Dear Diary,

It is Friday eve, my favorite day of the week. I spent yesterday tidying up around the house. I am surprised Buster has any dog hair left. With what I found on the floor I could create and entirely new dog.

I wanted the house to look nice, we have some friends in town and we are meeting at our place. Craig and Christine are fellow Gators from Minneapolis. He is taking his wife on a coastal tour of California for her birthday and we are one of the pit stops.

We are taking them to the Buckeye Roadhouse. It is a fabulous place not far from us. I hope they like it, the ambiance is great.

This weekend is supposed to be somewhat rainy…boo. I was hoping to soak up some rays before our trip to MN. It is quite easy to be tanner than people in MN.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

I finally made it to the gym yesterday. I took a spin class at Crunch. The instructor was adorable. His name was Fernando and he was so nice. What a great teacher…and that bod, it made me keep pedaling.

Of course, I went home and ate my own weight in Sun Chips. So, any calories burned from class were filled back up with their crunchy goodness.

This will be a low-key weekend, since we are headed to Minneapolis next weekend for the baptism of Jeff’s niece. It will be nice to see Jeff’s mom for Mother’s Day. Also, Jeff’s bro-in-law is making his famous wings and ribs. Wow, my life really is all about food.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

It was nice and cool out today. This is the perfect weather to take a big fat nap and try to recover from Vegas. Man, that sure makes me feel old. I can not hang like I used to. Is it sad that I am jealous of the twenty-somethings who can go all night, then hit the pool the next day with their flat tummy. The pool wouldn’t let me in, they said my belly looked the underside of a dolphin.

We are getting some great donations for my 3-Day page. We are bribing people to win. If you make the first donation of the day when we announce it, you win a Dolly Parton Booby Prize. This includes her collector’s edition CD which is autographed, her official tour book and a t-shirt  from the tour. Plus, everyone who donates gets registered for an autographed guitar signed by Dolly. It was so cool for her to get on board.

I feel like I started my training for the walk in Vegas. I am still feeling the shin splints…or just old.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

Vegas was such a blast, the weekend was over too quickly. I had a limo pick us up from the airport to take us to the hotel. Of course, on the way back we took a cab. I did not win big this weekend. In fact, lady luck was out of town and not helping me at all.

Jeff did well…at least until he had to lend me money. We had some of the best food ever, the restaurants are so good. I think I ate enough food this weekend to satisfy three people. Yikes…time to diet.

We went to the shops in Caesar’s Palace. We saw Britney Spears in the there. She was in town for her concert tour at the MGM. She is tiny and there is no way she is pregnant. That stomach was flat as a board and had ab muscles for days.

The people watching is my favorite part. Between the 20-year old d-bag dudes and the sassy cougars…I couldn’t stop laughing. Good times.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Jack Bauer or House !

Check out the photos from our Fox 24 & House contest! You had to send us a photo of you imitating either Jack Bauer from 24 or Dr. Gregory House from House! When we suggested you get a shot running from a burning building we were kidding… but Look!

Dear Diary,

Jeff’s birthday is finally here. I am so excited. I have so many things planned. He knows we are going to Vegas, but he doesn’t know what I have in store for him.

First off, I have car coming to take us to the airport, then I have a limo waiting for us at the Vegas airport with champagne. Tonight, we have dinner reservations at the restaurant at the top of the Palms Hotel. It is supposed to have a spectacular view.

During the day, we are hitting the pool. We both love to bake in the sun with a good book…well, he is in the sun. I am under a giant umbrella with 60-sunscreen

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

Yesterday was day 3 in hot temps. The dogs and I did a repeat of Monday…we laid on the floor in front of the fans…and panted. I haven’t packed for Vegas…I am way behind schedule. However, it is 30-degrees warmer upstairs, it is  like an oven.

I asked Jeff if he wanted to get a hotel room for the night, but we figured we should save money for this weekend.

We also skipped cooking in the kitchen and made salads. That would normally be healthy except for the quart of chunky blue cheese dressing I poured all over it.

It is supposed to cool down today, loving that. We leave for Vegas tomorrow…hee hee.

Talk to you tomorrow,

THE AVERAGE BEER DRINKER CONSUMES 44,200 EXTRA CALORIES A YEAR . . . AND PUTS ON 12 EXTRA POUNDS:

If you’re trying to lose some weight . . . (–and who isn’t?) . . . then the first thing you might want to cut out of your diet is . . . ALCOHOL. Why?

–Because, according to Britain’s Department of Health, the average wine drinker takes in 2,000 extra calories a month . . . or 24,000 extra calories a year . . . just from alcohol.

–Over the course of a year, those extra calories add up to SEVEN extra pounds of FAT.

–And drinking just FIVE BEERS a week adds an extra 44,200 calories a year from alcohol . . . which is the equivalent of eating 221 doughnuts.

–Overall, that adds up to 12 extra pounds of fat a year . . . or one pound a month. And listen to this . . .

–If you drink an average of two glasses of wine every day . . . which is about one bottle every two days . . . then by the end of the year you’ll have packed on an additional 28 POUNDS in fat just from alcohol. (!!!)

(Daily Telegraph)

(–If you’re wondering, an average 4-ounce glass of wine generally has about 100 calories . . . and an average beer contains about 170 calories.)

Dear Diary,

Monday was a scorcher. I couldn’t believe how hot it was. I had big plans for the day, however, the heat sucked it all out of me. I would love to be thinner for this trip. Oops…I am starting the big diet after Vegas. I have to…my 3-Day fundraising depends on it.

More on that later:)

There was no breeze and no AC, so it was about 90-degrees in our bedroom. That is awesome. The dogs and I just sat in the house panting…all three of us.

I think Jeff and I will invest in a room AC unit if the Summer is going to be like this. I now these temps are rare, but I don’t think we want to end up sleeping in the basement…that is where the sewage tank is…yum.

Two more days until Vegas, I am so excited.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

Our Eat & Greet at ARF on Friday was so much fun. I did not go home with a new dog, though. The timing just wasn’t right, as much as I would like a new addition to the household. I am going to help them out with their Paws on Parade event on May 3rd. It sounds fantastic.

This weekend was gorgeous, the weather was warm and perfect. Jeff and I laid out to catch some rays. We don’t want to look too pale for our Vegas adventure this week.  He turns 30 on Thursday, so we are go to celebrate in sin city.

I have a ton of errands to run this week to get ready, plus I am still working on the gift. Nothing like waiting until the last minute…oops.

I have some tricks up my sleeve for our trip, it should be a blast. I am so looking forward to it.

Talk to you tomorrow,