Summer, Spring, Winter or Fall

"You're my inspiration"

2010-09-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

As all of you know, Kevin and I are on a weight loss journey. Not a DIET, but a lifestyle change to make us happier and healthier people. We have both been experiencing success (him at 25lbs, me at 15...weigh in day tomorrow, so probably more). I'm thrilled to death, as I've said before, this is the first time I've been READY to lose weight. I don't have nearly the cravings I've had before, I don't cheat in secret, and I have my support group to help me along. Also, my support group also leans on me for answers to questions. I love this. I've always felt that as a health care professional, I need to take care of myself, and finally I am. I love it when my friends come to me for answers about exercise or weight loss. If my knowledge can help them on their journey, I feel like I am helping them.

But that isn't what this blog is about. I just want to say that I'm becoming annoyed at people telling me "I'm their inspiration". This happens a lot at work "Oh, Summer, you're doing so well, I'm going to use you as my inspiration to lose 5 lbs" or whatever. Now, I'm glad everyone at work is noticing and supporting me in this journey, but I have a news flash. If you aren't ready, it isn't going to happen. Nobody is my "inspiration". Sure, having friends and family doing this along with me helps, but them telling me not to eat McDonald's, or seeing them not eat it, is not going to make me do it. I'm doing it for myself, and so should everyone else.

Also, I've realized it is silly to use me as an inspiration, because I'm not DOING anything. That is the difference. It isn't that I have some magic weight loss secret that I'm hiding and need to share. It is simply the things that I am no longer doing.

I don't eat the crap that patients bring in.
I don't eat the birthday cakes we have several times a month.
I don't go out to eat.
I don't eat the potluck food.

It isn't anything that I'm DOING, per say, it is the things I'm NOT doing. I didn't eat BAD before, in my 3 squares a day. It was all the other shit that I DID. I mean, sure, I made some poor choices (i.e. McD's), but my main issue was these things that I am no longer doing.

I guess I just don't feel like I'm doing anything inspiration-worthy. I don't particularly like the attention being placed on my weight loss, since I still have so far to go, and I don't like having the pressure of knowing everyone is watching me. I mean, I've only gone over calories once in 2 months, so I'm good with that, but if I burn 500 calories in my Body Pump Tuesday morning, I might have a half a cupcake that day at work, I don't want the pressure of feeling like I can't have it because people are watching me. If I have the calories to eat it, I'm going to eat it. If I deprive myself, then my craving will become an obsession, and off the wagon I go. And in two weeks when Kevin and I go to Disneyland for our 1 year anniversary, we have already decided that it is a cheat weekend. We know we're going to gain, we know we're going to eat like crap, but I need that every once in awhile. Because I love food. And I can eat good for me food 98% of the time, but every once in awhile, I want shit food. And it isn't all going to be shit food either, we're having two pretty fancy dinners, and I want t be able to enjoy fancy (expensive) food without feeling guilty. And we're gonna do it. Then I'm doing an 11 day cleanse as soon as we get back to get me back on track, but I'm going to enjoy every calorie I eat while we're on vacation.

Moral of the story? I'm happy to be part of your support group, I'm happy to answer your questions, I'm happy to be brutally honest with you. I'm not happy to have the pressure of being your inspiration. Being my own is hard enough.

Blog for Dogs...DO It!!!

2010-09-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

How often have you had a chance to have a 20 pound bag of dog food donated to a shelter simply for writing a blog post? It’s really that easy. Pedigree has upped the ante big time. And please spread this message: The food drive is not limited to pet blogs. Imagine if we could spread this message beyond our circles and see how far it goes? The numbers could be substantial. Here is the full scoop:

* Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.

* This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated.

* Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

* Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19, the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers will host a Blog Hop, to help raise awareness for the “Write a post, help a dog” effort.

Interview with a Vampire

2010-09-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Anne Rice

This book was suggested by Andy. Kevin voiced his opinion that it was hard to follow and he didn't enjoy it before I began.

I didn't find it that hard to read. Sure, there were points going back to "present" day where Luis talked with the boy that was interviewing him, but Anne Rice was pretty clear about pointing that out in the first line of those exchanges.

That being said, I didn't LOVE this book. I think my problem is I have two other "vampire" series that I read, and lore is different in all of them, and I don't like that. I didn't like that vampires have a heartbeat, or that they kill every person they feed from, or that there is no "society" for vampires. I also found the second half of the book to be much more confusing that the first. The descriptions while Luis was in Paris, the Theater des Vampires, and Armand became confusing for me. Too much dialogue about what vampires are, and aren't.

I think this book just fell short for me because I've read other vampire stories that I enjoyed much more. I'm glad I read it, I can check it off the list of "books I should read".

Now, on to Song of Solomon. I think I'm gonna have a hard time with this one. Already about 40 pages in and not "into" it yet.

Mammoth

2010-09-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the photos from our camping trip this weekend in Convict Lake!

Odd Thomas

2010-08-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Dean Koontz
Given to me by Melissa Griffin.

I've never read Dean Koontz before. I knwo, that seems amazing, since he is EVERYWHERE. My friend in high school was addicted. Kev has all of the Odd Thomas books. Just wasn't interested. Now, on my nook, it said this book was 340 pages. Space was 622. Space took me a little over a month, this took me a day and a half.

It was excellent. Funny, exciting, scary, suspenseful, touching. I was truly surprised at the end, it almost made me cry, and I finished it wanting to know about what Odd Thomas would do next. That is the mark of a good book. The only bad thing? I have 16 other books to read before I canr ead whatever I want. Now, that is not entirely true, I have put some of my books in the mix too, so I'm telling myself I need to ge through two more of my list books before reading Forever Odd. Though if it only takes me a day and a half, it isn't like it takes me away from much other reading!!

So far, this is my favorite book of the four I have read so far. The most "me" book. I have enjoyed all of them, in their own way, but so far this si the one I will read again.

On to Interview with a Vampire. Started it last night, just a few pages in, enjoying so far. Onward!!

Books

2010-08-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Just FYI, here is my list of books. Italics I have finished, bold I'm currently working on. Next to the author is the person who recommended, and the format of the book I have (or don't...)

Books
1. The Talisman – Stephen King – Kev (ebook downloaded)
2. How I Became Stupid – Martin Page – Doug (ebook)
3. Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison – Jodie (ebook)
4. Needful Things – Stephen King – Mike (ebook)
5. The Shack – William P. Young – Crystal (ebook)
6. Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz – Mel G (ebook)
7. The Giver – Lois Lowry – Bryan (ebook)
8. Interview with the Vampire – Ann Rice – Andy (paperback)
9. Space – James Michener – Skip (do not have)
10. Invisible Monsters – Chuck Palahniuk - Jen (do not have)
11. The Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs – Stacey (ebook)
12. From a Buick 8 – Stephen King – Kat (ebook)
13. Blink! – Malcom Gladwell – Mom (ebook)
14. The Origin of the Species – Charles Darwin – Leslie (ebook downloaded)
15. Book of John from the Bible – Bible- Diana (ebook)
16. Life of Pi – Yann Martel – Angela (ebook)
17. The Wednesday Letters – Jason F. Wright – Cyndi (do not have)
18. Warriors Don’t Cry – Melba Patillo Beals – Meghan (do not have)
19. Freakonomics – Steven Levitt – Brendon (ebook)
20. The Wedding – Nicholas Sparks – Luis (ebook)

Space

2010-08-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

by James Michener, 1982

This book was recommended to me by Skip. It, again, is a book I would NEVER pick up on my own, which is the purpose.

Apparently, all of his books start far from where they end. This book started in 1944, during World War 2. It chronicles the life of several men whose lives are intertwined through their work in space, and that field. It was a really, really good book. It also took me a really, really long time.Especially for a mere 622 pages. It wasn't that it was hard to get through, or boring, there was just a LOT of information on every page. The thing I really enjoyed about this book was how Michener intertwines history with fiction. As someone who is familiar, but not nearly and expert, on our space program, it was very interesting figuring out what was real, and what was fictional. He does a very good job mixing the two together so it all is believable. The characters are all likable, no real villain in the book.
All in all, this is a fabulous book. Doing some research on the specifics for this post I found out there was a 13 part miniseries aired in 1985. I would like to find that.
Someday, I make pick up another Michener book, it would be a good book to be reading while you're also reading something else. Be the "brain" read while also reading a fluff book.

Now, on to Odd Thomas. About 100 pages in to it already, and loving it.

Double Digit Dance

2010-08-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

So as of today, I've lost 11.2 pounds. In 35 days. A perfectly normal, healthy weight loss. And you know what is amazing? It is easy. I'm not having cravings, I'm not cheating in my car on my way home from work, I'm not lying to myself about what I eat. I'm just eating what I should, and not eating what I shouldn't. My exercise is there, not crazy intense, but I'm doing stuff. This past week has been rough with football starting and hurting my back while walking around the block with Kevin. But aside from all that, it is working. Granted, I haven't SEEN the results, but I'm also not taking photos or measuring like I tell everyone on the site to do. I should take a photo tonight, and one every 2 weeks or so. I see the loss in Kevin, though the ass has lost 19 lbs to my 11. But he has always lost more quickly than I have, stupid boys. But he doesn't see it in himself either, so I think it is just because we see ourselves everyday. Plus I haven't REALLY noticed a difference in the way my clothes fit yet, I've had to tighten my belt a little, but not much. And nobody has really said anything to me yet. But that is OK, I know I'm losing, I know I'm a healthier person now. For example, our cheat night tonight was all you cane at sushi...really? I mean, I know rice is a ton of calories, but for a cheat night, sushi? And the thing is, I was perfectly satisfied with it, and I will be OK until our anniversary weekend, where we have already decided all bets are off, and we are going to eat how we want for the weekend. I figure I will just skip weighing that week, and give myself the following week to work off whatever I gain, and still not expect a ton of loss that week. But we have to be honest, and know we will have cheat weekends. And we have our cruise (so excited!) in May of next year. My goal is to be close to my goal weight by then (Maybe 150-160), and do whatever I want on the cruise, and get back on track as soon as we get home. I hope to be at my goal by my birthday next year. So essentially I'm giving myself a year to lose 73 lbs, I think that is entirely do able.
Anyway, enough rambling, I have things to do! :)

20 days in

2010-08-07T11:58:00.001-07:00

So I'm on day 20 of tracking my calories. I have stuck to 1300 a day, without going over. I ventured into going out to eat a few times this week, we'll see how my weigh in looks, since I did figure out the calories, honestly, but I always think restaurants are more calorie rich than the nutritional info lets on. Diana and I ate at Coffee Table, a local place, this week for lunch while prepping for our Mary Kay party, and I had a gardenburger patty melt. I LOVE patty melts, and this is a great way for me to be able to have them without ALL the calories. I had salad as a side, instead of their awesome onion rings. Then Kevin and I did El Pollo Loco, which is not as healthy as one would think. But I still managed to keep it under my goal. Then last night Diana and I ate at Panera, and it was by far the best restaurant meal I have had since this eating change. I didn't pick the lowest calorie items on the menu, I got what I wanted, and still managed to be under. The trick for me is planning ahead. I looked at their menu in the morning, figured out what I wanted, and planned the rest of my day around it. Cut out an afternoon snack, and viola, I have room for my meal. And the other good thing about planning ahead, I then know what I'm getting and can look forward to it all day!!
I'm falling off the workout wagon though, I need to get my ass in gear in the mornings and just do it. I feel better after I do, it is just leaving bed that early!! No excuses, just do it. Monday is a new week. Weigh in tomorrow, hopefully it has good news!

A Healthier Me

2010-07-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

So, as we all have probably experienced, being in a relationship makes you comfortable. And comfortable often equals fat. I have gained about 40 pounds in the last 5 years, and I wasn't happy with my weight 5 years ago. That tells you where I am now. So, after so many "efforts" at losing weight, I think I have finally gotten to the point where someone needs to be in order to be serious about it. No more excuses, no more "but I just LOOOVE food" no more of that. I need to look out for myself, and make a healthier me. I'm not going all crazy and working out 10 hours a day, or eating just celery or anything. I'm going to be smart, and slow and steady. Good choices, smaller portions, exercise every morning before work, I don't care if I'm tired. Drinking water, and only water. No more alcohol. I know all the right things to do, and that is why I have no excuses. I have the knowledge. I work in the health care field. Now I need to start taking care of my own health. I've been eating better the last 2 weeks. Exercise starts tomorrow (well, really today since my workout will be cleaning out the workout room!).
Diana will be keeping me accountable at work, since we love to be lunch buddies. No more of that! Kevin will be keeping me accountable at home. And all of you, please don't tempt me, but also don't belittle me when I cheat. Which I will. In order to have a healthy lifestyle, you need to cheat once in awhile, if for no other reason than the makes you remember how shitty you feel after eating shitty food!

So here we go. I have 73.2 pounds to go to reach may "goal weight". But really, I want to be a size 8. That is my goal. I'll keep you all posted on my progress!

Invisible Monsters

2010-07-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

So last week I finished book 2 of my 20 (what WAS I thinking!?!?!). I know I said my next book was Origin of the Species, and I did pick that one up, but I was having a really hard time with it, so I finally decided to put it down for awhile and work on some of the actually paper books I have (most are on my nook). So Jen recommended this book for me. It is a Chuck Palahniuk book, who I have never read before. I've seen Fight Club though!

Anyway, this was a really interesting read. I like books that start at the end, and you learn about the people through flashbacks, and general conversation in the book. No just saying flat out what the situation is in this book, he makes it a journey. You start out with one conception of the book, and he slowly reveals more information, making the book grow and change, and changing your opinion of the characters as you go. It is a really involved way to read a book, and I couldn't put it down. At the end of the book, I was full of surprise and wonder at the final outcome, and how very different it all looked at the end, which was also the beginning. He is a really fun guy to read, somewhat twisted, yes, and he obviously has a jaded outlook on our world, but that is ok! I don't need fluff and fuzzy feelings all the time. I plan on reading another one of his books sometime, when I'm done with all 20 of these, which was the entire purpose of this project, getting me into authors I never would have read!!

I'm already over 100 pages into my next book, Space, by James Michener. It was recommended by Skip. So far, so good!

Philly

2010-07-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Finally got my photos up on my Picasa. Enjoy my trip!!

Its DONE!!!!

2010-06-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

See the last 5 photos. Now all we need is to fix the REST of our yard!!

Patio

2010-06-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the progress on our backyard. They are laying concrete tomorrow!!

Las Vegas and The Lion King

2010-06-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I said I was going to blog about this last Monday, but life has been insane lately. So last weekend Kevin took me to Las Vegas, This was part of my 101 in 1001 list, where I had to let Kevin plan a trip with no input at all. For those of you who know me, this is very hard. I'm a list maker, a double checker, and a planner. So he made plans, all without my knowledge.

We stayed at Stratosphere, like we always do. We really like that hotel. It was over 100 every day we were there. So Saturday, the day we went up there, we had dinner at T&T, Tacos and Tequila at Luxor. It was mediocre. The margaritas didn't have hardly any alcohol in them, and the food seemed expensive for what we got. I got tostadas, and Kev got ceviche. After dinner we had a show, Fantasy at Luxor. It is a topless revue. It was pretty awesome. They had a comedian come out in the middle and he was HILARIOUS. The girls were hot, and it was a good time.

