Beware the Scam Weight Loss Blogs of Doom!!!

Hey, guys, check out this awesome weight-loss blog I just found!

Nicholle's Weight Loss blog: http://nichollesweightloss.com/story/?mb=18&ad=160600 Just wondering, does your computer say that Nicholle is from Hixson, TN like mine does? No? Well, isn't that interesting. I guess she has multiple hometowns... or not.

Yeah! Now check out Mary's Weight Loss blog: http://www.marysweightlossblog.com/story/?mb=18&ad=160600

Déjà vu! Is it just me, or did Nicholle and Mary use the same weight loss program, which they each came up with -- on their own -- by the same process? And why do they look eerily similar? ;-)

Oh yeah, and Emily's blog: http://emilysweightloss.com/. Hey she's made her own "dynamic duo" diet too!!!

And Kate's blog http://katesweightlossblog.com/. She must have gotten Mary to do her layout. Hey, Kate, I love your before and after pics... ISN'T PHOTOSHOP AMAZING, you liar!!!!!

Also:
Julia's Blog: http://juliasweightloss.com/
Lisa's Blog: http://lisaweightloss.com/
Annie's Blog: http://www.anniesweightloss.com/
Renee's Blog: http://www.reneesweightloss.com/
Judy's Blog: http://www.judysweightloss.com/us/
Lucy's Blog: http://www.lucysweightloss.com/
Michelle's Blog: http://www.michellesweightloss.com/
Julie's Blog: http://www.juliesweightloss.com/
Nicole's Blog: http://nicolesweightloss.com/
Anne's Blog: http://www.annesweightloss.com/
Kelley's Blog: http://www.kellysweightloss.com/

PS- Don't even think about trying to post a reply to a comment on these blogs! Most of them have the same comments -- it's all fake! So don't bother trying unless you like your inbox to be flooded with acai berry supplement and colon cleansing ads. Colon cleanse... that just sounds very unpleasant. :-/

Also, there are a ton of blogs pushing only the acai berry products... most of these blogs use the same pictures. If you feel like it, type http://www.(insert/ any popular name)sweightloss(blog).com and see what you get. This is such a scam!!!! Not to mention, these products have several different names! Whatever company is behind this, I never want to do business with you!

Oh, by the way, you had better hurry up and get your free samples of those products because one expires tomorrow (wait, yesterday it said it would expire today...) and the other one expires in... five minutes! Oh no, what will we do? How about just clicking "refresh." Yay, now we have five more minutes to register. Hahahahahahaha -- do they think I'm an idiot?!? And don't be fooled by the Online Consultant* (*virtual) that really thinks you shouldn't navigate away from the page. Oh, please. Leave me alone, freaky computerized stalker.

Oh, don't worry. They only want your credit card number.

Three Words: Beware Diet Scams.

Love,
Addison Claire Miller
<3 <3 <3

Bustin' the Brown M&M Myth... Oh! What Now???

We all know that scene in The Wedding Planner when Mary is explaining to Steve why she only eats the brown M&Ms, and she says, "Someone once told me they have less artificial flavoring because chocolate is already brown and it kind of stayed with me." Well, I, Addison Miller, am about to do some serious myth-busting!!! Do brown M&Ms really have less artificial coloring than other color M&Ms? I say no, they have the same (or at least a comparable) amount! See for yourself…

Here is a picture of a brown M&M (click for bigger picture) that has been chopped in half. If you can see them, there are three different layers, the solid chocolate center, a hard, white candy coating, and then a coat of brown coloring with a white m stamped on the center. Furthermore, the brown outside layer is not even the same color as the chocolate!

I thought that maybe I would need more research, so I decided to check out the How Products are Made website and found an article on M&M candies. See link: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/M-M-Candy.html. According to the website:

"The liquid chocolate is poured into tiny molds to create the chocolate centers of the candy… After the candies are formed, they are "tumbled" to make the chocolate center smooth and rounded. Then they are allowed to harden. [After] the chocolates are hard… they are rotated in large containers as liquid candy made of sugar and corn syrup is sprayed onto them. The coats are sprayed on rotating chocolates at timed intervals. These intervals allow each coat to dry. Each coat leaves an even layer, a shell, of dry candy substance. The chocolate centers receive several coatings to ensure a uniform, complete coat on every piece. The color is added to a finishing syrup and applied as the final coat. Each batch is a different color. Finally, the liquid candy dries into the hardened shell."

