#WeirdWednesday Oddities & Fun from All Over

Normally this would be a #WriteWed and yet, this has been a weird week so far for a variety of reasons. So today I’m sharing some weird things I’ve come across this week on my travels across the web! Hope they bring a laugh or surprise or a what were they thinking?

Stumpy’s Hatchet House is opening in Eatontown, NJ. Beer and sharp blades? What could go wrong?

Spinner Shark v. Standup Paddleboarder. I went to the store to buy a small paddleboard this weekend. Even small was too big for my ride and my storage area. 🙁 I guess this is God’s way of telling me that a SUP is not in my future.

Sawfish Shark Encounter & Happy Ending. There are not that many of these toothy creatures and when one fisherman snagged one, a number of people got together to help release this unique shark.

The Catterbox is here! No, it’s not a fancy litter box for your fur baby, it’s a collar that’s a translator so you can know what your cat is thinking (or maybe not know in the case of some felines).

Just how much ice is in that iced coffee? A woman has sued Starbucks for putting too much ice in its iced coffee. IMHO, there’s too much ice in their teas as well. Mini-me and me bought one the other day and it didn’t take long for us to run out of beverage and have just a big cup of ice.

And now last, but not least, I dare you not to go awwwww. Animal Photos of the week.

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#ManCandyMonday Baseball Player Sam Fuld

I’m back! I’ve been busy doing some research for the new Bridesmaids series, now tentatively titled The Jersey Girl Bridesmaids, and getting to some major chores that needed to get done.

Things are good otherwise and I hope they are good with you!

Since one of the things I’ve managed to sneak in is some Mets games on TV, today’s Man Candy choice is Sam Fuld who is currently an outfielder for the Oakland Athletics. Sam is known for his acrobatic catches and for also being a full-time player with Type 1 diabetes. Sam was also a high school and college All-American who married his high school sweetheart.

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By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (Sam Fuld Uploaded by Detredwings1139) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#ThrowbackThursday Magical Days of Youth

Sometimes there are days that just stick out in your memory. These photos are from one of those days when we were kids. We hadn’t been in the U.S. all that long. Two or three years at the most. My family and some friends went out to Long Island for picnic. It was a glorious day and my sister, brother, and me all remember it well.

I remember those saddle shoes as well. I hated them. I’d always manage to scuff up the white and my saintly grandfather would clean and polish them to whiteness again.

And my parents, in immigrant fashion I think, always dressed sis and me alike. Kind of Sound of Music-style, right? Still, none of that could detract from the memories of this fun day.

In the first picture, that’s my mom in the middle. My dad is off to the left behind sis. My brother is in the maroon shirt behind me in the first photograph and then behind sis and me. A dear family friend, Albertico, is off to the far right in the first photo.
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#WednesdayWisdom The Freedom of Books

When I was a kid, we didn’t have much. Things were tough in some ways. I was a stranger in a strange land and there was sadness about a lot of things. There wasn’t a lot of money, but there was family and support. Those things do make a big difference in a child’s life. Unfortunately, too many children today lack that family structure.

There were also books. My mom and grandmother were both avid readers and they instilled that love of books in me.

With books, I could go anywhere. I could escape into worlds that were new and different and exciting. I learned new words. In fact, when my parents sacrificed to buy us an encyclopedia set, I read through the entire set and I would do the vocabulary tests in the back and challenge myself to expand my vocabulary.

My mother delighted in that because she knew all that knowledge from those books would help me in life. That it would set me free to do whatever I wanted.

I still read. Not as much as I would like due to time constraints, but any moment that I can, I read the news, magazines, papers, and of course, books.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here since I know so many of you are avid readers. I just hope I can reach someone else to let them know that the power to succeed is something they can hold in their hands.

The power to succeed can be found in a book.

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#TuesdayTip Jumpstart Your Day with Breakfast

There are lots of reasons that breakfast is an important way to start your day. For starters, your body’s metabolism has been in a resting state since the night before and you want to jumpstart that metabolism and get it going. That in turn will burn more calories which can help you maintain/lose weight. Plus, it will help avoid snacking on foods that are high in fat and sugar.

Breakfast will also help you reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Here are some articles for you to check out on why breakfast is so important:

I started skipping breakfast and you know what I found? I was snacking more during the day and at night and losing weight was harder. So today, I’m back to eating breakfast and starting my day with a healthy bowl of oatmeal! I’ll let you know what difference it makes in my life soon!
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#ManCandyMonday Nico Tortorella

Nico first caught my eye in the first season of The Following. Sadly, he played one of the bad guys and I kept on hoping for his redemption because he was so cute! Now Nico is the love interest on Younger. I haven’t watched it, but that doesn’t mean Nico doesn’t keep on catching my eye. LOL!

Thanks to Nico’s Instagram feed for this photo.

made it to la like. @kylekriegerhair 📸

A photo posted by nicotortorella (@nicotortorella) on

For more on Nico, check out this fun Buzzfeed interview with him!

#FitnessFriday Abs Workout from Popsugar

It’s almost summer and with it, concerns about how you look, especially your abs. More importantly, strengthening your core is something you need to do for health reasons, but what if you don’t go to the gym and have lots of equipment.

Well, you don’t need a gym or equipment for a lot of workouts, like this one from Popsugar. Even better, it’s only 10 minutes long and who doesn’t have 10 minutes to improve their health?

I also like what I think is an alternative to the burpees everyone is always going on about (see minute 1 of the slide back and forth). I have issues with my big toes (seriously, I do) and that move back onto them in the burpee is painful.

If you have a Swiss ball, do a similar move that’s called a prone jacknife to help with those lower abs.

Click here if you can’t see the Popsugar video and please visit their site at www.popsugar.com. They have lots of awesome workouts, fashion, recipes and tips for you!