Sunday we got up late, lost the rest of our money, headed to Miracle Mile, our only tradition when we're in vegas, and ate at Cheeseburger and had a beer at Sin City Brewery. When we got back to the room, we took a nap, and Kev told me we were going to see Lion King tonight!! I was SHOCKED!! So we got ready, headed to Mandalay Bay, had dinner at Lupo, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. It was really good. Had gnocchi for the first time, yum! Then we wandered a bit before the show, and then it was time.

Lion King is one of my favorite Disney movies. I love the music, and love the story, it is just awesome. So at the beginning of the show, it is the Circle of Life song, and ALL the animals come out. We had an elephant walk right next to us, there were giraffes, birds, all the animals. It was amazing seeing how they managed to incorporate the way animals move, and look into costumes for people. The story was exactly the same as the movie, with soem extra songs thrown in. The actors were awesome, I think Timon and Pumba were my favorites, they were hilarious. Scar was also awesome, perfect villain. The children playing Simba and Nala were very good, great little actors!!

Overall, it was an AWESOME show. I just love live performances. Kevin enjoyed it more than he expected to as well, I think. Which is always good!! So that was essentially our weekend, we left for home the next morning.

Mary Kay

2010-05-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

So after almost 2 years of being a loyal Mary Kay user, I have made the leap to being a consultant. This is a VERY exciting step for me. I have been searching for the next step to take in my life, and this was simply staring me right in the face. I have been looking over, around and below it, and finally one day I decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. So last week I signed myself up!! I am SO excited about this, and it is so wonderful to feel like I am in complete control of my future, and my success. If I work hard, I WILL be successful. If I work hard enough, I can make this business what I want it to be.
So yeah, my debut party is June 12, and I hope to gain some new clients there. Diana and I are going to be working very hard as a team building our businesses, and it is very nice to have someone right there with me to motivate me and help me along when I have one of my billions of questions. We are going to two talks on Thursday, hopefully help me get a jump start on this business.
I have a website, I am in the process of ordering some inventory, and I have my starter kit coming with some inventory already. If you want to try anything out, let me know and we'll get goin!!

http://www.marykay.com/sblunden

The Talisman

2010-05-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Book one of twenty.

This was a LONG book, and it took me a long time to get through. The Talisman was recommended by Kevin, as well as Andy. I am SO not a Stephen King reader, and I think he has a few more books on my list.

So this book took me awhile to get into, the beginning was pretty slow, IMHO, and I had to put it down, read something else, then go back to it. Once I did that, I was hooked. It is a very interesting look at a boy becoming a man, good vs evil, and how to listen to your heart, as well as your mind.

Stephen King does a very good job of writing scenes that make you uncomfortable, and that is definitely something I do not really enjoy reading. Much like I do not enjoy horror movies, I don't LIKE being uncomfortable. But since he is so good at writing the villain, that lends itself to those situations. I so much like it better when he is writing the sweet, unassuming characters, like Wolf, and Tom Cullen from The Stand. So there were definitely stretched of a hundred pages or more of this book I did not enjoy, but there were also stretches of the same length that I couldn't get enough of. I found myself wondering towards the end of the book how it could possibly go on for another 400 pages (nook pages), since they were alsmot at the end, but he has a way of writing that just seems to eat up pages, and next time I looked down at my page counter, I was 150+ pages further than last time I looked.

So while this book took me awhile to get into, in the end it really was worth it. Good triumphs over evil, and people who do things right, always end up figuring it out in the end. My general outlook on life.

So now I'm on to an easy read, Emily Giffin's Heart of the Matter, then on to book 2, which I think is going to be Origin of the Species by Darwin. Or Interview with a Vampire. We'll se ehow I feel when I need to start the next one!

Zoo!!

2010-05-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 1
So today we went to the San Diego Zoo for my Moms birthday, and for Kaitlyn. It was fun, even though the lions were sleeping, boo!! Photos behind the cut.

More...

As you can see, t was a very fun day!! We came back to the campsite for dinner, presents, and bed!

Sunday
We woke up, broke down our tent and packed up, ate some breakfast, walked the dog, and then got on the road. Kev and I stopped at Spaghetti Factory on the way home, YUM!! Now we're just vegging out for the rest of what is left of the night, and back to work tomorrow. Lets hope for a good week!!

Recap

2010-05-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

So yeah, its been awhile. I'm not going to go day by day, cause frankly I can't remember. So here is a quick recap.

Saturday April 17
Jen's Bday in Universal. Jen has never been to Universal Studios, despite being born and raised in southern CA. So we decided MONTHS ago that we would all go for her birthday. Much fun ensued. The Mummy ride is awesome, and Jurassic Park is still my favorite there!! I could ride through the first park forever.

Thankful for friends

Sunday April 18.
Highest of highs to lowest of lows. Kelly's Mom passed this morning. She has been sick for awhile with cancer, and now her suffering has finally ended. I'm so glad I went to visit last weekend.

Thankful that I could visit with Donna last weekend.

Ok, the week passed without incident really, and I made plans to go up to Fresno Thursday night to be with Kelly and her family. Oh!! Except I bought a new car on Tuesday!! A 2009 Ford Fusion. I love her!!!

Friday, April 23
Kelly and I just did some running around today, shopping, etc. The viewing was tonight, and that wasn't exactly easy for anyone. This is one of those situations that everyone handles differently, some people go right up to the casket and say what they need to say, others don't go up at all, it is a very personal experience. I was there just for Kelly, and have only been to one other viewing in my life, for my grandmother, and it wasn't exactly an awesome experience. They aren't for me. So anyway, I just tried to support Kelly, then went to get the family dinner and headed home. We hung out, and then just went to bed.

Lesson learned: I don't want a viewing.

Saturday, April 24
This morning is the funeral. My family (Mom, SKip and Kev) are coming up for it. I'm glad, as funerals are always hard for me, and this one is especially difficult, considering Donna was 58 years old. And it was hard, as expected. About 200 people showed, which was fabulous for the family. The luncheon afterward was really nice, I got to hang out with my family for a bit. We took home a TON of food. I think after all of that was over everyone was just so relieved. Kelly's community is a HOA community, and her HOA was putting on a casino night that night. We all (Kelly, her dad and bro, and myself) decided to check it out. We got $1000 in chips to play, and at the end of the night each $200 in chips ogt you a ticket for one of the many prizes. We played Craps mostly, which is fun, and the best way to learn is with free money!! We all did ok, except her brother Craig, who lost all of his money!! Anyway, we entered for various things, but I really wanted either the dinner and fireworks cruise in San Francisco or the Phantom of the Opera tickets at Pantages in October. And we won tickets to Phantom!! So Kelly is coming down and making a weekend out of it. I'm so excited!!

Thankful my friend was able to make it through this awful weekend, and we had something happy happen at the end!

Sunday, April 25
Left for home today, it was an exhausting weekend. I'm so glad I could be there for my friend!! Long drive home, and relaxing for a few hours before my week started up again!

Thankful for some rest.

Aother uneventful week...though it was kind of a crappy one. Difficult times at work. Hopefully they'll pass. We're going out of town this weekend again, camping in San Diego for my Mom's birthday. Zoo Saturday with Kaitlyn. I'll post some photos and do a new blog entry about the weekend!!

Week in Review

2010-04-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

Friday:
Geez, that was a long time ago. Ummm...Seems like a stop by my parents house never ends up just a stop. I ran by there on my way home from work today to grab some mail, look at a photobook, and be on my way. Well my parents hadn't left for camping yet, and the baby was there. So Kaitlyn and I spent some time playing in her new water thing, which was a blast, then chatting, etc etc. I'm so glad I like hanging out with my parents!!

Saturday:
Off to Fresno today. Taking this trip for a couple reasons, one of them is because my friend Melissa is pregnant, just got married, and bought a house! Busy time for them!! Her mom was throwing a celebration party, and I decided to go. One of the things about college is after you're done, most people move away. You got what you needed out of school, and you're on your way with life. Unfortunately, that usually means long distances. Thanks goodness for social networking sites that keep us up to date on what everyone is doing, or else we wouldn't be in touch at all!! Still, that isn't that same as having face to face conversation. Melissa is one of those friends where we can go for months without talking, and once we're in the same room again, pick right up where we left off. It is awesome. I am very thankful I got to spend this day with her, and get to go to her shower in just a few weeks!!

Sunday:
The other part of my trip was much more serious. I went to visit my friend Kelly and her family. Kelly's mom is very sick, and while I am trying to be a supportive friend, it is difficult from a distance, so I decided I needed to be in town for a few days and visit with them. It was very good to see Kelly.
This trip got me thinking about the events in our life that change us. That form who we are, how we deal with situations, and out interpersonal relationships. Kelly is a different woman today than she was 2 years ago. Understandably so, her life has been turned upside down, and nothing is how she expected it would be.
I am like that too. All of the drama, trials and tribulations in my life have shaped the person I am. My life is the reason I hold some people right inside my heart, and most others, while I love them dearly, will never get past that wall I've put up. Now, my life has not been "difficult" but it has had its fair share of difficult times, stressful situations. And they've shaped me. I like who I am, I feel like I trust people, and I'm a good person. But it always amazes me how easy it is for me to cut someone out of my life. You hurt me or mine, and you're done. It is very weird.

Anyway, today I'm thankful that I got to spend some time with Kelly and her family.

Monday:
Sick!!!! I don't know if I caught something at Bryan's house this weekend, or what is going on. Started last night, at dinner with Kevin and his dad and Jill, which is unfortunate, because we went to a really nice place that I couldn't exactly enjoy like it was meant to be enjoyed. Oh well. I slept in most of today, ate rice, and that is pretty much it. Hopefully better soon.
Thankful I was able to stay home today.

Tuesday:
I got to sleep in again today, and have a quick day at work, which was good. I tried to eat lunch, but was nauseous again. Bleh. Kevin made omelets for dinner, which were really good, and he"ll have to make them again sometime when I can really appreciate them!! I got some Ginger Ale on the way home, which is a godsend. it is a soda I don't drink much, but I LOVE.
My wedding photobook is on its way today!! And Skip and I figured out some awesome stuff for Mom!! Looking forward to the next month or so, busy busy times!!
Thankful for a short work day today.

Wednesday:
You know, sometimes people just don't appreciate what they have, and always want more. We had a very unhappy client who called me today wanting to know why my Aquatic Fitness class was cancelled Monday (sick) and demanding an understudy, or someone on call at all times to come in and teach. This guy doesn't pay for the Aquatic Fitness classes, and comes sporadically. It is sooo frustrating when my daily people, the ones who I've had in class everyday for the past 3 years are OK with the way we run things, and someone out of the blue comes in and expects us to change everything for him. Ugh!!
Lesson learned today: Sometime, you can't explain rational thought to people who don't want to hear it.

Thursday:
You know, I don't understand Softball. I mean, I enjoy sports, I enjoy watching sports...but Softball bothers me. it is like whoever created the game said "Girl's can't run a hard 90, they can't throw overhand...let's make it easier for them." And girls just said "OK." I played softball when I was younger, before I had any idea what the differences in sports were, and why that should upset me. But now, watching it, I just don't enjoy it. I enjoy baseball so much more, it is more a game of accuracy, of speed, of delicate skill. Softball is too close together for any of that.
But Hoover won, mercy rule. Yay!!
Thankful for the Mercy Rule today!!

Friday:
Some days just start bad, and continue on that way. Last night, my trackball in my Blackberry decided to break, it would no longer stay IN my phone. So my plan was to go to the Verizon store at lunch and get a new phone. Well we're also doing some heavy thinking on our car situation and how that will affect us for the next 3+ years. So I cleaned out my car last night and had the intention of talking to a dealership after my baseball game. Well, since I cleaned my car, I had a ton of stuff to carry with me from the house back to my car this morning. keys, sweatshirt, medical kit, phone......which made it very easy for me to leave my purse on the table. I get in my car, think "Do I need gas before I head out? Nah...I'll get it on my way home." and off I go. Traffic was Friday light, and I got to work in plenty of time to go to Starbucks, sweet. I pull into the lot, reach to my passenger seat to grab my purse...and it is not there. Not on the floor, or in the backseat. I realize my issue. it is sitting at home on the table. "Ok, I think to myself, I don't NEED my purse today." and I pull out of the lot. Then my gas light comes on, and I remember my trip to the Verizon store, and proposed trip to car lot...oh....shit.
So I come in to work, and a few co workers are kind enough to lend me gas money so I can get home, I totally re-arrange my day, plan on going to Verizon when I get home after my baseball game, and postpone car dealership trip until next week. Which turned out to be good, because I found a different car I want to look at. Which will hopefully save me money.
Today I learned, check yourself before you walk out of the house!!! Leaving my purse at home was debilitating!!!

Universal with Andy and Jen tomorrow!! Yay!!!

The week so far

2010-04-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

Monday:
Been doing a lot of thinking lately. I've mentioned before that one of my very good friends mothers is going through some health issues. Things are getting serious now, and I've been trying to be a good friend and offer support, and advice when I need to. But I've come to realize I often have no idea what the right thing to say is. I have no idea how I would handle her situation, what I would want from my friends, and what words I would need to hear. So I'm having a very hard time trying to be a good friend. What do you say when there are no words?

Lesson: It is easy to be a good friend when things are easy, the real true friends are there when things are uncomfortable, not at all fun, and sad.

Tuesday:
Stayed home and did some more planting today. We got a lot of rain on Monday, which made our soil SO much easier to work with, so I was able to plant the rest of the two flats, as well as one of the Eunoymus'. Kevin planted the rest when he came home.

The purple things are the purple iceplant, the green things will bloom red iceplant.

So 2 flats down, 7 to go...though I think we're going to need 2 more flats to finish the whole sideyard. Man my back hurts!!

Today I'm thankful for getting some progress made on our sideyard!!

Wednesday:
Diana and I carpooled to work today. I love carpooling. We get to talk freely, without worrying about being in the staff office. We learn more about each others past and personal lives. It is funny how I feel about our friendship. It is like all of the other people I am REAL friends with have known me for so long, or been through some growing phases of my life, that I don't need to explain so much, they just KNOW about me. Like Kevin, we didn't have a "getting to know you" stage, becuase I'd known him for 9 years when we got together. Sure, some college friends had that, but we also had hockey to tie us together, and that honestly took up so much of our time we just learned stuff along the way.
The past year and a half Diana and I have had the chance to really learn about each other, and only through each other. I don't really know her family, and she doesn't really know mine. So we only talk to each other about each other. It is different. Plus, she is honestly one of the kindest most genuine people I know. Whenever we're done carpooling for the day, and I get in my car and drive the rest of my way home, I can't halp but marvel at how lucky I am to have a friend like her, and how frustrating it is to want something for someone and not be able to give it to them.
Have you ever had someone impact your life in a wonderful and unexpected way? I didn;t think we would even be freidnly, let alone friends when she started!! What a surprise!

Today I'm thankful for Diana and her wonderful friendship!

Thursday:
So our TV has been on the fritz for the past month or so. It kept taking longer and longer to turn on, until finally after me turning it on when I left for work, and it not turning on until 6 that night, we decided to leave it on until we took it to get fixed. Well, we finally did that this afternoon, so now I am sitting in a house with no tv (hence getting my blogging done!) and it is so wonderful how quiet it is!! Kev is playing on his DS, because he is a video game addict right now, and I'm just typing away, with no background noise. It makes me happy! I think we should turn off our tv more often. Maybe have one night a week that is a no tv night...wonder how the hubby will like that one. I know in my 1001 list, I have turning off the tv for one week so that is going to have to happen sometime. Today, I'm just enjoying the silence.

