Think celebs don't understand what it's like to have a "real" job?

Think again...

•George Clooney - In his native Kentucky, Clooney sold men's suits and shoes and worked in department store stockrooms. He also cut tobacco, earning $3 an hour. Upon arriving in L.A., he did odd jobs for his aunt, singer-actress Rosemary Clooney, worked construction and cleaned a theater to pay for acting lessons.

•Katie Couric - CBS' perky evening anchor landed her first job as a desk assistant at ABC, where she worked for veteran news anchor Sam Donaldson.

•Ellen Degeneres - "The worst job I ever had -- and I lasted a half a day -- was I worked in a glove factory in Atlanta, Texas. It was horrible. I was checking for too many fingers or a hole or something and gloves would just go by ... Everything I did that was a nine-to-five job I hated ... I worked in a law firm. I was a court runner. I just hated being in an office."

•Faith Hill - Way before she was Mrs. Tim McGraw, selling more than 30 million records and earning countless awards, Faith Hill was trying to make it big in Nashville. Hill sold T-shirts at the renowned country music event Fan Fair, worked as a receptionist at a music-publishing company, and packaged fan merchandise for country legend Reba McEntire.

•John Krasinski - Before he was making us wish he worked in our office, John Krasinski was a script intern on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

•Vince Vaughn - If Vaughn ever decides to change careers, he could probably be pretty successful going back to his first job. Before he was a "Swinger" or "Wedding Crasher," the actor who's known for his quick-and-slick talking performances, worked as a telemarketer in Waukegan, Ill.

•Denzel Washington - His very first job at a local barbershop when he was just 11 years old. "I learned about business ... Just about the value of a dollar," Washington said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "I was brushing collars. I think my base salary was $11. And I could turn that into 50 if I was good."

LIVE & LOVE LIKE NEWLYWEDS

It's easy to get stuck in a "love rut." Ya know....living life the same way day after day with no excitement. Wanna change that? Well, Dr. Schwontkowski, author of the book "Partners for Life--50 Ways to Keep Your Love Honeymoon Fresh Forever" has some suggestions:

Plan and serve foods and beverages your lover likes. There are several ways to a man's heart, the stomach is one of them. The same holds true for women, and savvy guys and gals will take advantage by taking the time to prepare those favorite snacks, meals and refreshments as a token of their love.

Don't be stingy with the whoopee. And try to select love locations that your partner likes or finds adventurous and exciting. You don't always have to "go to bed."
Talk with your lover, and prepare yourself in advance for conversation that lasts awhile. If you have trouble starting a conversation, rely on topics that everyone is interested in and knows a little something about: Food, fond memories and friendly gossip come to mind.

Compliment your lover honestly, lavishly and often, both when you are alone and with other people. Whenever your lover does something that you appreciate, say so. Make sure you find something to praise every day, even if it's just "Thanks for putting the cap back on the toothpaste, dear," or "My don't you look good in that sweater."
Touch your lover's "oohhh baby" spots -- even when you're in public. Be discreet, but send a strong signal that you can't keep your mind -- or hands -- off your sweetie.
Don't think you have to be a centerfold to use this strategy -- you don't.

Give your lover a stress-busting massage every day. With practice you can go head to toe in five minutes, bonding all the way.

Have you written any love letters lately? If so, keep it up. If not start now -- and don't stop.

Say, "I love you," at least twice a day and even more when you can squeeze the words in. Everyone needs to feel loved and needed. Enough said.

Regularly set aside time to romance your lover for hours on end. This doesn't include regular morning or late-afternoon walks together, which are highly recommended for your health and for bonding as a couple.

Make your lover laugh every day. Practical jokes dished out in the spirit of fun can work wonders for a relationship. Or you can get up a few minutes early and find the best comic strip in the newspaper you can share.

Sexy At Home Date Night

Things are tough these days with the economy and everything. So, instead of expensive dinners and nights out, a lot of couples are finding creative ways to keep their "date nights" going at home!

Here's just one of Redbook's ideas for a cheap-but fun- stay at home date:

Have a cheese tasting. Go to a cheese shop or deli counter and pick out some new cheeses you haven't tried- step outside your comfort zone! Buy some crackers or bread and a favorite wine, some grapes or other fruit (apples go well with cheese).

