Tweet Tweet

I'm going to tell you, dear read, something that may upset or shock you. Prepare yourself. Ready?

I officially like Twitter more than Facebook.

I like the quick pace of Twitter. I love that I can 'follow' (which is Twitter's equivalent of Facebook's 'friend') any person or company that has an open account. Most companies and people DO have open accounts. You can always unfollow or block a person or company if you change your mind. I feel as if my world has expanded in a wonderful new way through fascinating and inspirational people. Twitter is helping me to realize how truly we are interwoven. It's motivating me be kinder and more loving to myself and everyone else.

If you don't have a Twitter account (yes, it's free), I suggest that you get one. It's fun, you can learn more about stuff you like, you'll meet new friends (always use caution, though! be safe out there in cyberspace!), and discover new people and things to love. And special Twitter-only coupons, too. You don't have to write any Tweets, you can be a lurker and still get lots of enjoyment and edification.

Thanks to Twitter, I fell in love- and awe!- with ZipList. I've got a thing going for Eat This, Not That too. And I've read some awesome blogs written by wonderful talented people.

Here are some of my favorite recent Tweets. Do you see the theme?

@AncientProverbs Motivational Quotes

Quality is not an act, it is a habit. -Aristotle

@SandraAhten Reasonable Diet

The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed. ~~Chinese Proverb

SandraAhten Reasonable Diet 

 by ConnieScheel

Act as if it were impossible to fail. ~~ Dorothea Brand.

SandraAhten Reasonable Diet 

 by ConnieScheel

Each time you judge yourself you break your heart. ~Kripal Venanji

ZipList ZipList 

 by ConnieScheel

Have you tried out our Recipe Clipper? You can save every one of your favorite recipes from across the web in one place.http://ow.ly/4xvk9

@BrokenIdiot Broken Idiot™

If the loser keeps his smile the winner will loose the thrill of victory.

@QmsMeditation Mike Hughes

"The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own." Lao Tzu

QmsMeditation Mike Hughes 

 by ConnieScheel

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” Marcus Aurelius

DrWayneWDyer Dr Wayne W Dyer  by ConnieScheel 

People need to be right. If you can remove that issue from your life, you'll save yourself lots of suffering

HealthyFellow J P Fanton  by ConnieScheel

"Be not the slave of your own past." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

ConiConstantine ConiConstantine  by ConnieScheel

if you push yourself further than you've ever you likely won't go back. See what you're made of peeps!

SlowFoodUSA Slow Food USA  by ConnieScheel

RT @CUESA: U have until 4/29 to tell EPA not to allow use of cancer-causing methyl iodide on conventional strawberries http://bit.ly/e5phcv

Dr_StevenG Steven Gurgevich PhD  by ConnieScheel

Forgiveness allows you to let go of negative feelings about yourself or another than have been within you far too long. #mindbody

JackSht Jack Sh*t  by ConnieScheel

Don't ever let anybody make you feel bad about yourself, stupid.

strongnewskinny Adam Farrah 

 by ConnieScheel

None of us are perfect. We all have our own unique strengths. Don't worry about how you measure up to any one...http://fb.me/vSh8XBNI

And my personal favorite of the week.....

@CraftsteakLVCraftsteakLV

@ConnieScheel We wish you were here too! Make any great meals yet out of the cookbook? Read your blog today, awesome! Thank you:)

Suspense is Over!

First here's a Memory Refresher from Vegas Vacation Day-3- Part-3:


 I shared my blog post about Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak on his Twitter page, and I also emailed a link to the restaurant to express my gratitude and giddiness. I didn't really expect any reply, but I hoped for one. Tonight,  just after my sister and her family left to go back to their Texan home (wipes tear), there was an email from Craftsteak's general manager in my spam folder!! Yay and WHEEEEEE!! SO very glad I checked that folder tonight! Very niftyand exciting!! She and Chef Matt Seeber are going to be sending me something to remember the highlight meal of my life. WOW!! I feel like camping out by the mailbox, but I won't because that would just be weird. I can't wait to share my memory-keeper with you, my dear readers. Ohhh the suspense!!!


Any regrets I might have had about not camping out at the mailbox evaporated when the mailman left a big envelope at my doorstep Wednesday afternoon. I do regret not taking a picture of the unopened package, but I wasn't thinking straight. Picture it- a big yellow envelope on your doorstep. There, that's good enough. 