Thankful for quiet today.

Planting

2010-04-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday:
So we have been working on our side yard for a few weeks now. All our yard is is dead grass and weeds, and we are tired of being THAT HOUSE on the block, so we started doing what we could about it. We dug up all of the dead grass and weeds on the sideyard so we had a fresh slate.

Many trips to Lowes later (one in which I finally bought my succulent garden!)

We finally had all the tools necessary to do this yard business. Kev got a pickaxe...scary.

Then, yesterday, we went to Superior Nursery to get our plants. We bought 8 Eunoymus' in 3 different breeds, and 9 flats of iceplant, in purple and red.

We spend 3+ hours today planting, and didn't get much done at all. Turns out our sideyard is concrete. Yay. Kevin got 4 of the Eunoymus planted, and I got maybe 1/3 of two flats planted (alternating red and purple). Hope to get more done Tuesday!!

Today I'm thankful for plants, and the shower, since yardwork makes you dirty!!!

Kooking with Kev

2010-04-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday: Kooking with Kev
So today we decided to make taquitos. That, and poystickers which have been previously featured on the blog, are Kevin's two favorite dishes from his childhood. I'm convinced they are favorite because they take hours to make, so they were only there for special occasions. Anyway, here is our play by play for Taquito Making.
More...
First, essentially, you make a pot roast. We bought a hunk of meat, added some water, onion, potatoes, and onion dip, and cooked for about 6 hours. Took the meat out, and shredded it.

Then we put a ton of oil in a pot (like a whole bottle) and turned up the heat (too much to start with, splatter city!!) Take shredded meat, put in tortillas:

roll tortilla to taquito shape

put in oil...first hold it with tongs to retain taquito roll, then let fry in oil.

Repeat:

Make some Guacamole, buy sour cream, hot sauce, and beans, and viola!! Deliciousness!!!

Today I'm thankful for 6 wonderful months married to the man I love.

Friday: Mt. Rushmore of Sports

2010-04-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

So I'm changing things up. Unless I do something exciting, relating to the house, or photography, I'm not going to write about my days anymore. Its boring. I'll still post my thankful or lesson of the day at the bottom, but my whole post will be about something that got me thinking that day, or my opinion on something specific. We'll se ehow that goes.

So today, driving in to work I was listening to Mark and Brian (as always) and they were going on about an ESPN article about the Mt. Rushmore of sports in your state. I guess each state voted on what four athletes would make their Mt. Rushmore. In other words, the states most important athletes. California has John Wooden, Jackie Robinson, Tiger Woods and Magic Johnson. I agree, though I think the first two are far more important than the second two...

This got me to thinking, who would I put on MY Mt. Rushmore? Sports are very important in my life, and what four athletes could I safely say helped that happen? It really made me think. Do I include the minor league hockey players that are nobody, but made me love the game on a personal level, or just stick to pros who made me APPRECIATE the game? Hmmm... I decided to just stick to pros, because minor leaguers are too sentimental. Though I will give a shout out to Kayle Short, the guy that made me become a Fresno Falcons fan, and expanded my love for hockey. He was the first player to throw a kind word to a nervous athletic training intern.

Ok, so here is my Mt. Rushmore of Sports:

Steve Yzerman (for the record, M&B did NOT know who this was, and pronounced it Yizzerman. Bleh.)
Mike Piazza
LenDale White
Kelly Hrudey

Who is on yours?

Today I'm thankful for good friends.

This week

2010-04-02T07:02:00.001-07:00

Lets see if I can knock a week out in the 15 minutes I have before I have to leave for work today.

Monday:
Let's see. Today was a pretty normal day, nothing out of the ordinary. The boss took a few of the Athletic Trainers to Starbucks to discuss some new changes to our billing system. It was nice to be included in the creation of these new processes. I'm not sure how successful they will be yet, we'll see. When I cam home tonight a bunch of the sideyard was dug up, yay!!

Today I'm thankful for Kevin, Trav, and Wilson for doing yardwork!!

Tuedsay:
Since tomorrow is end of the month and therefore a really long day for me, I got to stay home today. Yay!! I did a whole bunch of nothing, since I am feeling pretty crummy this week. Watched a bunch of my house hunting shows, some cooking shows, read a little bit...and then Kev came home. We did some more yard work and finished off the side yard, yay!! Now we need to buy some plants and figure out where we want to plant them and everything, so it doesnt grow over with weeds again!

Today I'm thankful for a day of rest, excapt yard work.

Wednesday:
Long, 11 hour day today. Bleh. And I did nothing but paperwork! Well, I put my hands on one patient, for a half an hour. Other than that, behind my desk typing away. At least I got most of my stuff done. And the PTs were awesome at getting thier billing done ASAP so I could go home as early as possible. I was only there until about 7:20, which is great for a end of month day!

Today I'm thankful the PTs were aware of my needs, and helped get me home at a "reasonalbe" time.

Thursday:
Shorter day today. Normal work day, got some big projects I hope to finish Friday or Monday (or Tuesday!). I had a dentist appt, bleh! The dentist is never fun! I have 3 cavities hes been keeping an eye on that he deicded we had to fill, so I have 2 more appointments this month to get that done. Joy. Home to make dinner, not feeling good at all. I ate about three bites of spaghetti, and that is one of my FAVORITE dinners!! In bed at 8:45, alseep by 9:15.

Thankful for not having anything worse at the dentist today.

Hanging with friends tomorrow night. Hopefully fun and drama free!! :)

This week

2010-03-28T18:35:00.001-07:00

So I know I'm behind, hopefully after today I can be caught up mostly, except for Mondays, when I'm away from the house from 7:30am until 9pm. No blogs those days. Anyway, here we go!

Monday:
We arrived home from the airport at 1am this morning. Went to sleep almost immediately, after giving the cat some love. Poor Kev had to be up at 4am to be at work by 6, I got to sleep in until around 9, woke up and did some laundry, and left for work around 11:30 to be at work by 1. Had a ton of paperwork to catch up on, but nothing exploded while I was gone, so that was good! Taught my class and headed home, pretty exhausted.
Today I'm thankful that I got to sleep in.

Tuesday:
Got to sleep in again today, though not as much as yesterday. Had to be at work by 11, a few hours in the office, and then off to a baseball game, our home opener. It was a gorgeous day today, I wish I would have worn shorts!! Unfortunately, we had some serious fielding errors, and lost I think 10-1. I got to work the scoreboard though, since it apparently takes a college degree to do so. It wasn't THAT difficult...but whatever. It was fun.
Today I'm thankful for baseball!!

Wednesday:
Regular work day today, just in the clinic. I had pretty much all day to do paperwork, which was a good thing. Realized since I hadn't had to wake up at normal work hours yet this week, I was still in Hawaii time. So my 6:30 alarm was not a welcome sound. Took a lot out of me to get to work and be in a good mood today...I'm not sure about the good mood success, but I made it to work, worked my shift, and got to go home at 5, yay for a normal shift!! Nothing horribly exciting today.
Thankful for a normal work shift, and getting to actually see and spend time with my hubby.

Thursday:
8am start time this morning, another tough day! But it was a shorter clinic day, which is always nice. Had to do some stuff at work I don't usually do and are not comfortable with, so that was a little frustrating, but whatever, I got through it and everything worked out ok. Thank goodness. I had a Drs appt, and scheduled a full physical, blood work and everything, to start on that part of my 101 in 1001 list. We'll see what the blood work says, and how far I have to travel to get where I want to be. I'm trying to figure out which doctor I should go to about my legs this time, hopefully one that will DO something for me, and not just tell me I need to lose weight (duh!). If I could run, hike, bike, or elliptical without pain, that goal would be slightly easier to obtain. Kind of a round robin. For your legs not to hurt, you need to lose weight, but to lose weight, you need to be able to exercise without your legs hurting....hmmm...so we'll see where that goes. I need to ask for some MD references from my co workers.
Anyway, today I'm thankful for my overall health, even though some stuff is painful, I'm still lucky to have the health I do!!

Friday:
TGIF!!! Another early day, but work was ok. Some very frustrating things came up this morning, but they were mostly explained and not as frustrating by the afternoon. I need to learn not to get so worked up over things out of my control. I get sooo mad when stuff at work is arbitrarily changed without my knowledge, and those things directly affect me. I'm not the boss, I just need to say "ok, if that's how you want it done, that is how we will do it." Working on it...
Diana and I found a good mexican place for lunch today, cheap, tasty food. Their service could have been a little better, we'll give them a few more tries for that part of it...but it is nice to find random good restaurants around our work, so yay about that!!
Baseball was painful again today. We were mercied after 5 innings, 15-1. Again, poor fielding was our downfall...as well as leaving many runners on base. I have hope for this team, a few small changes will make a huge difference..and if we could get some more kids, we only have 12 varsity players right now...
Friday night dinner with the family again this week, and again, Kaitlyn is so much bigger than last time I saw her! More and more words, and more and more personality. I just love that kid!!!
Today I'm thankful for yummy mexican food!!!

Saturday:
Ahhh, the weekend!! Slept in until around 9 this morning, felt great. Kev and I went to Lowe's last night and got some gardening tools, so we could start on our yard. So this morning, that is exactly what we did. We spent about 2 hours outside digging up our side yard. The dead grass is fairly easy to pull up, but the crab grass and weeds are not! We only got maybe 1/4 of the side yard done this morning, and are very tired and sore!!
After the yard work and showers (dust gets in the strangest places!!) we headed out to breakfast, and to pick up our Angel Food delivery, then came home and relaxed for a little bit. Kev went to band practice, and I slept for about 2 hours while he was gone, then ran to the store and did grocery shopping. When he got home we headed to Santa Clarita to have dinner at TGI Fridays. My football coaches got me gift cards as my year end gift, and so I used those. The Jack Daniels burger is sooooo good!! My favorite!!! We then headed home and promptly fell asleep, long exhausting day!!
Today I'm thankful that we got some yard work started...one small step!!

Sunday:
Disney day!! One of my best friends, Stacey and her husband were at Disney today, celebrating her spring break from school (yay!) and Kev and I decided to head down to meet them for lunch. We made the trek down there, rode Buzz Lightyear, and had lunch at ESPN Zone, did some shopping, and headed home. A quick trip, but we were both still very tired and it was hotter there than we expected! Traffic was crummy on the way home, and it took us over 2 hours, bleh!! But we're finally home, and Kevin is playing Bio Shock 2 while I'm blogging, after this I need to make my breakfasts for the week, and finish our never ending laundry stack. A nice way to end the weekend, I think. A relaxing evening with my husband! Hopefully this next week is stress free and uneventful as well!!
Today I'm thankful for getting to see Stacey and Bren!! I love you guys!!

Hawaii Part 2

2010-03-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

So here is the rest of my vacation. Enjoy!!
More...
Tuesday:
Pearl Harbor day. Kevin and I woke up around 8, got ready and headed down to Pearl Harbor. We arrived around 11 and got our ticket to the USS Arizona. They only do a certain number of tours a day, and we were on the 2:40 boat. So we have a little over 3 hours to kill. We decided to head over to the USS Missouri, the place where the Pacific Theater of WWII ended.

We took a little tour of this ship, learned about it's history, and then did some walking around on our own. I realized I could NO WAY live on a battle ship. The halls are cramped and small, the beds are teeny tiny, and it is just plain claustrophobic.

After a few hours on the Missouri, we headed back to the area by Pearl Harbor (we had to take a bus to Ford Island to the Missouri). We wandered the gift shop, looked at the submarine memorial, which listed all (?) the subs lost at sea during WWII. It was pretty sad reading that. Then it was time to go to the USS Arizona. We headed that way, passing the anchor as we went.

Then, JUST as we climbed on to the boat that was to take us to the memorial, the skies opened up. Like POURING. We got soaked, and most of the memorial, with the exception of the shrine room, is open sky. As soon as we arrived at the memorial, our tour guide told us to head to the shrine room.

This was the room that got me. Each one of the 1,177 men that died that early morning are listed in alphabetical order on the wall. Each one of those men is entombed in the Arizona, below our feet. Intense.
Military members who survived the attack that night are given the option of being interred on the Arizona after thier death.

Some other photos:

As of 2010, 68 years after the explosion that destroyed Arizona, oil leaks from the hull still rise to the surface of the water. Arizona continues to leak about a quart (0.95 L) of oil per day into the harbor. Survivors from the crew say that the oil will continue to leak until the last survivor dies.

After that we headed home, relaxed for the day, and had dinner at the house. I'm thankful for every one of our soldiers today. They have the courage to do things I don't think I have the courage to do. Thank you for protecting me.

Wednesday:
Woke up around 8 again today, and vegged out on the couch for a bit. Then the family decided to head out to Dole Pineapple and see how the day went. This was something I really wanted to do!!

It was extremely underwhelming. The train ride was pretty lame. We didn't do the maze...but I spent some money in the gift shop, and Kevin and I discovered Loco Moco!! A local dish involving a hamburger patty, rice, over easy eggs, and gravy. Don't knock it till you try it!!
We spent too much time at Dole, and we never made it to Shave Ice in Hali'ewa. Boo!! Then it was time for home and get ready for dinner at Cheeseburger. I had the Loco Moco there....it was good, but next time I'll get a burger...
I got my sunset shot as we were walking down Waikiki to the restaurant. Not exactly what I wanted, but it had to do, we were on the sunrise side of the island most of the time!!

Today I'm thankful for pineapples, cause I LOVE pineapples!!

Thursday:
Woke up early this morning with Meghan to take some sunrise shots. It was cloudy, which made us have to test our patience, but in the end I think it made for more interesting photos.

After that it was time to get up and head to Diamondhead. That is a crater on Oahu. A 0.75 mile (1.1 km) hike leads to the edge of the crater's rim. Signs at the trailhead say that the hike takes 1.5–2 hours round-trip, and recommends that hikers bring water and flashlights. Although not difficult, the signs also say that the hike is not a casual one: the mostly unpaved trail winds over uneven rock, ascends 74 steps, then through a tunnel and up another steep 99 steps. Next is a small tunnel (hence the flashlight) to a narrow spiral staircase (about 30 steps) inside a coastal artillery observation platform built in 1908. From the summit above the observation platform both Waikīkī and the Pacific Ocean can be seen in detail.
Unfortunately, my posterior compartment syndrome acted up during this hike, so I was unable to tackle the last set of stairs:

to make it to the top. But Kev did, and captured some great photos with his phone.

and this is the view from the ground up:

Steve and Naomi, who hiked with us, took our photo on the way down:

and here is the view of the trail...we all looked like ants moving along

After Diamondhead we went to Waikiki, spent a few hours there, ate at Eggs n Things (yay!) and then headed back home.
Today I'm thankful for the beautiful views of Hawaii.

Friday:
So today Mom and Skip went down to Waikiki again to meet up with Doug and Angela. Kev and I stayed home, relaxed, I slept for about an hour on the couch, just vegged out. Then we walked down to the Shrimp Shack (a little old place where you eat crustaceans, Shrimp Shack baaaabbbbyyyy!). It is about a quarter mile walk from the house, and we walked it on the beach...because...we're in Hawaii!!

Waded through some water...

And then we made it!!

Kev had the spicy shrimp plate, and I had a half and half of coconut shrimp (with guava honey, yum!) and garlic butter shrimp. All were delicious!!

