange
6. Sun Drop
7. Sobe Adrenaline Rush

Visit the list for full nutritional information.

I was just reading this MSN article about 10 restaurant secrets. Some were pretty obvious and others not as much. Either way, it’s good to know if you like to eat out a lot.

The article summarized:

1. Everything is rigged in the restaurant to get you to spend more, including the menu, lighting, colors, etc. For example, they’ll list the most profitable dishes first and bury the least profitable one somewhere in the middle.
2. Waiters will go to work sick. They are usually not making much and can’t afford to stay home from work. Stats say 58% of restaurant workers go to work sick!
3. Markups at restaurants are very high. Yes, your coke only costs the restaurant about 15 to 20 cents!
4. More and more restaurants have cameras now so don’t think about stiffing the check. They are also there to prevent employee theft of wine bottles and such.
5. Be careful of cheap substitutes when ordering seafood. Out of 24 US cities, there was a 50% chance that you did not get the fish that you ordered. Another easy scam is to label crabcakes as “Maryland-style” versus Maryland. If they are “style”, then it wasn’t made from crabs from the Chesapeake Bay.
6. Reservations are not always a guarantee. Most places will overbook and count on a certain number of no shows.
7. Specials sometimes aren’t so special but instead make use of the day before’s leftovers.
8. Restaurants have no reservations in adding tons of butter and calorie-heavy addons to your food. Restaurant meals average 1000 to 1500 calories!
9. Your waiter/waitress doesn’t always get all of your tip. Many restaurants practice in using a tip pool where all of the night’s tips are divided amongst the people working in the restaurant including sometimes the management!
10. Never eat out on a monday, it’s mostly the weekend’s leftovers.

Click here to read the full article.

Boyrobot and I finally sat down and watched Sicko online for free last night. For all of you anti-Michael Moore peeps, I’m well aware of his tactics to twist the truth to get his point across. But in the end, he does point out a glaring fact…there is a huge problem with our health care system.

Some stats:

About 18,000 people a year die prematurely because they lack insurance.

People file for bankruptcy at a rate of one every 30 seconds because of medical bills.

The average employer-based family premium rose 87 percent from 2000 to 2006, to $11,500.

Fewer than 60 percent of people under 65 have employer coverage, down from 70 percent in 1987.

It was truly heartbreaking hearing some of the stories: a mother watching her baby die because the hospital refused to service her because they were not under the Kaiser Network insurance she had, an older couple who are forced into bankrupty because the husband has had multiple heart attacks while the wife discovers she has cancer, or countless 9/11 HEROES suffering from respiration problems who are unable to seek the treatment they need because they cannot afford to. There were so many stories.

The film made us so thankful for our health. Even though we live very comfortable lives, you never know what will happen tomorrow. And with the insane amounts of money that hospitals and prescription medicine companies are allowed to charge you, how can the average american sustain a medical emergency….EVEN with insurance! As the movie pointed out, in Cuba a particular prescription cost the patient 5 cents, while in the US it was over $100 for the same exact medicine! Here are some out of pocket expenses for common medical bills:

Average day in hospital: $7,157
Burst appendix: $48,151
Fractured ankle, and a tib-fib fracture: $101,790

Do those prices seem right to you? When I was in Peru, I spent a day in the hospital including my own suite at night, had multiple blood tests, an IV, urine test, and ultrasound. Do you know what my total was? Less than $150, without insurance.

I don’t really understand a lot about the healthcare system and how it all works, but one thing is apparent: politicians and healthcare companies are greedy and working together to screw us over

After watching the movie, I also realized I REALLY want to move to France.

Go watch the movie, it’s free!

Hilarious Dilbert post on why he wants a lucky president
The right way to pour ketchup
Interesting Yelp review
Whole Foods CEO gets caught making fake posts on yahoo msgboards – Oh boy…how embarassed is this guy right now??
Did you know today is Cow Appreciation Day? – dress up like a cow and get a free chick-fil-a combo meal

Saw Order of the Phoenix last night!!!! Despite being my least favorite book, I loved the movie version. It was the first Harry Potter movie that I clapped at the end for. Some other comments:

– There were a couple of scenes that made me jump, fun stuff
– I really hate how they portrayed Cho Chang
– Radcliffe is growing up fast, his glasses are too small for him now!
– Hermione is so cute! Her hair has calmed down and I loved her outfits in the movie
– Loved the scene with the Weasley twins leaving Hogwarts. They are awesome.

Fodor’s Top 10 Harry Haunts

Can’t wait for the last book!

Here are some quick and easy tips for the kitchen using regular household items in ways you never thought of:

If you need to keep a lid on a pot ajar, try clamping on binder clips onto the pot

Use your leftover square tissue boxes to keep grocery bags

Next time you need to chop up some herbs, try using a pizza slicer

Clean mushrooms by putting them with water in a ziploc bag

To drain spinach: after thawing it squeeze spinach water while it’s still in the box.

Spray PAM on avocados to keep them green.

Chill a hot beer or soda in 3 minutes

Anyone who knows me knows that I looooove french fries! It’s my guilty pleasure. Anyways, I ran across this french fry comparison for all of the fast food places.

From the chart, I’m not sure if it’s because of the amount they give you but Sonic wins for having the least amount of calories. Too bad I never get fries when I go there. The most unhealthy fries goes to Dairy Queen which I also never order fries from. Unfortunately one of my favorites, McDonald’s is definitely up there. Oh well!

Tips:

If you’re dining out, as a quick rule of thumb, one french fry generally equals about 10 calories.

When nothing but french fries will hit the spot, opt for the small size which can save a lot of calories – sometimes over 300 calories!

Lycopene. You’ve probably heard it mentioned recently on the television, in commercials, in print and in the news. This powerful antioxidant is abundant in ketchup. Therefore, dip, dip, dip!

Also, for all of you french fry lovers…if you are ever in Gilroy (famous for their garlic), you MUST try their garlic fries. It’s a little piece of heaven! MMM, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.