Inside that envelope was this book!!

It's a beautiful and fascinating book with stories about Mr. Colicchio's restaurant beginnings, his food philosophies, and the design of the original Craft. There's also insightful stories about the recipes and ingredients, and, of course, recipes themselves! Beautiful food photography, too! 

My sister Heidi, a fellow foodie, noticed that Craftsteak's Chef Matt Seeber left his special mark. 

How freaking cool is THAT?!?

Jill Aiken, General Manager of Craftsteak (lucky lady!), told me in her email that she and Chef Matt wanted to send me something to remember the highlight meal of my life. 

Ms. Aiken and Chef Matt~ mission accomplished!! Thank you so very much for your kindness, and your extremely well crafted food and restaurant. I will treasure the memories of my phenomenal meal and excitement of this cookbook, and I'll share it with anyone who will listen. 

Vegas Vacation- The End

By the last full day of my Vegas vacation I was pretty worn out. The smoke from the casinos gave me a headache from Day 1 even though the hotel room was non-smoking. It was physically the worst part of Vegas for me. I've been sensitive to second hand smoke since I quit 14 years ago. Since chemo I'm even more sensitive.

I slept late and then started organizing my stuff into my suitcase. That reminds me, the secret of what I got as Vegas souvenirs is out of the bag. My treasures were found at Basin White at the Grand Canal shops in The Venetian. I was drawn in by the wonderful and relaxing smells. I left there with freshly ex-foliated and moisturized hands and lips. I'm now a GIANT fan of these spa quality products that don't have chemicals, parabens, alcohol or mineral oil. I'm a happy owner of a fresh cut Lilac soap, shea salt scrub (which is absolutely amazing!!), relaxation bath bomb, lime sugar lip scrub (it tastes like a margarita, whohoo), Dr. Spot laundry stain remover, and Satsuma spa wax (it has a wick so you can put hot wax onto your skin! So nifty!) My bathroom smells awesome. One of my new goals in life is to try every one of their products. Thanks, Basin White!

**Just a reminder that I am not receiving any, I repeat ANY, compensation for product reviews. My opinions are only my opinions.**

Going to Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage, where I had the great pleasure of staying, was on the top of my list. If I would have know how incredible it was I would have gone much earlier in the day so I could have stayed in the presence of the magnificent dolphins and tigers for a couple more hours.

There are 3 pools for the dolphins. It's a serene tropical setting. You can walk right up to the edge of the pools, too!

The above and below pictures are of babies. Aren't they the cutest things ever?

Then the tropical trail takes you into another world- the world of tigers. 

Believe it or not, this is a baby white tiger. That's one HUGE baby!! Very cute, too!

Baby white tiger dropped the box he was playing with and had to make a dive for it. 

This is an adult tiger looking tall and strong. And a bit intimidating. 

I wasn't zooming in to get the pictures above and below- I was really that close. It was intense in a cool way.

I'm not really sure why they had statues of lions, but they were really well done!

I was hoping I would find a cool souvenir-y shirt to bring home, but they didn't have many adult choices. Lots of very cute kids choices, but we already bought cute shirts with matching cups at M&M World.

I enjoyed being so close to the dolphins for so long that Mom and I had to hustle to pick up our tickets for the evening Cirque du Soleil Mystere show. We ended our once in a lifetime vacation on a very high and amazing note! If you EVER go to Las Vegas, you absolutely must see this show. It's beyond entertaining! I can't pick a favorite Act- they were each unique and awesome in a different way. The acrobatics, strength and grace of the characters is inspiring, thrilling and amazing to the 10th degree. Truly the best show I've ever seen in my life. Many thanks to my Facebook friends who recommended it so highly! 

The next day we flew home on a thankfully nonstop flight. Amazing, wonderful, exhausting, entertaining vacation of a lifetime!! The icing on the vacation cake was losing 1.5 pounds. Thank you, Sandra Ahten, for your 9 Tips to a Friendly Vacation e-book! It was wonderful to have a vacation eating strategy that didn't bring any deprivation. 

Most of all, thank you to my Mom. It was an honor and pleasure to vacation with you. Thank you for making it so special in celebration of my Remission.