I know this post may be a little heavy-hitting for my blog, but bear with me and weigh-in.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a huge NPR fan. I don’t understand half of what they talkabout, but I find it calming and I might even be learning a little something in the process.

Today, I listened to This I Believe, which is a short segment where people from all over the country share one of their core beliefs. Sometimes they are touching and sometimes they are funny, but today’s segment was about Finding Freedom in Forgiveness and was absolutely shocking.

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino picked Ronald Cotton out of a line-up as the man who raped her in 1984. After 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved that Ronald was not the rapist and he was released. Jennifer felt tremendous guilt and met with Ronald to ask for his forgiveness. He told her that he forgave her long ago because they were both a victim of the same crime. Because of their ordeal, the two are now good friends.

To me, it’s a tremendous story from both accounts, because I don’t know if I’d have the guts to face up to my mistake and apologize like Jennifer did and I don’t know if I’d have the complete lack of bitterness that Ronald has.

The two have written a book together called Picking Cotton and will be featured on 60 Minutes in a segment about mistakes in eyewitness testimonies this weekend. You can also download This I Believe free on iTunes and watch a video clip on Amazon.

So, would you be able to do what either one of them did? Stand up and confront your mistake or forgive someone who essentially took years of your life away from you?

In the past week, two of our clients and their cookbooks were featured on the local news in Chicago and St. Louis. They both have outstanding cookbooks and did an fantastic job using completely different approaches to their screen time; Naam Pruitt giving a cooking demonstration and Nielsen-Massey * show casing their product line.

EDIT: Video removed because it autoplays. Ick. Watch Naam Pruitt’s cooking segment.

I don’t work directly with these clients very often, but my company did provide all of the photography for the cookbooks and some recipe development, so it’s awesome to see our** work on television!

*Channel 7 doesn’t allow embedding, so click for video.

** Okay, so both cookbooks were completed before I was hired, but it doesn’t make it any less exciting!

I don’t know where my head was last week, but I completely forgot about Four Foods on Friday, so I have some catching up to do!

Last week’s Four Foods on Friday…

1. Potato chips. Flavored? Regular, ridged or stacked?

I’ve given up potato chips, but I do eat Veggie Crunchers (a mix of dried sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, taro, and green beans) which is just as addicting.

2. Cheese doodles. Yellow or white? Puffed or crunchy?

Cheese doodles have to be bright orange and crunchy. Your fingers and lips must be covered in cheese dust when you are finished eating the entire bag.

3. Pretzels? Your favorite shape? Favorite flavor?

Hot pretzels are my favorite. Auntie Anne’s with sesame seeds is my absolute favorite.

4. Share a recipe for salsa or dip.

My favorite dip is a mix of salsa and cream cheese. Whatever proportions suit you.

I absolutely LOVE the new McDonald’s commercial for the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and have been singing the fish’s little ditty since I first saw the commercial. I’ve also expanded my repertoire to include Don’t Worry Be Happy and Take Me To The River from the original, Big Mouth Billy Bass.

What a great way to bring the fish sandwich to the top of mind during Lent!

Ollie is a little bitty weiner dog that thinks he’s a great dane and hogs more than his fair share of the bed. I’ve woken up more than once to see Mike clinging to the side of the bed because Ollie won’t make room for him to get comfortable.

Besides buying Ollie his own queen size mattress, the only solution to a good night sleep for Mike and I are large dog beds so that Ollie can sprawl out like he’s accustom to doing.

I’m partial to the Harry Barker dog beds because they come in simple shapes and colors that match our apartment, but the Bowsers dog beds, especially the Bowsers Ball, look awfully comfy, too.

So, if we do ever kick Ollie out of bed in favor of a peaceful slumber, don’t feel sorry for him, because he’ll be relaxing in his own designer dog bed.