Today I'm thankful for fresh seafood!! And walking along the beach!!

Saturday:
Wedding day!! 10am wedding, so we were up, ready and out of the house pretty quick. It was a gloomy morning, but we were hopeful for "partly cloudy" like the weather channel said! Once we got to Hali'ewa Ali'i Beach Park we headed to the shore and saw a Monk Seal!! Gooo F2!!

Then it was time for the festivities. I don't have any photos of the ceremony, but once some get posted, I'll be sure to link to them!! It was a very nice ceremony, perfect for Doug and Angela. Then it was time for photos, then a casual lunch reception. The food was delicious!!! Best buffet chicken I've ever had!!
I'll go ahead and post some photos of everything now. Enjoy!

Yay!!
Thankful for a happy marriage today between my brother and the woman he loves!!

Sunday:
Travel day, bleh. Not much to be said for today, except thankful for a safe arrival, even though it was at 1am....

I'll post my thankfuls for the rest of this week in a separate blog tomorrow....I'm all blogged out!!

Virtual Soapbox

2010-03-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

I usually don't do this. I pay attention to politics, but don't get to emotionally invested. Because as much as we are a free nation, I don't make the decisions that affect me. Or don't affect me...my government does. And regardless, someone is unhappy, someone is uninformed, and someone is bitching about it. So to save my sanity, I don't get involved. But this one...this one struck me. Mostly because of how strong the opposition is, and I simply can't understand why. So I decided to climb up on the Virtual Soapbox (I'm borrowing Doug's today) and speak my piece.
I'm not trying to change minds. I don't want emotional arguments. I'm just trying to inform, and offer a little bit of my opinion on the matter. Please remember, I work in the health care field. My employer is a not for profit hospital.

Universal Health Care

First off, some facts and background information.

EMTALA - Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act link
EMTALA requires hospitals and ambulance services to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay. There are no reimbursement provisions. As a result of the act, patients needing emergency treatment can be discharged only under their own informed consent or when their condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment. The cost of emergency care required by EMTALA is not directly covered by the federal government. More than half of all emergency room care in the U.S. now goes uncompensated. Hospitals write off such care as charity or bad debt for tax purposes. Increasing financial pressures on hospitals in the period since EMTALA's passage have caused consolidations and closures, so the number of emergency rooms is decreasing despite increasing demand for emergency care.
Essentially, this says that if anyone walks into an emergency room requiring emergency health care, they HAVE to be treated. The hospital is not allowed to ask for insurance or payer information prior to treatment. The hospitals eat this cost.

Some more info on Emergency Care in California link
Every single person living in California has access to care—the 6.5 million uninsured simply get theirs in our emergency rooms, the single most expensive place to see a doctor. Last year, 27 hospitals in San Diego County reported losing $620 million in uncompensated care. At Scripps Mercy, the uncompensated care total was almost $50 million.

California hospitals shouldered more than $5 billion for uncompensated care in 2003. "Providing uncompensated care to the 7 million uninsured Californians only adds to the relentless and increasing financial pressures on hospitals. In 2003 alone, California hospitals provided more than $5 billion in uncompensated care (adjusted for cost) to low-income and uninsured patients." Source: "California Hospitals’ Financial Condition: On Life Support," California Health Care Association, June 2004.

Emergency visits cost three times more than a normal outpatient visit. According to a study of Emergency Departments in California, the average cost (in 1998 dollars) for an ER outpatient visit was $350, more than three times as much as the cost of a normal outpatient visit. Furthermore, the average cost of ER outpatient care does not decline as the number of patients increases. Source: “Marginal Costs of Emergency Department Outpatient Visits: An update using California data,” USC Center for Health Financing, Policy, and Management, November 2005.

The uninsured are more than five times more likely to use ER for primary care. “About 20 percent of the uninsured (vs. 3 percent of those with coverage) say their usual source of care is the emergency room.” Source: “The Uninsured: A Primer, Key Facts about Americans without Health Insurance,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2006.

The uninsured are more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition. “Nationally, the uninsured are 30 to 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, with the average cost of an avoidable hospital stayed estimated to be about $3,300” Source: “Hidden Costs, Values Lost: Uninsurance in America,” Institute of Medicine, June 2003.

The Uninsured
link (older article, pre 2007)

Nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured in the United States. More than 8.3 million of the uninsured are children. More than 8 out of 10 uninsured persons are in working families that cannot afford health insurance, and most are not eligible for public programs.

83 percent of the uninsured are in working families
62.1 percent live in households with a full-time worker and 21.3 percent with a part-time worker
17.8 percent of non-elderly Americans are uninsured
21.2 percent of African-Americans are uninsured
34.3 percent of Hispanics are uninsured

Hospitals and physicians shoulder the financial burden for the uninsured by incurring billions of dollars in bad debt or "uncompensated care" each year. Fifty-five percent of emergency care goes uncompensated, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The amount of uncompensated care delivered by non federal community hospitals grew from 6.1 billion in 1983 to 40.7 billion in 2004, according to a 2004 report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

In the past, hospitals shifted uncompensated care costs to insured patients to make up the difference. However, cost shifting no longer is a viable option because managed care and other health plans have instituted strict price controls, leaving little margin to shift costs. More than one-third of emergency physicians lose an average of $138,300 each year from EMTALA-related bad debt, according to a May 2003 American Medical Association study. Emergency physicians and other specialists combined lost $4.2 billion in revenue in 2001 providing care mandated by EMTALA.

link (yes, I know it is wiki..)

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2007, 45.7 million people in the U.S. (15.3% of the population) were without health insurance for at least part of the year. This number was down slightly from the previous year, with nearly 3 million more people receiving government coverage and a slightly lower percentage covered under private plans than the year previous. Other studies have placed the number of uninsured in the years 2007-2008 as high as 86.7 million, about 29% of the US population.

Among the uninsured population, the Census Bureau says, nearly 37 million were employment-age adults (ages 18 to 64), and more than 27 million worked at least part time. About 38% of the uninsured live in households with incomes of $50,000 or more. According to the Census Bureau, nearly 36 million of the uninsured are legal U.S citizens. Another 9.7 million are non-citizens, but the Census Bureau does not distinguish in its estimate between legal non-citizens and illegal immigrants. Nearly one fifth of the uninsured population is able to afford insurance, almost one quarter is eligible for public coverage, and the remaining 56% need financial assistance (8.9% of all Americans). Extending coverage to all who are eligible remains a fiscal challenge.

OK, now that you know all about the massive number of uninsured, and what a strain this puts on our health care system, on to the Health Care Bill.

The Facts:
link
When fully phased in, 95 percent of eligible Americans would have health insurance coverage, compared with 83 percent today.

Health insurance mandate - Almost everyone is required to get health insurance or else pay a fine. There is an exemption for low-income people. Mandate takes effect in 2014.

Health insurance reforms - Starting this year, health insurance carriers would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. Parents would be able to keep older kids on their health insurance coverage up to age 26. A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion goes into high gear. Major consumer safeguards would also take effect in 2014. Health insurance providers would be prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. Health insurance carriers could not charge women more.

Medicaid (Medi-Cal)
Expands Medicaid to include 133 percent of federal poverty level which is $29,327 for a family of four.
Requires states to expand Medicaid to include childless adults starting in 2014.
Federal Government pays 100 percent of costs for covering newly eligible individuals through 2016.
Illegal immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.

How this affects YOU link
Insured through Employer:

Within six months, the plans will have to stop some practices, like setting lifetime limits on coverage and canceling policy holders who get sick. They will also have to allow children to stay on their parents’ policies through age 26 and cover children with pre-existing conditions, but can still deny adults with medical problems until 2014.
Insurers will have to pay a 40 percent excise tax on high-value group plans – those in which premiums for families are $27,500 or more, for instance – starting in 2018. Experts say the tax will likely be passed on to employees through higher premiums or lower benefits and wages.
Starting in 2013, flexible spending accounts, which allow users to escape taxes on many medical expenses now, will be limited. There will be a $2,500 maximum on accounts that typically carry $4,000 or $5,000 limits now, and you will no longer be able to use the accounts for over-the-counter medicines.
High-income earners — families making more than $250,000 – would pay several thousand dollars more in Medicare payroll taxes starting in 2013. Their unearned income, now exempt from the payroll tax, would also be subject to a 3.8 percent levy.

If you are uninsured:
Starting in 2014, anyone with an income below 133 percent of the poverty level — or about $29,327 in 2009 for a family of four — will be eligible for a rejuvenated Medicaid program. Medicaid’s often anemic reimbursements will be increased to the same level as Medicare, making more doctors willing to accept it.

Coverage for those making up to four times the poverty threshold — $88,200 for a family of four in 2009 — will get subsidies on a sliding scale. That means you will pay somewhere between 3 percent and 9.5 percent of your income for insurance, and the government will cover the rest.
Health plans will cover at least 60 percent of medical costs. Insurers will also have to offer more tiers that cover up to 90 percent of costs for additional premiums.
Premiums of older people can be no more than three times as expensive as those of younger people.
There will also be limits on overhead and profit. Insurers will be required to spend between 80 cents and 85 cents of every premium dollar on health care. They have been paying about 74 cents on average.
Health plans on exchanges can offer abortion coverage. But if they do, subscribers who get federal subsidies will have to make separate premium payments for the coverage. States can prohibit abortion coverage.

If you choose not to get health coverage:

The penalty will be phased in, starting at $95 or 1 percent of income in 2014, whichever is higher, and rising to $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016. But families would not pay more than $2,085.
American Indians don’t have to buy insurance. Those with religious objections or a financial hardship can also avoid the requirement. And if you would pay more than 8 percent of your income for the cheapest available plan, you will not be penalized for failing to buy coverage.
Those who are exempt, or under 30, can buy a policy that only pays for catastrophic medical costs. It must allow for three primary care visits a year as well.

OK, now that ALLLL the facts are out there, I'm going to offer my little commentary.

Number one. The BEST thing about this whole thing is that insurance companies, or government run insurance can NO LONGER deny people based on pre-existing conditions. This is one of the biggest problems with health care today. If you get cancer, are unable to work, lose your job and therefore your insurance, the way things are now you will NEVER be able to get care again. This Bill fixes that. Also, did you know pregnancy is a pre-existing condition? If you are uninsured, get pregnant, and THEN try and get on a health care plan (other than Medicaid I believe), you will be denied.

Now, this wonderful change isn't without cost. Of course this is going to make premiums go up. If insurance companies are forced to treat the very sick and not deny them coverage, it is going to cost them more money, which is, in turn, going to cost us more money. I'm willing to make that sacrifice, because someday, that person may be me.

Number two. Our system is broken. Look at the financials from Emergency Departments I posted above. And with the unemployment rate, it is only getting worse. People lose their jobs, can't afford COBRA, and become uninsured. They break their arm, they go to the ER. And the ER eats the cost. Which means the hospital employees eat the cost.

Number three. It HELPS people become insured. I would really like to believe most people do not WANT to be uninsured. It is just too expensive. I'm lucky at my job, I get a great insurance rate. A lot of people are not so lucky. This bill helps them. The government offers subsidies for people up to FOUR TIMES the poverty level. You will pay no more than 9.5% PRE TAX in medical coverage. Your insurance will cover up to 60% of the costs. Now while that doesn't seem like much, it is much better than being stuck with 100%. And that is a minimum number.

Number four. People will be HEALTHIER. I know, personally, plenty of people who could benefit from an annual check up, or some prescription meds, that they can not afford because they are uninsured. This bill will help those people get what they need. Our country is in such a bad place where health is concerned, it needs all the help it can get. Also, peoples lives will be saved. I have heard stories where people have died from the smallest of issues that went untreated and turned into something much larger, and ultimately untreatable.

Number five. Insurance companies will have to pay MORE on the dollar for coverage. They now pay 74 cents of every dollar premium on health care, and pocket the other 26 cents. This bill makes them spend 80-85 cents of every dollar. That will help offset the high risk people being insured.

Number six. Stop looking at the fine as the only aspect of this bill. The fine is like the Luxury Tax in baseball. It isn't designed to make the government money, it is designed to encourage people to spend money on health insurance, instead of throwing it away in fines. I know I would rather spend 2,000 a year on health care and GET something than spend 695 a year in fines and get nothing.

Number seven. It makes people responsible for themselves. Sure, the government will subsidize some insurance coverage if certain requirements are met, but those people will still be responsible for their own health care. Uninsured costs will no longer be passed on to the people affiliated with a hospital.

Bottom line. Health Insurance reform is necessary. No plan is going to be perfect, no plan is going to make everyone happy. This plan isn't perfect. I don't know everything about it yet. Where do the fines go? I think they should go to hospitals who have to treat those uninsured people, or back into the health care plan to subsidize someone else's coverage. I don't know if that is going to happen. We'll see. This is something that needs to happen in our country. This bill is just the first step of a long road.

Soon

2010-03-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

We're home safe from Hawaii, and I hope to be able to post a blog maybe tomorrow, or Wednesday, with all the photos and everything. Life is crazy trying to get organized again after being gone so long and getting home so late and having to work today. So yeah, please be patient with me!! I'll get to it!!!

Hawaii!!!!

2010-03-16T01:40:00.001-07:00

I have a quick, unedited look at Hawaii for you all!! Look behind the cut!

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Sunday:
Ahh, travel day. We all hate traveling. People are cranky, you have to hurry, and you're lugging crap around all day. It sucks. We were up at o'dark hundred for our flight. Made it to LAX with the help of Diana (thanks!!) and fairly flew through secutiry, thank goodness. One note, my tube of filters made TSA take my camera bag and swab it with some wet wipes to make sure my camera wasn;t going to blow up the plane. Annoying, but whatever.
Our flight was about 40 minutes late taking off, and took FOREVER. Almost 6 hours in a full plane, not so much fun. Finally we arrived at the airport, THEN it was to the rental car place to pick up our car. After that we headed across the island to our house. The thing about Hawaii is you have to drive on the edge of the island to go anywhere, because the middle is all mountains. And the speed limit is 35 everywhere. So 36 miles takes about an hour. Anyway, we got to our hous,e which is awesome!

Then we headed to Aunt Nancys for dinner, and had some pretty flights along the way:

Then we went grocery shopping, finally getting home and getting in bed a mere 22 hours after we woke up. Damn time change!! And Daylight savings on top of that!!

Today I'm thankful for save travel!!

Monday:
Ahh, the first real day of vacation!! We slept until about 8:30, got up and kind of puttered around the house for a few hours, then went for a walk on the beach across the street from our house. I didn't take my big camera, but I will tomorrow. There are some awesome shots to be had out there. Got rained on a bit, but that's ok, cause we're in Hawaii!!

After we got back from our walk we decided to go for a drive in the other direction from where we came from yesterday. We found some awesome waves...the photos just don't capture the power that we saw.

Then we kept driving, found a little town, had some thai food for lunch, YUM! and headed back. We stopped at Turtle Beach on our way back. I've never been there before, and didn't quite know what to expect. I was WAY surprised!! First off, it is gorgeous (what here isn't?!?!?)

And then we met Brutus and Missy.

Brutus is 35-40 years old, and 167 pounds. He is small for a male, and made a 1000 mile trek to get to Hawaii. He apparently met a tiger shark along the way, he is missing part of his back flipper.

Missy is 35 years old and weighs 225 pounds. She is big for a female, and Brutus is small for a male.

