I remember when we were younger and my Girl Scout troop went on a trip to mall of America and we stayed in a really nice hotel with a pool, hot tub and sauna. We weren't really the camping type of girl scouts, we would go to adventure parks and shopping and to the movies (I'm not really sure how we ever earned badges, but I have a vest full on them). I think that our leader gave us the finance badge for going shopping or something ha. Anyways, I have always stayed in nice hotels growing up with my family but I was never allowed to go in the hot tub or the sauna because my parents thought it wasn't healthy for kids. But on this particular trip my parents weren't there and our leader let us go in (looking back on it she probably shouldn't have because if we had told our parents they would have freaked out). But we were so excited and we thought that the sauna was the coolest thing ever (probably because it was just for adults).

We found a pamphlet in the sauna that read in German: Der Gang in die Sauna ist bei vielen Leuten, die auf ihre Gesundheit achten, sehr beliebt. In vielen Freizeiteinrichtungen wie Fitnessstudios und Wellnessanlagen ist die Sauna ein fester Bestandteil. Hier kann man bei gr?sseren Einrichtungen meist zwischen verschiednen Saunaarten w?hlen, wie Finnische Sauna, Infrarotsauna und dem klassischem Dampfbad.

Neben der Sauna bieten viele Einrichtungen weitere Leistungen zur Entspannung an wie Whirlpools, Solarien und Massagen. Selbst kleine Swimmigpools sind in vielen Wellnessbereichen zu finden.

Wer die Sauna lieber zu Hause haben m?chte, dem stehen heutzutage viele verschiedene M?glichkeiten zur Auswahl. Die meisten Leute die eine Heimsauna m?chten bauen diese selber. Es gibt im Saunabau verschiede Baus?tze die komplett mit Inneneinrichtung und Saunaofen verkauft werden. Wer ein bisschen handwerkliches Geschick hat kann so seine Sauna selber aufbauen. Wer jedoch spezielle Anspr?che an seine Sauna stellt, sollte lieber einen Fachmann zu rate ziehen.

It was translated to english: Using the sauna is very popular for many people who care on their health. In many leisure facilities such as gyms and spa installations sauna is an integral part. In larger establishments you can choose between different types of sauna like finish sauna, infrared sauna and the classic steam room.

Besides the sauna some institutions offer many other benefits such as relaxation whirlpools, solariums and massages. Even small swimming pools are in many areas to find.

Those who prefer to have the sauna at home get nowadays many different choices. Most people who want a home sauna build themselves. There are various sauna kits complete with interior and furnace sold. Who is good in home improvement thus can build its own sauna. Who have special demands in the sauna should prefer a professional for advice.

So we finally went in and sat there and then, we sat there for more. We wondered what the big deal was. Of course now I know it's more for your skin and to relax (which I actually appreciate now) but when you are 10 years old, the last thing you want to do is relax and get wrinkly. So we quickly got out.

It is funny to think about all of the things that you thought were so cool when you were little but now you realize that they aren't so great. Like staying up late, as a kid all we wanted to do was stay up late, now there are days when I can't wait to get to sleep because I have to work and go to class the next day. Or when it's really cool to get glasses or braces but then you get them when you're older and they aren't so cool anymore (actually just about the opposite). Or when you think you can't wait until you live on your own, and then you finally do and you have to take out the garbage and do your own laundry and cool your own meals. Sometimes I wish I could go back and be a kid again and this time realize how lucky I really did have it.

Posted by Greg on Thursday, November 27, 2008 @ 7:05 PM

It's weird that my friends are starting to get married. I am only 21 years old, but some of them are engaged (most of them are older by a few years, thankfully) and I am starting to get save the date cards in the mail and wedding invitations. It is hard for me to picture being married so young. Sure I have a boyfriend and we have been dating for 2 years, but we are nowhere near that stage (I still wake up early to brush my teeth and then get back into bed ha). I can't believe that my peers are already on their way. I decided after I got the first few wedding invites though in the mail, that I was just going to have fun at these weddings and enjoy them and not be worried about my future and lack of readiness to walk down the aisle.

So from now until May I have 3 weddings to attend (and classes to go to and finals to take and spring break to go on). So while I think weddings are great and extremely fun (at least the reception part of it) gifts aren't as fun. Wedding gifts have so many rules; depending on how long you have known the couple or which one you know (or if you know both of them) you have to alter your gift to fit your relationship with them. And by alter the gift, I mean spend most likely. Thankfully now they have gift registries and you can just go online and select what the couple has already picked out and get stuff in your price range. This eliminates a lot of the stress, because you know they are things that the couple likes (since they picked them out themselves) and you don't have to worry about them being disappointed or the situation becoming awkward.

I can't imagine picking out stuff for the registry though. I'm sure it would be fun, but to me it sounds so intimidating. You have to know what you need and like (if your likes match up with your soon to be spouses). Maybe it is because I'm nowhere near ready to get married (hopefully that's the reason and then when I am I will be excited instead of nauseous when I hear about this).

