A Merry Infomercial Christmas

Jeff and I are stuck with bunny ears on our TV. We can't afford cable. We definitely can't afford satelite, but we could afford the $10 antennas at Wal-Mart. One night I got home from work and we watched a little TV. At first, we were disappointed to find only infomercials on. Until we decided to really watch one. We were introduced to the "Miracle Blade." Jeff was sold in the first 10 minutes. I told him maybe I would buy it for him for Christmas. I saw a little glimmer in Jeff's eye as he said, "Let's have an infomercial Christmas!" And that is how the idea was born. The next time we saw Jeff's family, we suggested the idea to them, and it was a hit! So this year, the siblings of the Excell family are having a strictly infomercial Christmas, and we've been watching a lot of late night local television in anticipation. Here are some of our favorites:

NuWave Oven-Jeff and I love the "professional taste tester" in this one.


ShamWOW-Made in Germany. Enough said.


BlendTec Blender-A $300 dollar blender that blends anything. And if you visit willitblend.com, he proves it.


Miracle Blade-The only thing Jeff wants for Christmas. Because if we want pineapple one night, all I have to do is throw it at Jeff, and as long as he has a blade in hand, he could slice it midair.


Ellen shows her audience the truth about infomercials...but that won't stop us from buying this year's most useless products for our loved ones in just 4 payments of $29.99

To add onto the post before last: Last year my best friend and I dressed up like Jim and Dwight on the Office for Halloween. This is what we came up with.

A Weekend in Southern Utah

Working at Abbey Inn, I hear a lot of reasons why people decide to come to Cedar City, Utah. If it's not for SUU football games, the Shakespearean Festival, or a family reunion, it's definitely for the National Parks. Travelers from Germany, Israel, England and Canada make their stop in Cedar City as a nice central location to Bryce and Zion. As each one of them asks me which park I like better, and how many times a year I go to each park, I usually put my head down in embarrassment as they realize I have only been to Zion once and never to Bryce. So finally, on Saturday, Jeff and I were able to get a weekend together and see the beauties of Bryce Canyon! We went with Jeff's parents. Jeff's dad gives tours at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, so we even had our own personal tour guide.

It's that Time of the Year

It's my favorite time of the year again...the air is getting crisper, the leaves are changing colors, and everybody is stressing to find a Halloween costume. For the first time ever, my Halloween costume partner is a boy. He can't be the other half of the double mint twins, or my fellow shooting star.


My creative juices just haven't been flowing like they used to. I guess when it really comes down to it, I work Halloween night, anyway, and I don't even know if we will have somewhere to show off a costume if we do come up with something, but I just can't let a Halloween slip by with me not dressing up. So here are the candidates:

Mario and Princess Peach: My mom made the mistake of bringing me our Nintendo64, so we are constantly playing mario kart. Then this idea was born. The only problem-I don't know how to sew. The costumes might end up a little hard to recognize.


Dwight and Angela: Ah. Our favorite TV show. I feel like Jeff and I could strongly resemble this attractive couple. The only problem-Jeff was already Dwight for Halloween...Just last year.


The King and Wendy: Our first idea, and possible our most promising. Still quite an extravagent ensemble for Jeff, but as long as he's got that mask, the rest doesn't really matter. The only problem-we haven't ordered a mask. And I don't know if I want Jeff to have access to that mask for the other 364 days of the year.



I'll give you a hint: They start with Nin, and end your life. A quick, easy, very uncreative costume. The only problem-I don't know if we can live up to the incredible ninja reputation.