At home, set the mood with candles, music or a romantic movie. Do some things you don't normally do at home (like using your good dinnerware or having fancy cocktails).

Burn calories at work? Yup! You can!

Finding time to go to the gym can be tough when your day is already jam-packed. So, when you don't have time for a workout, here are some ways you can burn calories at work ...

1. Make the most of your commute. Walk or bike to work, if you can. If you use mass transit, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way. If you drive to work, park at the far end of the parking lot. Every little bit helps!

2. Stand! You burn more calories standing than sitting, so try standing while talking on the phone. Eat lunch standing up. Take brisk walks around the office when you can.

3. Get social. Organize a lunchtime walking group when the weather is nice. Even a 15 or 20-minute walk each day can make a difference.

4. Pick up the pace. If your job involves walking, do it faster!

5. If you travel for work, plan ahead. Waiting in an airport? Take a brisk walk through the terminal. Choose a hotel that has a gym or pool or bring equipment with you.


Source: MSN Health & Fitness

High School Friend in Haiti Day Before Earthquake

This is Jill, a friend from high school who was in Haiti the day before the earthquake on a missions trip. Here's a little of what Jill's been sharing with her friends on Facebook:

Jill E. Konopka- PLEASE keep my friends Kim and Erin in your prayers...They're still in HAITI right now... Part of the School at the Orphanage I stayed at COLLAPSED :0(

Jill E. Konopka- Thanks to all for the MESSAGES -- TEXTS and PHONE CALLS; I'm ok...PLEASE PRAY though for KIM CORNELL AND ERIN GRAFFAM they returned to the ORPHANAGE today and there's no food or water supplies, electricity and they ...can't enter any of the buildings because they are now structurally UNSAFE!

Giancarlo DiRoma- From http://www.christianhaitianoutreach.org/-Haiti Earthquake Update:Dr. Franco is at the orphanage in Haiti. He has reported that the children are all fine. Mom Workman is home in Miami. Some structural damage to the school has been reported. We will continue to update this information as we hear more. The only ccommunications at this time is by email. Please continue to pray for CHO and the nation of Haiti.

Jill E. Konopka- PLEASE RAISE MONEY FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI and GET THOSE DONATIONS TO YOUR LOCAL CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS -- WYCLEF's ORGANIZATION 'YELE HAITI' or C.H.O. the Orphanage I stayed at ...by sending money to their MIAMI OFFICE! http://www.christianhaitianoutreach.org/

Haiti and how you can help

The devastation in Haiti is immense and the Red Cross is in desperate need of donations. If you'd like to help make a donation, you can text the word Haiti to 90999 and a donation of $10 will be sent to the Red Cross and will be billed to your cell phone bill.

REALLY?!?

Is this seriously what we've come to? Do you love your iPhone so much that you wish you could sleep with it at night? Now you can! Check out this duvet cover and pillow case designed to look like the touchscreen phone.

Introducing: The Shoe Pants!

Ok, so this is kinda cool. A designer named Sebastian Errazuriz has come up with the ultimate piece of clothing for people who sleep through their alarm. The pants and Converse shoes are sown together so all you have to do when you roll out of bed is slip a pair of these on and off you go! Um, but what about washing them?!?

Baby's got better moves than me!

Palindrome Date

Welcome to 2010. Just realized that today's date is a palindrome "01022010." Don't know what a palindrome is? It's something that can be read the same forward and backward. Geeky? Yep, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Local Family Loses Everything

A local Lancaster family lost everything when their house collapsed this week. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have your house one day and have nothing the next day. Such a freak accident and they have little kids too. If you'd like to find out how you can help with donations, check out this link: www.newjoy-bic.org

Woo Hoo! Vacation!

Is it wrong that this entire week, this song has been pumping through my head? "Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away."

I couldn't be more happy to be taking vacation right now. Still have no idea what I'm gonna do until I have to be back on January 4th, but just the fact that I can sleep in is wonderful.

Ditto Lights

Wish I had neighbors who went all out so I could do this!

Um..yea...I'm all about posting on FB, but is this a little too compulsive?

2009- Year in Review

Too Funny!