So for now, I think I am going to just relax and enjoy other peoples commitments, instead of making my own.

Posted by Greg on Monday, November 24, 2008 @ 11:12 AM

If I had a boyfriend or husband I would enjoy buying gifts for him. Any time I go shopping at a department store the mens' products always catch my eye. I love to smell all the different fragrances for men and the packages they come in are always so interesting. Like the boxes that look like leather or crocodile. I saw one that looked like a gym locker the other day and another that was like galvanized steel. If I had a man I would definitely pick my favorite scent over my favorite box to give as a gift, but if there were two scents I liked the box would be the tie breaker. Speeking of ties... I love men's neck ties. They are always so colorful and shiny. Any time I am in the store and pass by a rack with neck ties hanging I must stop and feel them. They are always so soft and silky and the colors always pop which makes me happy. I love vibrant colors. I bought a tie once for my ex-boyfriend. It had a black background with an array of stripes in mint, grey, and light blue. It was pretty. He wore it to church on Easter Sunday and he looked great! I can not buy ties for my dad because he never wears them. He is a blue collar kind of guy. I usually get him random gifts because I find it difficult to shop for him. One fathers day I bought hi and innovative rake. I don't think he uses it but maybe he does. They is one male I never have touble choosing gifts for who will always be with me and that is my son. Right now he is still a little boy so I bu him alot of toys, book, DVDs, and video games. For his birthday this year he had a Speed Racer theme so I got him a bunch of speed racer cars and figures. This Christmas I got him the Kung Fu Panda PS3 game and a lego man game for him to play on the computer. I also got him two movies so far, which are Speed Racer and Wall.e on blue ray. We are going to enjoy watching them together. I got him a bunch of other small things already, but I need to get him one big gift so it looks impressive under the tree. I'm not sure what that will me yet, but I am going to have fun figuring it out.

Posted by Greg on Monday, November 24, 2008 @ 11:05 AM

I have never heard of a Gabbeh rug before this year when my roommate and I moved in together. She is an interior design major and she is always doing projects (usually all over our living room floor). She had a project where she had to make a dollhouse (well I call it a dollhouse, it was really a model home set to a scale). She had to also include color palates for each room and the furniture down to every last pot and pan in the kitchen (which seems extremely tedious to me). But she decided to put Gabbeh rugs in the hallways, something I had never heard about. She showed me some of the samples and the website she had gotten the ideas from and they were actually really cool. It kind of made me want to get one for my room, but I had just gotten carpet samples delivered a few weeks ago.

These rugs though are really cool. On the website they showed a bunch of them in different colors. Usually I am into more neutral colors (especially when decorating), but these rugs were so unique; they would look really good in a neutral colored room because the color would pop out and look great.

I can't understand though how she can handle all of those little details for every project that she does. When I do projects they usually involve researching DNA or something similar to that and I have tests all of the time. Kayla though never has tests, but she constantly has projects that involve measuring and cutting and gluing and spray painting and everything else you could ever imagine, not to mention the planning out of the whole project. I used to think she had it really easy (at least compared to my science major) because she never has to read textbooks (I don't think she even owns a textbook) and she never has to take tests. But now I am starting to believe that hers is as bad. She might not have to spend the wee hours in the library learning about mitosis, but she has to measure and cut and plan out intricate designs over and over again. I think it is really hard to compare different majors because they really are all different. But I guess it is the subject we are picking so it isn't as bad to us because we really are interested in that particular area.

Posted by Greg on Monday, November 24, 2008 @ 9:13 AM

When looking for the perfect diet pill there are some things that you should know. Prescription diet pills have some side effects and risks involved with them, and that is why they can only be prescribed by a physician. A good alternative to prescription diet pills are a natural diet pill because they are not drugs, they are made from herbs and other natural substances that are good for your body. They enhance your body's ability to get the most out of what you eat. With a natural product you won't have to worry about unwanted side effects and they will boost your energy level naturally leaving you feeling good while dieting, which drugs don't do. An all natural diet pill is safe for long term use, because it is natural you can use it regularly and can continue to use it until you attain your goal weight. A diet pill that is natural will always have scientific evidence that will prove the efficacy of that diet pill. Keep in mind that majority of diet pills that are not natural do not have medical data available to public, therefore this is one of the greatest reasons why you should consider using a natural weight loss pill.

I have been a person who has battled with my weight my entire life. I have used prescription diet pills with little or no results at all. A friend of mine turned me on to natural diet pills and I really found that not only did they work better for weight loss, but they also cost me less and they left me feeling full and energized. I really didn't believe that there would be such a big difference in using natural diet pills, but was I wrong. Now I am almost to my goal weight which quite frankly I haven't seen in about 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I still have to exercise and eat right, but to finally see the results of all my hard work has been just incredible. I recommend all natural diet pills to anyone looking to lose weight, they have worked wonders for me.

Posted by Greg on Thursday, November 13, 2008 @ 11:15 AM