I watch the ABC World News with Charlie Gibson every evening while I am eating dinner or getting in some Wii Fit stepping. I absolutely love Charlie and the way he engages everyone in the news and I especially enjoy that he tells me that he hopes I had a great day at the end of every broadcast. It’s his signature sign-off.

The other evening, I was super excited to hear Charlie introduce a segment about something I’m going to get to see firsthand this fall…Dolphin Bubbles at SeaWorld! Just watch, and you’ll quickly see why I was so captivated by the video…

Everybody knows that dolphins are super intelligent, but the story goes that one dolphin started blowing bubbles and taught all the other dolphins how to do the same! Now they all blow perfect circles, push them around with their noses, and swim through them to entertain themselves and the SeaWorld guests! It’s easy to see why the dolphins are a huge attraction at the park.

All of their personalities really start to shine when you see all the dolphins playing and interacting with each other, and I can’t wait to see dolphin bubbles for myself when I visit in October!

Before I dive into this post, lets get one thing clear…I’m not pregnant. There’s not a flicker of desire to become pregnant. If I were to become pregnant, I would use all 9 months to eat marshmallow fluff and then complain incessantly about how I can’t even fit into the Liz Lang maternity clothes from Target.

That being said, I’m a strong proponent of stem cell research and solutions and am so happy our president is making strides to progress the study of steam cells. Currently, Cryo-cell offers some amazing opportunities to collect and preserve stem cells. From banking your baby’s cord blood, to collecting monthly menstrual blood, there are risk-free and pain-free ways to harvest stem cells which have been used to treat more than 70 diseases, including malignancies, anemia and metabolic and immune system disorders.

Their current offer makes harvesting and storing stem cells a more affordable option for parents looking to protect their children. No doubt, it’s an investment, but an investment that may pay for itself many times over through the course of your child’s life.

The site encourages interested women and expectant parents to “compare us” because they know they offer the most advanced services at the most affordable price that could one day save your child’s life.

I’m very particular about certain things, and fabric shower curtains are an absolute must in my house. Vinyl shower curtains usually have tacky designs and the plastic smell lingers forever, not to mention that you can’t change or clean them as easily as you can fabric. I admit to having several different fabric shower certains for each bathroom in the appropriate color schemes and switching things up whenever the bathroom decor gets boring.

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?

I missed Four Foods on Friday two weeks in a row, and my weekends just weren’t the same!

1. Coffee. Do you use ground, bean or pods?

I drink whatever Starbucks serves.

2. Coffee filters. Do you use paper, gold or other?

I use whatever Starbucks serves.

3. Tea. Do you prefer tea bags, loose tea or something else?

Teabags. And I hate when I accidently buy the teabags without strings.

4. Share a recipe for something you like to eat with coffee or tea.

Oh, I have the perfect recipe that we just developed for a client!

Apple Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Topping: In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup shredded coconut and 1/3 cup chopped pecans; set aside.

Cake: In a medium bowl, whish 1 egg. Stir in 1 (7 oz.) package instant buttermilk biscuit mix, 1/2 cup cold black coffee and 2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith aples.

Coat the bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon in cake mixture and sprinkle topping evenly over top. Bake for 25-30 minutes.