After Turtle Beach we came home and changed our clothes, and headed to Waikiki for dinner. We ate at Dukes, which is AWESOME!! I had some sort of large scale white fish, and Kev had Ahi tuna, which he just loves. We had Hula Pie for dessert, which is totally yum. Think hot fudge, vanilla ice cream, macadamia nuts, and chocolate cookie pie crust, and whipped cream. YUM!!

Today, I'm thankful for Sea Turtles and hula pie!!

Schooners

2010-03-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

So today was our last day before we leave for Hawaii!! I slept in while Kev had to go to COC and take his last test for his 5 week course. Yay!! So I did some laundry, and went to Wal-Mart to get our last essentials (bathing suit for Kev, tank tops, sunscreen, etc...) We decided to go out to eat tonight, and our plan was to go to Papa's BBQ in Lancaster, so off we went, and when we got there, there was a big notice on the door "Notice of Suspension of Liquor License" or something to that effect. And the place was shut down. Luckily, the new Schooners location is right next door, so that is where we went. I really liked the set up. I had a new drink to me, it is a mixed beer drink. Who woulda thought?!?!? It was Blue Moon, Wyders Pear Cider, and grenadine. It was SO good!!!! Like, best drink I've had in a loong time...then we went home and Andy and Jen, who joined us for dinner, came over and we hung out for awhile, until we had to kick them out so we could finish packing. Granted, we're not done yet, won't be until all the liquid can go in the suitcase tomorrow morning. But now its time for bed! Up at 4:45 tomorrow to head to LAX...I hate LAX.
Not sure if I'll be blogging while I'm in Hawaii, if not I'll be sure to do so when I get home!!
Thankful for Schooners and the Red Moon today!

Sleeping in, and TJC

2010-03-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Thursday:
Like I said in my previous post, I got home at around 2:30. After winding down a bit and getting ready for bed, it was probably 2:45. I turned out my light and don't remember another thing until 8am, when I woke up, looked at the time on my phone, decided it was entirely too early, and went back to sleep, to wake up again at 11:15. It was the best sleep I've had in a looong time. It was very nice. So I got up, paid bills, and went to the barn. I did a nice 45 minute ride with Cheryl, another lady who boards her horse there. We went in a different direction than I have gone in before, a little flatter ride. I liked it a lot. We came back and I cleaned some stalls, then headed home. I relaxed at home the rest of the night, we ordered some pizza and watched the first half of This Is It. Very moving...so sad to see what was to be, but never was. I think this would have been one of the biggest comeback concerts in history. He looked great, sounded great, was moving and dancing fabulously. I also feel so sorry for those dancers and the staff who lost out on such an opportunity. Sure, AEG lost a lot of money, but they have money...it is all of those people who worked for SO long and SO hard on this show and never got to reap the benefits.
Anyway, today I'm thankful for such a good nights sleep!!!

Friday:
TGIF. I worked a full day today. I usually have shorter days on Fridays, but with taking yesterday off, and I had a patient I had to get in, so I worked until 5. The worst part about that is the traffic getting home. Anyway, we were all on pins and needles all week because Joint Commission were in the house. Our department is off campus though, so they have to drive down to us. But anyway, we were all scrambling to get ready, everyone was cranky, touchy, and just generally in a bad mood. Myself included. So they hadn't made it down all week, and this morning was the last chance, and they didn't come!! So we are in the clear!! Thank goodness. Even though we all worked so hard, it is still stressful, because you never do anything completely correctly. We are human, people make mistakes. So once lunchtime hit in the office, it was a much lighter atmosphere. The afternoon flew by since I was so busy with patient care, and then I headed home, stopped of at the parents for dinner, had a good time with Kaitlyn, she is getting older and more accepting of other people holding her, which I am loving! She actually reached out to me today! Yay!! And she is learning so many new words! Today I heard fork, baby, dog, papa...all sorts of words! Shes so big!!
Anyway, one more day before we leave. Kev has a busy day lined up tomorrow, so laundry and packing are up to me. Better get some rest!!
Today I;m thankfyl Joint Commission (TJC) didn't come!!!

D23 1st Anniversary Party

2010-03-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

Behind the cut I'll post my D23 1st Anniversary trip report. Its WAY photo heavy.

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Wednesday:
Today is D23 day!!! I just had to make it through a few "fun filled" hours at work, and then I picked Jen up from the train station and we were off...to LA traffic. I think it took us 2 hours to get to Anaheim from Glendale. But that's ok, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get there. When we arrived, we did some shopping at the World of Disney store and had dinner at Naples (pretty good italian..) and then we were in line and ready!! They had us line up outside the main gates, since the park closed at 8, and we were scheduled to start at 9. At around 8:30 they let us in through the gates, and we were able to walk down Main Street up to the Partners Statue. They had all the lands roped off, and we all congregated in front of the castle and enjoyed some beautiful views and awesome Disney classics remade. Here is the view we were greeted by:

and a close up of the banner

We were greeted by a recording of Walt's Dedication speech at the Grand Opening of his park:

“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

and then this:

What a sight!!

Once we were in Fantasyland, we headed to the Alice ride, which I NEVER do. We had maybe a 2 minute line, and wew on. It was WAY fun!! After Alice, we headed to Mr. Toads, since I had never been on it! The line was always SO long. We again waited maybe 2 more minutes, and rode that. The train scared me!! The it was on to Peter Pan. A little longer wait on this one, maybe 10 minutes. After that we explored the dessert table:

(both photos courtesy of Jen, see her blog Phoenix Imagery in my links on the side)

Then we decided to head down Small World Mall and see what was to be seen there. The Country Bears were out, and they are very rare, so the line for them was enormous!

(Thanks Jen)

There was also Walt's carriage, and a few other sights, such as:

Then we went on Small World, again, NO line. We were able to take some photos in the ride (no flash, of course!)

Already an hour in!!

and this last one is for Stacey:

After that ride, we wandered back down the mall, and I decided to get a drink, since it is probably the only time in my life I'll be able to buy booze inside Disneyland. They didn't have hard alcohol, so I got a glass of wine.

Then the Three Little Pigs were out, and didn't have that long of a line, so we decided to wait for them. While we were waiting, I ran over to the teacups and got this shot, which I'm pretty pleased with:

and then it was our turn with the little piggies

(they need to teach CMs how to use DSLR's...)

after the piggies, we wandered around the Fantasyland main area for awhile and caught Pinnochio and Jimminy at the very end of their time:

I think after those two we decided to ride Dumbo, since I don't think either of us remembered the last time we rode it.

Then I think we wandered some more, and found the Abominable Snowman in a much unexpected place:

Stirring the popcorn on the cart!

We then spent some time cracking up at Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear. Koda was a CRACK UP!!!

We rode The Storybook Boats, which again, neither of us could remember the last time we rode them. It was so beautiful! Unfortunately none of my photos came out well enough for me to want to post them, since the boat was moving pretty fast. After that we rode Mr. Toads one mroe time, and headed through the castle to Main Street. This was one of the coolest parts of the night, seeing almost NOBODY on the whole street.

Shops closed!!

There were a few more characters in the hub, so we visited Alice, the Mad Hatter, and White Rabbit:

Clarabelle Cow:

Mickey was also out there, but we didn't wait for him.

That was the end of our night :( It went SO fast!! On the way out they gave us the pins, which are HUGE!! They have the date on them and everything, very very cool.

Then came the long, LONG drive home. Thank goodness for no traffic (though it was 1am). Finally around 2:30 this morning I fell into bed, to sleep like a rock, waking once at 8am, and falling asleep again until 11. Thank goodness I had the foresight to take the day off.

Overall, the party was great. The character lines were a little long, but I guess thats what you get when you have hardcore Disney fans and characters from long ago.

I think one of the best things about this party was the people who we shared it with. It wasn't a typical day at the parks. All of us were true Disney fans. Everyone was so nice and respectful, we had many conversations with strangers. I thinkt hat is the best part of events like this. You get to experience the park with people who love it just as much as you do.

So today, I'm thankful for D23, the Disney Company, and this party for being so wonderful (and thanks Jen for coming with me!)

nook and Warmth

2010-03-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Monday:
Back to work today. I had a hard time, I was really really tired!! The Joint Commission, the accrediting body of our hospital (and all hospitals) is at Glendale Adventist this week. This means PANIC MODE. Because NOW everyone HAS to do all the things they SHOULD have been doing all along. And MAN do they complain about it. Grr. Anyway, I took my nook to work today, and it was wonderful. I love just having a book in my hand wherever I go. Long day today, but my nook helped me get through it!!! Thanks nook!!

Tuesday:
I usually have short days on Tuesdays. But since I'm going to the WAY exciting D23 event with Jen tomorrow, and we're gonna be getting home WAAAAYYYY late, I took Thursday off. SO I had to work a full day today. More Joint Commission drama today, more complaining about work that should have been getting done all along, but is now major drama. At least I got to escape to a baseball game this afternoon. I hadn't been outside since I got to work this morning, and when I walked out to my car to head to the game, I was floored by how cold it way!! What is UP with this weather?!?!?! SO I head to my game, put on my sweatshirt, and proceed to freeze my ass off for 3 hours, as I watch my boys blow a 3-1 lead in the last inning, and lose 7-3. And that last inning took FOREVER! I had trouble using my phone, my fingers were so numb. Getting in my car and turning on the heater was the happiest part of my day. So today, I'm thankful for warmth. And hopeful I won't be so frozen tomorrow!!

My Week

2010-03-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Tuesday:
Back to work today. At least it is a short one. I woke up and did the laundry from out weekend away this morning, got most of it done before I had to leave for work. Woohoo. After a short work day I headed to the barn to go riding. Cold and windy, but I'm determined! Vicki (barn owner) was busy, so I was on my own today. Trip was finishing dinner, and I had to drag him away from that. A good grooming and saddle up later, we were on our way. I had a little bit of trouble remembering which trail we took last item I went riding, so after some trial and error, we were on our way...kinda. Trip was being very barn sour..not wanting to GO for me. Not sure if he was cold, still hungry, or lonely because we were leaving all his buddies in their stalls. But I had to make him go for awhile, we made it to the top of a mountain, looked out the gorgeous view of Acton. The barn is WAAAAY down at the bottom there of this photo.

Once on the mountain top, there was nowhere to go but down. On the way down I looked up and saw a coyote watching us from the mountain we had just come from. Glad she was just watching, that wouldn't have been a fun time. After we made it back to the bottom, Trip was just being a pain, so I decided to let him head back to the barn. A short ride, but still a great get away from the world for 45 minutes. Loving riding, hopefully the rain holds off so I can go some more!!
Today I'm thankful for Trip, and getting to escape on horseback!

Wednesday:
Long work day today, teaching Aquatic Fitness. Got a lot of work done today, which was good. I had a good time with my AFI class tonight, I love those people. I wouldn't be able to handle the long hours if I didn't love them so much. I was extra motivated today, so we did some new and fun exercises. Let's hope it keeps up!!
Today I'm thankful for my Aquatic Fitness class.

Thursday:
Forgot my riding clothes at home this morning in my hurry to get out the door. Hit dismiss instead of snooze...no bueno. So no riding today, bummer!!! After the clinic I went out to the baseball field to check in with my kids. We have a new baseball coach this season, and he was also our freshman football coach, so I know him pretty well. He treats me awesome. And baseball is quite possibly my favorite sport (that I get to cover) EVER. So it was great just sitting out on the field watching the guys practice. The sound of a ball hitting a bat is the best sound ever. It just makes me happy inside. I'm so excited about this baseball season. Full swing after Hawaii!!
Got my outfit for Doug's wedding today, sooo cute. Our trip is just around the corner!
Today I'm thankful for baseball!!

Friday:
TGIF!!! Regular work day today. Off a little earlier though, and no high school, everyone is away at tournaments. So I got home a little early, and took a nap!!! It was fabulous!! Then it was time to go to my parents for Friday Night Dinner. Yumm!!! Kaitlyn was in a good mood tonight at dinner. Very lovey. She kept making eyes at Kevin, it was totally cute. And I think shes getting a little older now, she seems to be more ok with me holding her, not just Mom and Grammy. Yay!! She actually fell asleep in my arms today. Every time I'm with her my ovaries give a little tug...patience, patience!!! :)
Today I'm thankful for Kaitlyn.

Saturday:
Disneyland day!!! Woke up early this morning so Kevin could go take his test, and then we would be on our way. We got to Disney around 11:30, cloudy but no rain. Very light crowds. We did pretty much everything, and had a great time. Around 3:30 my parents got there, surprise!! So we all headed over to California Adventure to do the stuff over there. Kevin and I rarely wait in line for Soarin, even though it is one of my favorites! So we waited for that, rode Screamin, and got in the front row! Let me tell you, it is worth it!! Ask next time you're in line. Way awesome!!! Then it started to rain on our way to Tower of Terror, which Skip had never done because it scares Mom. So we waited in line for that, rode it, way fun again, one I don't get to do much since Kev isn't crazy about it. After that it was pretty well raining, and we decided to go to dinner. ESPN zone it was. Wait was about an hour, cause it was a Saturday night, 6:30 and raining, lol. SO we headed up to the bar at the arcade level. We actually got 4 seats at the bar pretty quickly, which was amazing. Jerry, the bartender, was awesome. It is so cool to watch a good bartender work. So we wait, and then eat, and then head home. I hate driving home from Disneyland, it is so long now, and I'm always so tired. Kev had 2 drinks, so I was Designated Driver to get us home. Home safe, time for bed!!
Today I'm thankful for Disneyland!!!

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Vegas Weekend

2010-03-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

Here is my recap of Kevin's Vegas weekend. it is behind the cut, because I'm sure it is going to be quite long.
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Friday:
So today is travel day. I took the day off of work so we would only have one car in Burbank. I took the train down to Sun Valley, and Kevin picked me up after he was off of work. We headed to the airport, Kevin still not knowing what our plans are. We parked at the airport, and took the shuttle to the terminal. As soon as we walk into our terminal and arrive at the check in gate, I hear a jetBlue employee tell another customer something about our flight. I ask him what is going on and he asks if we're going to Vegas (there goes the surprise, Kev). And then he tells us our plane is delayed 3 hours because it comes from JFK, and the snowstorm has delayed take off. We are at the airport an hour before our scheduled flight, so that is a 4 hour wait. Not the way I wanted to start the weekend. Oh well. We got some reading done, that's for sure. We wait, and right "on time" our plane shows up. We load up and fly out, what a short flight! 49 actual flying minutes I think. That's nothin!! So we get to Vegas around 9:30. We head to the rental car place, wait in another line, and get nthe car. Man, do those rental places tack on the fees??!?!?!? I paid twice what I was quoted after all the shit. Anyway, we got a Ford Focus and I LOVED it. Seriously. I would be perfectly happy with one of those for my next car.
Anyway, we drive to the Hard Rock Hotel, and check in. That was fairly uneventful. We got to our room. I was able to get the upgrade to a corner room king, so we had about 100 more square feet, and floor to ceiling windows on the corner walls. It was a gorgeous room. Here are some photos below. Ignore the quality, I didn't have auto focus on and didn't realize it, poo.

This is the bar in the room. Everything wa son sensors, so if you picked it up, you got charged. It scared me.

View from one window

View from the other

So Friday, I'm thankful for our gorgeous room.