Trees for Troops

Got an email from Jenn, who's family owns Landis Christmas Trees located at 1099 Fruitville Pike in Lititz (next to the Bent Creek Country Club) and they're doing something pretty awesome for our troops that I thought you might be interested in being part of. It's called Trees for Troops and you can pick out and purchase a Christmas tree at Landis Christmas Trees and they'll ship it to military bases around the country. If you want more info, you can give Jenn a call at 717.380.3182.

Feels Good....

....to have the whole house clean! I absolutely hate to clean, but will be the first to admit that when the house is sparkling from top to bottom it feels amazing. I had my first whole weekend off in a long time this past weekend and spent all day Saturday and Sunday cleaning the carpets (got a new carpet cleaner), washing the other floors, doing laundry, dusting and pretty much everything else you could imagine. My house feels so fresh and is completely ready for family and friends to come over for Thanksgiving. I think I'm gonna try to cut back on some of the cooking chaos this year by making a few of my Thanksgiving dishes ahead of time so that all I have to do is pop them in the microwave to heat them up. Might go so far as to peel and cut up the potatoes. Did you know if you do that and then put them in a bowl filled with water, they won't turn brown? Would much rather do all that stuff before the guests come....that way there's less work and more time to spend with them. Good idea, right?!?

AMAZING!!!

A lot of people think that this is a computer generated video, but it's not. I used to live near this house in Cincinnati and while I never made it over to see it for myself, I have friends who did and they said it was even more spectacular in person than it is in video!

Holiday Mail for Heroes

If you're looking for info on Holiday Mail for Heroes, here it is:

~Pennsylvanians are encouraged to help make the holidays a little more merry for our troops. Holiday cards will be accepted until December 7th and all collected will be delivered to US veterans and soldiers all over the world.

~Cards need to be addressed to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791

It Goes On and On and On......

Remember that post from February when I told you about my horrible issue with the dentist? Well....here's what happened today (I've pasted from my FB page). You'll get the idea:

Traci Taylor: Sitting at the dentist. My wait time is usually an hour except there was a time they let me sit and wait for almost 3 hours. Wasn't that kind of them? Cross your fingers it goes faster today.

Yvonne Colleen Bachman-Johnson: <--- doesnt like dentists... terrified of them.

Heather Kunkel: fingers crossed

Traci Taylor: Thanks!

Olivia Westcott Lancaster: We run on time in my office.. any longer than 20 minutes is totally UNACCEPTABLE !!!!!

Traci Taylor: Where are you located? Does your dentist take time to talk and listen (I'm needy when it comes to my teeth)? Do you accept Ameritas?

Traci Taylor: The one day I had to wait for 3 hours it was just to have the dentist look at my molds and the whole thing lasted just 5 minutes. Crazy, right? Especially since I go to a place that has 4 dentists...

J.J. Duling: agree with Olivia- frankly, I show up at mine 5 min. early and expect to get in on time. I understand and appreciate emergencies, etc., but making you wait more than 10-15 minutes is quite unacceptable and motivation to find a more customer-friendly DDS.

Angie Messersmith: I don't enjoy going to the dentist!

Olivia Westcott Lancaster: The dentist I work for.. is my hubby. We're on Lincoln Hwy East by the Brassierie Restaurant, Lancaster. Yea, he talks.. to much... LOL. I'm here right now and we do have Ameritis patients.

Traci Taylor: Good news- only had to wait an hour. Bad news-have to go back at 4pm. Dr. broke something & can't fix until then. Want this fixed and done. Been up since 2:30am and still have other things to do today. Yep- havin' a pitty party.

Olivia Westcott Lancaster: Wait.. did he break something IN your mouth????
I am dying to know where you go?

Jennifer Mears Arrigo: I barely sit down in a chair in the waiting room and I am called back to visit the dentist. Never a wait. Now my medical doctor is another story.....two or three hours is the norm there. He talks to everyone.....about everything.......and you continue to wait your turn.....but he is the best doctor on earth!

Traci Taylor: He broke a chunk off my lower temporary partial when he was trying to reshape the wire. Said I didn't need it since I'm getting my permanent in 2 weeks, but I want it fixed because I paid for it and want it as backup in case something happens to the permanent...

Traci Taylor: Ready for this? I'm back at the dentist and they've told me they need to take another impression because the one they took earlier today broke. I couldn't even make this stuff up. I want to scream out to all the women sitting in the waiting room to run.