Therefore, the actual chocolate has absolutely nothing to do with the outer brown coloring of brown M&Ms. So, next time you go digging around in the M&M bowl to find those brown ones, remember that 1) it doesn’t matter what color you pick because they all have the same amount of food coloring, and 2) it’s totally rude to touch all the stinkin’ M&Ms just to fish out a few of them. Thanks!

Love,
Addison Claire Miller
<3>

This is the fillieft ftuffe that ere I heard

In my English classroom, there are some little tiny cards with some of Shakespeare's most memorable lines from his most well-known plays, and they are written in really old print and old English. It is sooo funny. All of the s's look like f's, and some other letters look weird. For example, one of the cards is from Romeo and Juliet, and the dialogue takes place between "the Nurfe and Ivliet." Hahaha! The other card is for "A Midfommer Night'f Dream" and the line is "Thif if the fillieft ftuffe that ere I heard." I'll have to get some pictures of that.

As a note to myself, here are some ideas for future topics:
- Busting the brown M&M myth
- Discussing Twilight (particularly Eclipse ch. 23)
- Talking about The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and its movie counterpart
- Sharing thoughts on hosting foreign exchange students and how uncultured American teenagers seem to be
- Discussing education types (no really, it would be interesting!)
- Wii games, especially WiiFit
- Whatever else I want, perhaps my latest project with Locks of Love

This I Believe from NPR

Okay, so I tried to get a gadget for it on here, but it didn't work. Anyway here's a link to This I Believe from NPR. A little while back we had an English assignment to write one of these and submit it to the website, and as I read some of them, I realized that as people, we have a lot to learn from each other. Seriously people, these thingys are really interesting. Watch for one by my good friend Michelle Bangson. I really like to just sit and listen to these people sometimes. http://www.thisibelieve.org/

Love,

Addison Claire Miller

<3>

Restaurants With the Best Bread

Hey, guys, I'm working on a top ten list of the food chain restaurants with the best appetizer bread... here's what I've got so far.

TOP TEN RESTAURANTS WITH THE BEST BREAD:
1. Red Lobster - cheddar bay biscuits
2. Olive Garden - garlic breadsticks
3. Logan's Roadhouse - yeast rolls
4. Fazoli's - breadsticks
5. Outback Steakhouse - what is that? honey rye bread?
6. Longhorn Steakhouse - wheat bread
7. Vinny & Joe's Pizzeria - cheese bread

Okay, I guess it will just have to be the top 7 restaurants. :-)

Love,
Addison Claire Miller
<3 <3 <3

Okay, so... um, Superbowl, anyone?

Are we gonna talk about the Superbowl, then? Duh!!! No! Are we gonna talk about the commercials? Absolutely!!!

Okay, so last night my family had this huge Superbowl party with the wings, riblets (what is a riblet???), chips/dip, potato skins, etc., and all the typical junk food. However, I don't think any of us were really watching the game. I mean, the Arizona Cardinals? Who are they? I think my mom said it best when she said (joking, of course-- she's not that stupid!), "How is a football team going to play against a baseball team?" Seriously, the St. Louis Cardinals are more famous than the Arizona Cardinals! This year was definitely not as awesome as last year. Really.

Hey, didn't I say we WEREN'T going to talk about the Superbowl? Oh, yeah... yep, that was me. Anyway, one word: Doritos! Oh my gosh those Doritos commercials were SOOOO funny. I loved the crystal ball one, which can be seen on Youtube in Hi-Def here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NuuL1FIh1I&NR=1. So funny. I was, like, rolling on the floor, laughing. What was with all the Pepsi commercials, anyway? Coke is way better. It's the American tradition. Seriously, Pepsi wouldn't have needed to change their packaging and upped their advertising if business was booming. I guess they even made an ad deal with Wal-Mart judging by the "We Will Rock You" commercial. Whatever.

Love,
Addison Claire Miller
<3 <3 <3

PS - "I don't care about anything but keeping her alive. If it's a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants. She can have puppies, if that's what it takes." -Edward