Saturday:
Kevin's actual Birthday. Happy Birthday Baby!!! Today we have fun planned. Dinner at The Melting Pot, one of our very favorite restaurants, and a show. I'm taking him to see Penn & Teller. A show he has always talked about seeing, but I really had no interest in.

We slept in LATE today, after the late night last night. We went over to the Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood to eat lunch at Cheeseburger, one of Kevin's very favorite places to eat, and watched the news to make sure Hawaii wasn't getting swept away. Much ado about nothing on that one. Kev played 3 card poker and did very well. We drove around residential Vegas for awhile, to check out Xerascaping that goes on there, since that is what we're gonna do in our front yard. Then it was time to head back and change. We got ready for dinner, and headed out in the rain. It took a little longer than I thought to get to the restaurant, since it takes SO LONG to get through Strip traffic, and the Melting Pot was way off the strip, on the other side from us.
Dinner was delish, as always. We had a few drinks, and I ordered the Yin Yang martini for "dessert" which I had always wanted to order from them, but never had.

There is my crappy camera phone pic of it. Yum!!!
After dinner we headed to the Rio for Penn & Teller. We took some time and wandered the Rio, looking at the awesome art in the Oh My Godard gallery, a new artist featured is Bone Daddy, and I LOVE it!!

Isn't it hot!!

Anyway, we went to the show, and it was awesome!! P&T were totally funny, the magic was amazing, and the political stuff I agreed with. I would totally see them again. I paid a little extra for VIP seats, and we were int he middle of the second row, so that was awesome to be able to see everything so close.

So Saturday I'm thankful for my baby, the love of my life!!!

Sunday:
Today was a lazy day. We went to Mimi's for breakfast, and then we decided to go to the Verizon store right across the way and get Kevin a new phone. He's been pretty unhappy with the Storm he had, and had been eyeing the new Droid. So with his winnings from 3 card poker we went and got that and had the BEST Verizon experience ever!! Diana was SO knowledgeable and helpful!!!

Then we went to The Orleans hotel, sat in Fridays and had a drink while watching the beginning of the men's hockey game, and then we went and saw Avatar. I enjoyed it, Kev wasn't able to.

After the movie we went back to the hotel so Kevin could plug in his phone, since he had already drained the battery. So we did that, hung out for awhile and then went to Margaritaville for dinner. The wait was INSANE because it was Nascar weekend in Vegas (and let me tell you, everyone there that weekend BUT us was there for the race. Every other person had some ad on their jacket or shirt...) So we waited about an hour for our table. But food was good, I got the pulled pork sammich, yummy!!

Sunday I'm thankful for Verizon being so wonderful. Diana is going to get a letter.

Monday:
So, we were supposed to go home Sunday night, but I had gotten the room through Monday so we didn;t have to check out and then wait around. We decided to just stay through Monday, made the necessary changes, and viola, we were there through Monday. It was nice to have the extra day to just relax. We woke up, cleaned up and checked out, and then went to IHOP for breakfast. We sat around for awhile after that trying to decide what to do, and Kev had the idea to go to Mandalay Bay and visit the Shark Reef, so that's what we did. It was pretty cool, lots of cool sharks and fish!

After that we decided to head to the Miracle Mile again so I could get my beer from Sin City Brewery. My most favorite beer EVER is served there, and they don't bottle and distribute, so I only get it when we're in Vegas. Until I get a kegerator at least and buy a keg of it!!! So we did that, chatted with the bartender there, they are always so nice!! After that we walked around the mall a bit, and spent some good time in the kitchen store, they always have such fun stuff!!

Then it was time to head to the airport. We turned in the car, got through security, had dinner at CPK, and flew home. End of a wonderful weekend!!

Monday, I'm thankful for Sin City Beer!!!

Behind

2010-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

I know, I know!! I'll do several hughe posts tomorrow and get myself caught up. I haven't disappeared, just been busy!! Don't give up on me yet!!

Potlucks!!

2010-02-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

I got to play office Mom this week. We had 2 going away parties and a baby shower. The girl who usually plays office Mom is doing a Fellowship at another hospital, and is only at the clinic 2 days a week, so she needed someone to take over, and who better than me? SO I got the job of collecting money and getting people to sign the card. Not as fun as it sounds. But then I got to go buy their gifts, yay!! I did all of that yesterday, and today was the potluck. We hold a potluck for every major event. Parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween...you get it. They are always fun and we always have a ton of food. Today was no different. It was kind of wierd though, because Diana is out of town for the weekend, and she left this morning. So I was without my partner in crime, lol. But I survived.
I love days like today, I came in to work, did some paperwork, helped with a patient, had lunch, sat through a staff meeting, had an end of month meeting with the boss, collected girl scout cookies, and headed home to go out to dinner with Kev and meet up with Trav at Best Buy to help outfit him with everything he could possibly need for his new laptop. It is kinda wierd helping someone shop who knows nothing about computers. I'm so used to being around people who, generally, know what they are doing, or in the case of work, only have to word process. Though I did have to show someone how to bookmark a web page today...oy vey!!
Anyway, I'm thankful for potlucks today. Good times, good friends, and good food! Best of luck to my co workers who are moving on, and my thoughts are with our pregger coworker!
Tomorrow, the fun begins. I packed tonight, Kev is taking the suitcase to work tomorrow, and hopefully I can fit everything else in a small duffel tomorrow morning. My parents are taking me to the train station, Kev is picking me up, then off we go on our wild adventure!! I don't know if I'm going to spring for internet access, so my updates of the weekend may be limited to twitter/facebook, and the big update will have to wait until Monday. I'm sure you'll be waiting with baited breath!! Until then!!

Stretching, Manly Men, and Fredericks

2010-02-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Monday:
SO day 1 after riding...I'm scared. I wake up and can hardly get out of bed. I'm literally sore everywhere, from my knees, up my hamstrings, my adductors (groin), my butt, up my back, the muscles to the side of my spine, my shoulders, my arms and my neck. Oh My God!!! So I KNOW, the best thing I can do is drink water and move. So that's my plan. Except for the little fact that I have to sit in my car for 70 miles and an hour and a half to get to work, and I know my work schedule involves a lot of desk work. Ok. In my car I go, I'm ok driving, moving from gas to brake is a little difficult, but I'm ok. I arrive at work, and park. I get out of my car and look like I'm a patient instead of a clinician while I'm walking in to work. As I move more, I get a little better. That is how the day goes, I sit, and then I get up and try to move, look like I'm 90, move a little more, and feel better, then sit again. So today, stretching is my friend, it makes me feel better, even though I know I have to sit again and undo all the goodness. Stretching makes me happy, and feels good.

Tuesday:
So my parents inherited a treadmill from one of my moms friends. DO they need a treadmill? These people walk their dog twice a day. They go to work at 7:30 and get home at 7:30 or later...ANYWAY, not my decsion. They asked us (Kevin) to help move the treadmill. We got dinner out of the deal, and got ot hang with my parents, which I never see enough. So we eat, and head over to the treadmill location. We get there, us girls all start chatting, and the boys proceed to move the treadmill, and leave so we can keep chatting, and take the treadmill home. I didn't have to do a THING!! I love having manly men around who can do the heavy lifting for me!! It is something I'm still not really used to, but I enjoy it!!

Wednesday:
Busy day today. I'm playing office Mom tomorrow, we have 2 going away parties and a baby shower. I've been responsible for collecting money and buying the gifts, and today I had to go get everything, so I had a bunch of errands to run after work. I figure since I'm out, by the mall, I should go shopping. I have to get some stuff for this weekend anyway. I make my way to Fredericks, and proceeded to have myself a little shopping spree with what I had left over from Christmas money I was saving for something fun. So yay Fredericks!!!

Only 2 more days until Kevs birthday weekend!! Speaking of I need to go start laundry!!

Birthday and Horses

2010-02-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday:
Since Kevin and I are running away to an undisclosed location next weekend for his actual birthday, my mom wanted to throw him a party this weekend so everyone could celebrate. It was the usual suspects, and things went about as they usually do, the boys decided to be "manly" and take shots, the girls sat around and chatted, and cooed over Kaitlyn. Everyone was so generous with Kevs gifts, thanks so much!! We had burgers, brats and dogs for dinner, along with all the other things that get thrown in when my mom plans a party, and peanut butter and chocolate ice cream pie for dessert, Yum!! So even though it is a week early, happy birthday baby, I'm so thankful to have you in my life. And you just wait for next weekend, it is going to be a great time.

Sunday:
Horse day!!! So, long story short, one of the things on my 1001 list is to ride horses again. You see, this is a hard task because usually, to ride you either have to take lessons or own a horse. And my problem is 1, lessons are expensive, 2 I don't want to show, so lessons for someone who already knows how to ride is silly and 3, obviously, we are not in the financial situation to undertake a horse, I am having a hard time talking Kev into a dog!! So, here I go perusing Craigslist. I find a woman who owns a bunch of horses and property in Acton, and she is willing to half lease one of her horses, who is just like the horse I used to own. Half leasing means essentially, she will take care of food, board, vet and farrier bills, and he is "mone" 3 days a week to ride, or do whatever with. Perfect situation!! I am also trading tht for cleaning stalls for the moment, since money is a little snug, and mucking stalls is free to me, but priceless to her, since she has three little ones! So I went out there for the first time today, and had a blast. My legs and butt have forgotten what it was like to ride, so this relearning proces sis going to take several weeks, but I'm excited to finally have my favorite activity back again. After a hard day, there is nothing like going out and running away on horseback. Just you and your horse, out on the trails without another soul to be seen. Plus it is great exercise that I ENJOY! So yay for that!!
I'll keep you all posted on the horse goings ons, I'm back out there Tuesday, we'll see if my legs are in shape to ride or if we just play, lol.

Massage

2010-02-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

So every other friday I get a massage at work. It is my treat to myself, my way of staying sane. It also tells me how my body is reacting to whatever it has gone through the last two weeks. This week's massage was brutal. I don't know is Alex was especially mean to me, or if I really was just that sore. Granted, this week has been stressful on all fronts, so I should have expected it, but damn, I needed that massage. Hopefully this weekend and next week will be uneventful, so I can enjoy the next weekend. Even though I had a bad dream last night about plans going awry!!!
So today, Friday, I'm thankful for Alex and Massages!!!

Snowboarding

2010-02-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Thursday:
Tonight Kev and I actually watched the Olympics together!! He usually runs away and does something else while I'm watching my beloved recordings, but tonight I skipped a few days and watched the snowboarding half pipe so he would watch it with me, since we already heard about EVERYTHING that happened, so we might as well watch what everyone is raving about.
And let me tell you, Shawn White is AWESOME! He truly is the best out there, he is fearless and sooo talented!! The fact that he threw those tricks down on his second run when he totally didn't have to makes him a favorite in my book, someone who truly just loves and enjoys his sport.
So today, I'm thankful for snowboarding and Shawn White!!

Misunderstood

2010-02-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

So, turns out one of my huge frustrations from yesterday was all a miscommunication between myself and the scheduler, who in turn miscommunicated it to my boss. This makes me feel better on one hand, but also frustrates me to no end on the other. If people would only take a second and read what is being written, not read what they think is there, we would have so many fewer mistakes. The most frustrating part about this is it is not the first time the scheduler has had issues with my schedule. Every time I change it (which is at least 3 times a year) there are issues. Grrr. Oh well, at least I figured out what was going on, and now I need to apologize to my boss because he thinks I was trying to change my schedule in a way we had discussed was not possible for a permanent change. Ugh. So today, the lesson is make sure you communicate clearly, becuase you never know if the person recieving it will assume things.
Tomorrow is Thursday. Is this not the longest week in the history of weeks? OMG! I swear, when I'm looking forward to things (as I am this weekend and next) time takes FOREVER. But for sure, during those two exciting occasions, time will fly!!

Friends and Mom

2010-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Monday:
Today I'm thankful for all of my friends. I had a hard day today, for a variety of reasons. Really, just a rough afternoon. When I made note of that on my twitter and facebook page, I had an outpouring of support. I thank all of you for that so very much. Good friends are hard to find, but I have found some. I'm so lucky to have all of you in my life.

Tuesday:
Today wasn't better than Monday. It went from one thing to another, totally unrelated but all snowballing. I'm really grumpy today, and am having a really hard time figuring out what I can possibly be thankful for, that I wasn't thankful for yesterday. I guess, I'm thankful that my mom has connections. She saved me some money (which is good, because I have none). My mom knows someone who does everything in the city, it seems like. So I guess, today, I'm thankful that my mom helps me out and knows people who can help.

Dumplings and Fried Rice

2010-02-14T19:00:00.001-08:00

Tonight, for our "Valentine's Day" dinner, Kevin and I made Dumplings, and Kev made Fried Rice. Of course, since this was a labor intensive meal, I documented it!! Photos are behind the cut.

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First, Kevin made the filling. ground beef, carrots, and some seasonings

Making of the dumplings. Wonton wrappers, filled with the filling (duh)

wet the edges with water, and fold to a triange

Fold in the edges and viola! Continue until filling and wrappers are gone (we actually measured just right, we rean out of filling and wrappers at the same time!!

Saute in butter until browned on both sides

add some water, cover and steam

Fried rice! Saute veggies, add eggs

add rice and seasoning

Dinner!!! kev also made the dipping sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, etc.

Dinner was delicious, and I'm so glad I have a husband who isn't afraid of making difficult meals. Today I'm thankful for Kevin, and for dinner!

Hair and Star Trek

2010-02-13T22:49:00.000-08:00

I got my hair done today, YAY!! Its been forever since I've actually had it styled and colored, and I was ready for a change. Aundrea did a great job, I'll post photos someday, but not today. Its reddish, and has lots and lots of layers, so fun!! I'm going to enjoy messing around with it to see the different things I can do.
We also watched Star Trek tonight, after Kev made a yummy dinner of BBQ pork chops, jasmine rice and veggies. We got a rice cooker, so Kev is experimenting making different things on it. We had risotto earlier in the week, that was good too. Anyway, Star Trek. Can I tell you how much I LOVE that movie?!?!?!!? I don't usually totally geek out about those things, but it was a big part of my childhood, so I have a special place for it. Plus, it was a fabulous movie! I can't wait until the next one, which Kev tells me is 2 years away, boo!!! McCoy, Scottie and Chekhov are my favorite characters.
Anyway, its bed time for bonzo. We have a fun filled day of making dinner together tomorrow, I'm so excited! I'll be sure to take photos so we can have a play by play!!

In case you missed it, today was a two-fer. Thankful for hair do-ing and Star Trek!

Olympics

2010-02-13T16:17:00.000-08:00

Friday:
Yay opening ceremonies!! This was the first year where I actually made an effort to watch them. An effort meaning I saw about an hour, fell asleep, saw the start of the Parade of Nations, fell asleep, and woke up for soem boring speeches and finally the Gretz. He was the whole reason i wanted to watch anyway. And then the epic fail of the torch lighting...
I love the Olympics. I've already sat our DVR to record the first week, poor Kev doesn't know what he is in for! So today, I'm thankful for the Olympics...and disgusted at NBC.

Memes...

2010-02-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

One of my LiveJournal friends has posted a few Memes that are fun, so I decided to play. They're both behind the cut cause they're kinda long.

