I have gratitude today for...
* meeting Carlos from Coyote Crossing at the Ignite meeting.
* Andy coming to learn more about it tonight.
* dinner at Totaro's.

I have gratitude today for...
* WaWa Low-Fat Cappuccino
* making some good contacts at the home show.
* watching the Vita-Mix demo for the 100th time and finally taking the plunge and placing an order for one.
* Andy's homemade pizzas for dinner.
* catching up on Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Army Wives.

Taking the plunge!

I think I'm in love!

We've all been there. You see an infomercial and want to call the 800 # before they say "but wait, there's more!" Or, you're walking around Costco and you see a demo for some awesome 'something or other' and it takes more will power than you'd like to admit not to buy one on the spot. For me, it was the homeshow...year after year after year.

Now, let's talk about why I've found myself at one or more of the local home shows every year (almost) since 2006. I've worked in magazine and cable advertising for over five years, many of my clients have been home improvement oriented companies...they all exhibit at the home shows. I either go to visit clients, or go to find clients.  I question why people who don't have to be there would spend a beautiful sunny day at a home show...apparently people get really excited about free frisbees and chip clips.

It never fails, I find myself sucked into the demos. The magic mops, super absorbent towels, exercise equipment---these are the ones I watch for just a few minutes. As for the $2,000 pots & pans and the Vita-Mix; they've drawn me in for 15, 20 even sometimes 30 minutes. I stand there saying to myself "can this product possibly be worth the money?"

I've probably seen 8-10 Vita-Mix demonstrations. Assume I watched each one for 15 minutes (it's probably more like 20-30 minutes) and that's at least 2 hours of buying into the Vita-Mix hype. I tasted the samples. watched magic happen in that thing that looks like a blender but is presented as "so much more!" Every time I'd come home and read reviews and find nothing less than 5 stars no matter the source. Could this really be worth $400+?

After spending a Sunday afternoon in March distributing approximately 1,500 copies of Suburban Life magazine I willed myself to walk around and introduce myself to some of the exhibitors that could be potential advertisers. I rounded one of the corners and there it was, the Vita-Mix demo. It started with a sample of fruit juice, then salsa, then tortilla soup, then peach sorbet. My desire to buy this super-duper blender surged and I kept trying to tell myself I was crazy to even think about spending this kind of money on a blender. Albeit super-duper, it was still a blender and it cost a lot of money.

"It's not just a blender" the demo guy says, "it's a chopper, food-processor, dough maker, ice cream machine, juicer, blender-in-one. Think of all of the appliances you won't need to buy if you buy this one machine." He had a point. I've been working on our wedding registry and just added a number of the aforementioned appliances. They add up to well over $400. It's made in the US. It has an 8 year warranty.

The combination of the woman standing around the demo raving about the Vita-Mix she bought recently trying to convince her friend to buy one, my desire to incorporate more whole foods, fruits and vegetables into our diet, my desire to cut out processed foods as much as possible and the realization that I've been eyeing one of these for over 5 years made me do it.

Sign me up, I'm in. Here's my credit card. No looking back.

I took the plunge.

I have gratitude today for...
* a nice morning with Mom & Dad.
* my long talk with Debbie about the educational system, her layoff and possible outcomes. how she's feeling about the Michelle situation, friendship and what it means to be a good friend as an adult.
* my visit with Wendy, Ed, Sarah, Dean and Alison! She is such a cutie!! We talked about wedding stuff, Alison's birth story and made cookies.
* talking with Erin more about the wedding/being a bridesmaid/her being pregnant.
* going to look at bridesmaids dresses with Erin & Kelly. We found the one!
* yum Italian dinner with Andy, Kelly & Alex.
* Andy asking Alex to be in our wedding.
* a relaxing night watching the Flyers, baseball and The Office.
* looking through wedding magazines for unique ideas.

I have gratitude today for...
* getting stuff done in the office before my crazy day started.
* the nice guy at the warehouse that helped me get in to pick up magazines.
* a great meeting in Doylestown with Digital Forensics.
* getting to Yogaphoria early; it was nice to not be rushing for a change.
* attending the fantastic yoga class/seminar with Sean Corne. What a great birthday gift to share with Mom.
* dinner with Mom at Triumph Brewery.
* staying up late talking with Mom & Dad.
* remembering Erin today.