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1. My uncle once : worked on murder cases

2. Never in my life : have I done an illegal drug.

3. When I was seventeen : I hated my college

4. High School was : Full of great times and great friends

5. I will never forget : what honesty means to me

6. I once met : Lou Mongello!

7. There’s this girl I know who : spends WAY too much money and then complains about not having any

8. Once, at a bar : I got drunk and kissed my future husband for the first time

9. By noon, I’m usually : ready to go home

10. Last night : I fell asleep at 7:45 on the couch

11. If only I had : a degree that could serve me in any field but my own

12. Next time I go to gym/church : will be a long time away

13. Susan Boyle : really? I don't care...

14. What worries me most : is not being in control

15. When I turn my head left, I see : the kitchen table

16. When I turn my head right, I see : the love of my life

17. You know I’m lying when : I don't make eye contact, or stare only at your eyes

18. What I miss most about the eighties : no worries...

19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I’d be: I have no idea....

20. By this time next year : We'll have our yard done, and be using our tax return on our flooring...no more fun money.

21. A better name for me would be : none, I LOVE my name

22. I have a hard time understanding : Why people don't want to be independent of someone else

23. If I ever go back to school, I’ll : be getting my teaching credential

24. You know I like you if : I'm honest with you

25. If I ever won an award, the first person I’d thank would be : Kevin

26. When I compare 80’s rock to 90’s rock : I remember how fun the 80s were, and how depressing the 90s

27. Take my advice, never : take free advice

28. My ideal breakfast is : Katz and Jammers omelette, hash browns, sourdough toast

29. A song I love, but do not own is : I don't own a lot of my songs, I rent them....

30. If you visit my hometown, I suggest : calling me so I can show you where not to go.

31. My favorite Beatle is : Paul

32. Why won’t people : just RELAX

33. If you spend the night at my house : You'll have your own bedroom!!!

34. I’d stop my wedding for : an emergency...but then we'd reschedule. Thank goodness I'll never face that issue, ours went off without a hitch, except for pink hat lady.

35. The world could do without : love?

36. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than : die? not much else would trump that

37. My favorite blonde is : Kevin

38: Paper clips are more useful than : blue pens....

39. If I do anything well, it’s : massage

40. And by the way : I love these things!

Meme #2
Meme directions:

* Post ten of any pictures currently on your hard drive that you think are self-expressive.

* No captions. It must be like we're speaking with images and we have to interpret your visual language just like we have to interpret your words.

* They must ALREADY be on your hard drive - no Googling or Flickr! They have to have been saved to your folders sometime in the past. They must be something you've saved there because it resonated with you for some reason.

* You do NOT have to answer any questions about any of your pictures if you don't want to. You can make them as mysterious as you like. Or you can explain them away as much as you like.

( If you DO have questions, I'll answer them. I actually think that'd make this more fun.)

)

Mary Kay and Pizza

2010-02-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Wednesday:
Today was a bummer of a day. Diana was sick again, poor thing. So I was alone at work. She is my partner in crime, the woman that keeps me sane. And shes been sick all week. :( So, I was just plugging along, when I get an email. Now, Diana is one of those people who can't just be home sick. She doesn't sit still well, or rest, or...well...not work, lol. She is also my Mary Kay consultant. Those of you who know me, know about a year ago (almost exactly!) I started wearing makeup. Before that, nadda. Maybe occasionally when going out. Well, see, what happened was, Diana got me to do a consultation under the RUSE of creating a skin care routine so I would be blemish free for the wedding. What she DIDN'T tell me was that she was going to do a whole makeover and show me how radically awesome MK products are. See, I would buy cover girl makeup, or whatever was cheap or on sale at Target, I never really invested in it. So my eyes would itch, I would break out, it would run, yadda yadda. So when I actually put on good quality stuff, I was floored. Lots of money later (which I will not disclose because Kevin does read this) I was out the door with my product. And inevitably, every quarter I get my new MK catalog in the mail and there is something I just HAVE to have. After a year, I have tons of eye colors, my whole skin care line, soothing this and soothing that, brushes, compacts, roll ups, essentially, my bathroom is one big pink Mary Kay ad. So, when Diana got bored, she decided to go through her entire inventory and have a SALE. So I get this innocent email with lists of everything she has on sale. Well, I couldn't just pass that up, could I? There were new eye shadows I've been wanting to buy, product I need to stock up on, etc etc. So I came home today (Thursday) with a HUGE bag of MK stuff, and I'm SO excited. And upset, lol. I'm a slave to a makeup company, who would have thought? So today, I'm thankful for Mary Kay.

Thursday:
All week I've been feeling one day ahead. Today felt like Friday. I was much dismayed when I got it through my skull that it was not actually Friday, but Thursday. Damn. Good news though, today was pizza party day. At the clinic, we have been working for over a year on a residency program. We had to do all sorts of paperwork, have a site visit, and jump through all sorts of hoops to become accredited by the APTA as a official residency site, so we can "hire" residents for one year at our clinic to go through the program, and when they're done they are one step higher than they were when they graduated. it is very good for our hospital and clinic. Well, our site visit was about a month ago, and the weeks leading up to it were stressful to the max. So, after all was said and done, our boss decided to throw us a pizza party for being good little employees and making it all go well. We also found out today that our accreditation had gone through, so we are official now. Very exciting. So yay for Costco pizza. I think we had 5 full size large pizzas left over, I'll bet they're gone now, a bunch of vacuum cleaners we have at work. So yay, thankful for pizza today!

Underdogs, Working Out, and Nachos

2010-02-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Sunday:
Super bowl!!! One of my favorite "holidays" of the year! Family and friends getting together and celebrating over a national past time. I don't really have a football "team". I mean, Kev likes the Titans, so I want the Titans to win, and lately I've been fawning over the Ravens (because their logo and merch is AWESOME). So when I don't really care about the teams, I usually root for the underdog. So obviously I was rooting for New Orleans, unlike EVERY OTHER person in my house! I was amazed, because Kev HATES Peyton Manning, so I thought for sure he would be rooting for the Saints, but I guess not.
So today, I'm thankful for underdogs! Good coaching, and never giving up!!

Monday:
Back to the grindstone today. I got up and worked out on the elliptical (yay!) and that was a great way to start out my day. I forget how much better I feel after a good workout. More awake, happier, and just a general feeling of better. It helped me get through my long day, and I found I had a TON more energy than usual for my aquatic fitness class at the end of my day. I was joking, jumping around, and just having a great time with my old folks in my class. I'm thankful for working out!!

Tuesday:
So, Tuesdays are supposed to be my easy day. I go in late, barely any time in the clinic, then off to the school. Today didn't feel easy. I got to sleep in, sure, which is fabulous. Then I got to veg on the couch for about an hour and watch my "First Time Home Buyers Hour" shows I have in the DV-R. Then I had to start my day. I worked out again (go me!!) and then got ready, I had to be out of the house early because I had to stop off at a few places in town, and then I had to be at the clinic early to deliver a treatment table to Hoover. Once I finally got all that done (much frustration in trying to deliver free product to my school). Once I got to the clinic, I only had an hour to do my paperwork and then I had patient care. My Tuesdays usually consist of 2 hours of paperwrk, which are both much needed and well used. So only having one hour was difficult. Then I had to go to Hoover (mind you, it is POURING all day) for the last baksetball game of our year. I get on campus (amid thunder and lightning) and find my water polo coach with the girls in the water PRACTICING! Now...lightning and water...do they mix? yeah. So I had my Athletic Director take care of that, and went to the basketball games. Our girls are AWFUL. Varsity lost 56-8...EIGHT....4 baskets. Awful. Then I finally got to come home to delicious dinner. Kevin made nachos, which were technically leftover from the Super Bowl, but they were delicious. I love them. I know, they undid my workout this morning, but we didn't want everything to go to waste, and now the ingredients are out of the house.
So today, after a long exhausting day, I'm thankful for delicious nachos. :)

Productive yet relaxing

2010-02-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today was the best kind of day. We woke up on our own early, so as long as there is no alarm clock I'm happy with getting up early! We went out to breakfast, went to the post office, came home and made a grocery list, and went grocery shopping. When we got home I made my lunches and breakfasts for the week, Kev did some stuff around the house, hanging things on the walls (finally!!) and stuff. We made about 20 more random trips to the store for various things, and finally were able to relax for the day. Kev played some video games, I played online and read my nook, took an hour nap on the couch, Kev ordered pizza for dinner (Dominoes new recipe is actually very good!), and just kinda vegged out and watched movies on TV the rest of the night.

Super Bowl tomorrow!!!! Looking forward to having good friends and family over for the day!!

I know, I know

2010-02-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to blog everyday. But, sometimes life gets in the way, ya know? So here we go.

Thursday:
Today started out kinda glum, a residual emotion from Wednesday. Then I got a page from the front desk "delivery up front"...ummm...ok. So I go up front, and there is a box from ProFlowers!!! Kevin sent me flowers! I LOVE flowers, as I think I've stated before. So that made the day just great! And in all my excitement, I forgot that today was THE day to buy tickets for the D23 Anniversary event at Disneyland. Good thing I had delegated the task to Jen!! So I get a confirmation email saying that we DID get the tickets, before I had even remembered that we were supposed to! YAY!! Good day!! Today I'm thankful for flowers!!

Friday:
Today, I'm thankful for Kaitlyn. We did our traditional Friday night dinner at my parents house, and Chris, Heather and Kaitlyn are regulars there too. She is becoming such a little person, it amazes me. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, and oh man, the changes!! She is using words, she knows what things she wants, knows how to play with all sorts of things, it is just amazing. And, at the end of the night, she even let Aunt Boo hold her for a few minutes, which is a rare occurrence with Mom and Grammy around.

Friends

2010-02-04T11:32:00.000-08:00

Today (Wednesday) was a rough day. I got some news about one of my very good friend's mom, and it scared me and made me sad. I'm trying hard to be a good friend and do what I can, but when health of a family member is concerned, there is a certain level of helplessness that you feel. It made me realize today, that it is easy to be a good friend when nothing is going wrong. It is easy to call and share juicy gossip, or send the occasional email or face book message. It is very hard to be a good friend when times are tough, but that is when it is MOST important. People don't NEED their friends when things are going good. When we are younger, we don't deal with these things. Being a good friend in high school is helping out with homework, or going to the movies, or getting through some boy not liking you. Even in college, we are sheltered. But now, out in the real world, we don't have that shelter. We don't have our parents protecting us from the bad things of the world.
I'm learning how to be a good friend this week, this year. I hope I'm doing a good job. I love my friends, they are wonderful people and deserve the very best life has to offer. And I hope when the going gets tough, they know they can turn to their friends and get the support they need. That is my lesson for today. Be a good friend, as uncomfortable or as sad as it makes you. It is your job.

nook

2010-02-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

I got my nook today!!! I ordered it Dec 30th, and finally it was in stock and shipped! For those who don't know, a nook is Barnes and Noble's e-reader. An e-reader is an electronic reader, it essentially is a digital library. The nook can store up to 1500 books without adding external memory. I'm way excited about this because it means I can have a bunch of books with me all at once, and not have to take up a bunch of space.

So today, I'm thankful for my nook. I'm already on chapter 3 of the first Sookie Stackhouse book!!

Mammoth

2010-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've been bad. We went out of town this weekend and we had NO internet access, so I haven't blogged. But here I go, get ready for a big one!! I put it behind a cut because it is very photo-heavy and long.

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Friday:
Today I'm thankful traffic co-operated. I had to finish up end of month billing at the clinic after we closed, so I didn't get on the road until a little after 5:30. We were leaving for Mammoth with Andy and Jen as soon as I got home, so we were essentially waiting on me. I drove as fast as I safely could, and thankfully got home in about an hour and a half, good for a Friday evening. Our drive to Mammoth went smoothly also, no traffic, almost a full moon so we could admire all the pretty mountains and snow on our way! When we got into town, thankfully there was almost no snow on the roadway, being southern Cali natives we have little (re: NO) experience driving on snow. We stopped at the Tap on our way into town, a little hole int he wall bar Andy and Jen always stop at. We each had a beer, and we continued on our way to the condo.

Something to be known about Mammoth. It is at elevation (I think 7000 at the base?) and so the air is very thin...much thinner than we were used to. Combine that, with the fact that I did not do a good job hydrating myself through the day (Amp energy drink, 5 hour energy shot, Dr. Pepper, beer) I slept miserably and felt hungover all night and early the next morning.

Saturday:
Today I'm thankful for Mammoth. Today was out MAMMOTH day. We woke early (which wasn't a problem for my fake hungover self) made breakfast and started our day.

We used the free public transportation Mammoth offers during the daytime, since it started snowing early in the morning and the streets were snow and ice covered. We figured we would leave the driving to the professionals. We took the scenic ride up to the Main Lodge (re: the main ski area, where the lifts are). It was snowing and windy, and it was COLD up there!!

But it was GORGEOUS! Jen and I took some photos of the goings ons up there, while the boys faces froze off. We quickly decided we were much too southern cali to stay much longer, and if we were to head up there again, we would need those face shield thingies. We took the bus back down, ran to the store to pick up some forgotten items, and went back to the condo. We defrosted and hung out for awhile, and then went out again to explore. Andy and Jen went Ice Skating in an outdoor rink, and we headed to dinner. It was a really great day.

Sunday:
Today I'm thankful for sunshine. While it was still cold outside (think mid 20s) it was a clear sunny day today. We went to breakfast, and then pretty much packed up and headed out for the day. We visited the June Lake loop, which was really the June Lake crescent, since it was closed and snowed over halfway through. This was ok, because we were able to get out of the car and play in the snow and get some really cool photos and have a really good time!!

Then we were off to Convict Lake for some more fun. This was one of the coolest parts of the day for me. The lake was almost entirely frozen over!! Like...I walked on the boat launching area. it was SO COOL!!!

After we were all done at Convict we pretty much headed home. We stopped in Bishop at Schatt's Bakkery and got some awesome bread, and then went home. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend!!! Kevin and I want to learn to snowboard, and visit there often. I could live int he snow I think. It is so beautiful and peaceful.

Monday:
Back to the grindstone today. Today, I'm thankful for my health. Without going into too much detail, you don't realize how good you have it until it is gone. And it is scary. I do need to learn to deal with my stress level better, so I can STAY healthy though, The wedding planning proved to me I don't handle stress well. I internalize too much and put too much on myself. But all in all, today was a really good day, for being a Monday back at work after a fabulous, but tiring weekend!!

Hopefully I get my nook tomorrow, it has been in Ontario, CA all day!!!

Blah...

2010-01-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't post anything yesterday cause it was a late night and then when I got in town we went out to dinner. So I didn't get around to it, sorry.
Yesterday I was thankful for going to the High School. I had an all day paperwork day at the clinic, so I was thankful for getting out of there and going to the school. Our boys actually won, so that was nice!
Today I had my in service at work about my Nutrition class that I took with a co worker last November. We'd been working on it for a few weeks and to finally get it done was nice. It went really well, and I think it was informative, yet fun, which is kinda hard to do with nutrition info!! So today, I'm thankful my in service went well!!
Mammoth is this weekend, yay!! Hopefully all my other stresses will go away soon!!

Himalayan Rock Salt Lamp

2010-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

So today was my short day at work, and I got to sleep in a bit. I had one of those sleeps where when you finally wake up, you feel like you're swimming for a mile to finally open your eyes. I was deeply asleep, and it was wonderful. I rarely have sleeps like that.

So when I got to work today one of our PTs had received a gift from a patient, and he didn't care for it. He received a Himalayan Rock Salt lamp. I walked in and looked at it and started gushing about how much I loved it, not thinking he seriously didn't like it. Well turns out he really didn't, and offered it to me! I took him up immediately, knowing it would look perfect in our front "zen" room.

Turns out, these things are pretty darn good for you.

Bio-energetic crystal salt was created over millions of years ago, when the ocean waters dried up in various parts of the world. The crystal is hand excavated into various sizes and drilled inside to accommodate a light source. When lit by a small, energy efficient light bulb of 15 watt or less, crystal salt emits an electrical charge, enriching our environments with health promoting negative ions. Negative ions help purify the air of allergens, dust, smoke, bacteria and more. These natural qualities make them an excellent beautiful light source, natural air purifier and can help people with various health conditions including asthma, allergies and other respiratory ailments. They can be used in every room, safely and should be left on as much as possible. (source)

So we'll see how this works in my zen room, and if I like it, I might buy ones for the tv room, bedroom, and bathrooms.

Today, I'm thankful for the PT at work who gave me this lamp, and I learned something about Himalayan Rock Salt!!

Planning

2010-01-26T09:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didn't get a post up last night, I got home late and didn't feel up to it.

So, I'm planning Kevin's birthday. I've been planning it for awhile, and just keep getting more and more excited about it! He reads this blog occasionally, so I'm not going to spoil the surprise, and those of you who know, please don't spoil it in your comments either! I love planning things, and I love planning surprises. I'm so glad that Kevin and I are independent with our funds, so I can save and plan things without him having a clue as to what I'm buying. I don't know how I'm going to be patient enough to wait a whole nother month for his birthday!! I guess we're going to be pretty busy though, with Mammoth this weekend, then the Super Bowl, Valentines day...it will be here before we know it!!

So today (yesterday) I'm thankful that I enjoy planning things, and am able to do it all on my own!!

Overtime...

2010-01-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

So, of all the overtimes in professional sports, I think football is the most frustrating. In hockey, yeah it is a shootout, but BOTH TEAMS have a chance to win, and to score. I hate the whole "first team with the ball, get within 40 yards, win the game" style of the NFL. If it has to be sudden death, require a 6 point score. Now, I'm not arguing with who won the game, I would feel this way regardless of who was the victor.

Ok, done with my rant. We actually have two #1's in the Super Bowl. Should be a good game, looking forward to having people over and enjoying the game.

Anyway, today was a very productive day. We did our taxes, renewed our Disney passes, I cooked Weight Watchers Zero Point Soup (I need something warm during this cold weather!), made my breakfasts and lunches for the week...shopped for MAMMOTH!!!!! So today, I'm thankful for our tax return. Hopefully, with that plus savings, we should be able to do a good number on our backyard. Hopefully within the next year it will be CLOSE to what we want. Hopefully.

Unkamen Gifts

2010-01-23T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful for Unkamen Gifts, one of my very favorite Etsy stores. I got my latest order in today, and I'm so excited! Now I just need somewhere to go that I can wear my new AWESOME jewelry!!!

Who is taking me out?!?!?!?

Sascha

2010-01-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

Today, while driving home, Jen reminded me of Sascha. Since today was just an ok day, being reminded of him made me happy. So today, I'm tankful for Sascha.

Aren't you?
For those who care, he is the guitarist for Helloween, one of my favorite bands ever.

Two-Fer

2010-01-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was a really really long day, and by the time I got home I was exhausted, and I forgot to blog!! So today's blog is a two-fer!
1/20/10
Today, I'm thankful for windshield wipers. It has been a week full of storms here in southern California, and I've had to commute through all of it. Today was the worst day of storms, and I was very grateful for my wipers!!

1/21/10
Today, I'm learning patience. It was another challenging day at the clinic today, and I'm trying to learn to just swallow my anger and be patient. I believe in karma. If I am an adult through this, and keep my cool and just do the best I can, it will come back and reward me later. So I'm working on patience, I'm by far perfect, but I'm trying.

Mammoth a week from tomorrow!!! I'm soooo excited!!! And Feb is sure ot be a busy and fun month as well, then we're into march, which is a week in Hawaii for my brothers wedding, yay!! This year is just flying by!!

Tolerance

2010-01-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Today's post isn't something I'm thankful for. Today's post is something I learned, or rather something that was brought to my attention again today. I had lunch with my mom and she told me about this talk that was going to happen tonight at the city's cultural center, called Hate to Hope. To borrow from the facebook page "Follow two teenagers, one a Punk-rocking seventeen year old neo-Nazi; the other a gay thirteen year old cast out by his family, hustling on the streets and trying to survive, as they head into the violent
crime that changed both their lives."
Essentially, it was two men speaking to us, one was a gay man who had been the victim of a hate crime when he was 14 years old. The other man was one of the 14 skinheads that victimized this kid. Circumstances of life brought them to the same place at the same time, both realized who the other was, and here they are today.
It was a very moving story about how we can change, how we perceive others, and what our world is like today. It reminded me that just because someone looks a certain way, or acts some way, that I don't know them, and I don't know their story.
I bought their book, and am excited to read it to learn more about their story. The facebook page for the book is Freaks and Revelations. They both work for the Museum of Tolerance, if you want more information.
So, tomorrow, think about that. Don't judge a book by its cover, because you never know.

AAA

2010-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

Triple A is the company receiving my thanks today. Here is the email I got from Jill, Kevin's Dad's girlfriend, this afternoon:

Larry got out of bed at 4.30 this morning into 2 inches of water. A hose on the washing machine blew and water was in all 4 bedrooms, both bathrooms, the laundry area and the front and back halls. The fire department was here before 5am, we were on the phone with Farmer's 24/7 line right after that and by 9.05am the Service Master Clean Disaster Recovery people were here sucking up the water and went on to start pulling out the carpeting, removing all of the base boards and drilling into lower sections of the walls and cabinets to search for more water. They told us a bit ago that it's under the Pergo in the living room so they'll be pulling that up as well. The recovery people will be here probably 4 days, complete with really noisy fans and dehumidifiers, we're bringing the trailer over to try to stay out of the way. Meanwhile it's 47° and the doors are open for the workmen and it's raining. Tomorrow they will start boxing up all of our belongings and moving the furniture so they are out of harms way for the rest of the work. We're trying today to make arrangements to have the garage available tomorrow to store all of our furniture and boxes.

That room that was to be made available in the garage? Kevin's Ford Fairlane was in that space. Kevin got a call at 5:30 this morning from his Dad that the car had to go. We were intending to move the car, once we paved our side yard...which obviously hasn't happened yet. So, today Kevin left work early to make room in our garage, which was not car-ready yet. I was able to get out of work several hours early as well to help. Kevin called AAA, and they came to his Dad's house with a flatbed tow truck. Luckily, Kevin had JUST renewed our membership with the Plus option, up to 100 miles a tow. So the AWESOME tow truck driver loaded up the Fairlane, and drove it to our house, and was able to drop it right in our driveway, and push it 3 feet to be in the garage, and there it now lives. At least we're motivated now to get that side yard paved, and get that car out of my garage!!!

Gift Cards

2010-01-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm thankful for gift cards!! Kevin and I were able to go to Lowe's and order our blinds for the sliding glass door, so it will FINALLY match the rest of the house, and it didn't cost us a penny! So thank you everyone who gave us gift cards, we used them well!!

In other news, I cleaned out the guest bedroom of ALL boxes! Now it looks really empty with just the futon in there, but it is UNPACKED!! I have stuff on order to decorate the walls, and I think we're going to move our extra entertainment center in there so Kevin has somewhere to put all of his old video gaming systems. I also cleaned out the boxes in out workout room. Now we have the elliptical, the TV stand and TV, a file cabinet with filing on top of it (one step at a time!), and only two totes with wedding stuff in them. One will hopefully get much more empty when I get the decor stuff for the guest bedroom, and then I need to decide if I'm going to sell, keep, or give away all the leftover craft stuff I have. Maybe I'll split it up between my scrap booking friends so they'll never need to buy red, black, or shiny white paper again!! Or maybe I can blackmail Stacey into making me some stationary cards with it!! OH the ideas, lol. I also have tone of candle holders that held the placecards...and other misc wedding stuff. Oh, and I need to hang stuff on the walls in there, that is going to be the sports room, since it is the workout room...

Next ont he to do house list is the computer room. It has become the catchall for all of our junk, and I need to hang stuff on the walls in there, get rid of boxes and all that. I don't know what "theme" this room is going to have yet, it might turn in to the "I have all this other art but no other room to put it in" room. I know my Disney art sketches will go in there...we also need to get an under the window storage thing, I think Kevin's mom has one in storage, we just need to go "borrow" it.

Work tomorrow, it is supposed to rain all next week. I hope traffic isn't too awful, otherwise I'm OK with some rain!!

With that, I'll leave you with this awesome image I posed in my DeviantArt account today, enjoy!!

Flowers

2010-01-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this late, because yesterday I was just too exhausted at the end of the day, so this is my thankful for 1/16/10.

Today, I'm thankful for flowers. I'm a typical flower loving girl. Unfortunately, my husband is not a romantic. He thinks about doing romantic things, but the doesn't (which is OK, I love him anyway!!). So today at the store, I bought myself flowers.

Aren't they pretty? Flowers just make me so happy!!

Etsy

2010-01-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

Today was a much better day. It is amazing what the mood fo your boss makes in the happiness of your day! Today, I also did some retail therapy shopping on Etsy. I LOVE Etsy. Today, i bought a memory board to display some of my wedding stuff in the guest bedroom, so hopefully I can get some of those totes out of our house (or filled with something else!). I also bought a cover for my nook. The WAY cool thing about this seller, though, was I got to PICK my own fabric!! I went online, found a fabric I liked (also on Etsy!), put the link in the notes to seller portion of the purchase, and she buys the fabric (no additional cost to you) and makes the cover! SO COOL!!!! Her Etsy name is Hop-Op . If you have an ereader, check her out!!

So today I'm thankful for Etsy!!!!

Beer

2010-01-14T20:48:00.001-08:00

Today, I'm thankful for beer. It was another one of those days...its been one of those weeks, and tomorrow isn't looking much brighter. Let's hope Monday brings better moods around the workplace.
So tonight, I'm thankful my husband had dinner ready when I finally got home, and I have a bottle of beer to enjoy with it.

Hoover High

2010-01-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Today was a rough day at work. Things are just frustrating. I'm trying to get through it with the help of my co workers and friends. We'll see. The good thing that happened today, is I went to Hoover High school. No matter what my clinic day was like, or what sport is playing, I'm always happy to be there. The kids treat me great, the staff treats me well, and I just feel appreciated. So today, I'm thankful for Hoover High school. They turned a bad day around, even though we had a bad game. I don't think I would get through stress without them.

Blah...

2010-01-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today was a very blah day for me. I worked 4 hours, which is unusual for a Tuesday, and I think that kind of threw my whole day off. I'm dealing with some drama in the home life (not with Kevin and I) and that just exhausts me, especially when I'm not involved and it really has nothing to do with me. I got home around 1, ran some errands, dropped some photos off to Mom, and came home. I screwed around with some photos, played my viedo game, and Kev got home around 3:45. We've just been hanging out, watching tv...I made dinner, chicken strips...easy. And now we're watching the Worst Cooks in America. I love Anne Burrell (sp?).

Today, I'm thankful for Costco photo lab. They are fast, cheap, and I always love their product. I'm also thankful for Photoshop. I did some fun work with some of our wedding photos, and I'm so happy with the results!

Let's hope tomorrow is a less "blah" day. I have basketball and soccer games, let's hope those go well!

What happens in Vegas...

2010-01-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

Today was just a regular day at work, nothing special. Nothing jumped out at me. I did my paperwork, I went to the school and worked a couple basketball games. Just a day in the life. I was having a hard time thinking about what I am thankful for today. When I was making my trek home, my Zune found its way to Toby Keith's Greatest hits vol. 2. These songs, and this artist, now remind me of my bachelorette party, which was WAY more fun than I could have ever imagined it to be!! They remind me of it because we ended our night at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar.

early on in our night!

So, today I am thankful for those girls, for making that weekend wonderful, and leaving me with good memories to assiciate with one of my favorite country artists! Thanks ladies!!

View from the top of the Rio, gorgeous!!

Us girls (plus Jen!!)

Thanks ladies. I'll leave us with this:
"I was just kidding....but I'll do it if you want me to."

Comment

2010-01-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

I guess I had a comment issue, it is all fixed now, leave all your comments galore!!! :D

Slow Smoked Ribs, Potatoes

2010-01-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dinner was FABULOUS! Totally worth it!! Here is a visual journey of how it came to be!
Deliciousness behind cut!...

Getting the grill started...

Ribs on the grill!

Adding the wood chips, mesquite

Baked potatoes, Onion and butter

Frying them up to get a crisp on them

All done! Looking delicious!

On the plate, some broccoli

Seriously, some fo the best ribs we've ever had. Better than Famous Daves. Smoky, fall off the bone delicious!!!

Food!!

2010-01-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Today has kinda been a food day. Kevin got a charcoal grill as part of our Christmas gift (loads of gift cards, lol). He decided he wanted to try slow smoking ribs. He has never done this before. So we got all of the ingredients yesterday, had to run to lowe to get some last minute stuff today (I know, Lowes for dinner?). The ribs took 6 hours to smoke, and that was AFTER he figured out the temperature and all that stuff. They are coming off the grill in 10 minutes, and smell delicious! He also baked some potatoes, and chopped them with some onion, put those in a foil pouch with some butter, and put that over direct heat for the last 2 hours. He just took those off and is frying them to get a little crisp on them. They also smell AWESOME!
We also made our lunches and breakfasts for the week today, I do a cottage cheese, applesauce, almond and cinammon mixture for me, and Kevin does a kielbasa, English muffin and cheese sandwich for his. These are both Zone friendly meals, low carb, high protein. Lunch for me is a salad with boiled chicken and olives, and Kevin does a sandwich on low fat, high protein "bun" with a salad.
I'll post photos of the finished dinner as soon as we eat it!

Today, I'm thankful I have a husband who knows how to cook, and is patient enough to figure something out that he hasn't done before. I always worry that it won't work out, but he always seems to pull it off.

A good day

2010-01-10T01:30:00.000-08:00

Today, Kevin and I spent the day with some of our best friends, Andy and Jen. Today I am thankful for having them in our lives. The two of them are some of the most honest, loving people I know. Jen has become one of my very close friend over the past few years, and I'm so glad. She teaches me about photography, and I'm not afraid to admit to her when I don't know something. We work very well together, and never seem to feel threatened by one another, whether it be me "stealing" an idea she had, or vice versa. And Andy is just one of the most open, honest guys I know. Whether he agrees with you or not, he will let you know his opinion. He also really just wants everyone to be happy in life. I hope Kevin and I can learn from their relationship, because they are two people, who even after 3 years of marriage, seem to so enjoy each others company and are so in love.

Thanks guys, for being a part of our lives, we love having you here!

101 in 1001

2010-01-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

So I've always wanted to do one of these things for real...and it is part of my goal for my 101 in 1001, so here it goes! I figure this first blog should be about my list. I need to up my motivation in life right now, I'm stagnant. So what better way to do that then give myself a list of things to complete in the next 2.75ish years? That should keep me busy, and no need to worry about a New Years resolution for the next little while, I have them all right here!

So follow along the link below, and find my 101 in 1001. If you want to help, please comment or email me, Ill take all the support I can get!
http://dayzeroproject.com/?u=summerblunden